Hickel Vindicated

When Alaska's Walter Hickel fell into disfavor at the White House in 1970 and was ousted as Richard Nixon's Secretary of the Interior, his reputation in his home state plummeted faster than he could explain himself. Hickel could not convince his fellow Republicans that his principled tenure in Washington had been the best course. Said one: "When we finally get one of our boys close to the President, he blows it."

But as the deeds surrounding Watergate began to spill into public light last April, Wally Hickel began to look like a prophet. The Anchorage Times editorialized in praise of his foresight, his book about his frustrated struggles within the Nixon Administration (Who Owns America?) found a clutch of new readers, and Hickel began to be the most sought-after Republican speaker in the state. His new status is so solid that many of Alaska's southeastern business men are urging him to run for Governor, and oil interests have already pledged their support if he decides to run for the Senate. Both races are next year. "I'll go for one or the other," says Hickel. "But for right now, I'm satisfied with the knowledge that most people in Alaska believe I'm an honest politician."

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