Who Might Succeed Henry

Though President Ford today is determined to keep Henry Kissinger as his Secretary of State and Kissinger is determined to stay, a hazardous route stretches to the end of Ford's term. Should Kissinger leave, somewhere along the way, whom might Ford pick to replace him? The speculation is in the best hot-stove-league tradition.

Any new Secretary of State would probably be a Ford familiar; there would not be enough time in the remainder of his term to get used to an unknown. It would also surely be someone who could get along comfortably with the aroused Congress. And though Kissinger came from academe, his successor is not likely to be plucked from the same area: for the sprint through 1976, more experience would be required. Says a Foreign Service professional: "We don't need or want another master theoretician."

Given those criteria, here are an arbitrary five choices for Ford, in approximate order of probability:

MELVIN LAIRD, 52. Ford's closest friend while in the House, Laird (who held a Wisconsin seat for 16 years) provided advice and comfort for the new President during his trying early days in the White House. Laird could be useful in mending fences with Congress. When he was summoned by Nixon to restore order to the White House at the height of Watergate, he was not so much as brushed by the scandal. Unlike almost everyone else who got close to Nixon in his last year in office, Laird emerged with his reputation totally intact. A practical politician not given to selfdelusion, he referred to the Paris peace accords as an "American disengagement" rather than "peace with honor." Laird, the architect of Vietnamization and accelerated troop withdrawal, often differed with Kissinger on his handling of Viet Nam.

ELLIOT RICHARDSON, 54. Perhaps the most widely experienced man in Government today, he held three different Cabinet posts under Nixon: Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, Secretary of Defense and Attorney General. He was also an Under Secretary of State whose administrative ability impressed even Kissinger, then the President's adviser for national security affairs. For a slightly standoffish Boston Brahmin, Richardson gets along well on the Hill. His dramatic resignation during the Saturday Night Massacre made him a kind of hero: at an auction last year, one of his celebrated doodles fetched $1,000. Now the Ambassador to the Court of St. James's, Richardson, in an indiscreet moment, confided that he was Kissinger's choice for successor--and he probably was until he said so--but the ultimate decision is Ford's.

GEORGE BUSH, 50. Ford's second choice for Vice President, the handsome Bush is currently chief of the U.S. liaison office in Peking. He served two vigorous years as U.S. Representative to the United Nations, where he developed a knack for negotiation and earned the respect of fellow delegates. As Republican national chairman, he made friends in all factions of the party.

DONALD RUMSFELD, 42. The quietly ambitious and well-positioned White House chief of staff must automatically be considered for any vacancy that occurs in a major post. As director of the Office of Economic Opportunity and then director of the Cost of Living Council under Nixon, Rumsfeld did not serve with any particular distinction. After serving a year and a half as NATO Ambassador, he was brought back home by his old friend Ford to clear up the chaos in the White House. He has subsequently strengthened his position by bringing a few of his own men into the Administration.

WILLIAM SCRANTON, 57. A leading member of the now quiescent Eastern G.O.P. establishment, Scranton served in Congress for two years, then was elected Governor of Pennsylvania for a four-year term. In 1964, he made a try for the G.O.P. presidential nomination. Since then, he has been regularly appointed to presidential commissions and special missions. He was one of a dozen statesmen who were recently called in by Kissinger to discuss the breakdown of negotiations in the Middle East.

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