Ford and Carter Prep for D-Day

President Gerald Ford's ammunition was two briefing books: a 50-page collection of memos summarizing his position on nearly every conceivable campaign issue and a more than 400-page volume of the quotations of Candidate Jimmy Carter. Carter's arsenal of issues and answers was contained in two thick briefing books, each bound in black vinyl. Both candidates were, of course, psyching themselves up for Dday: this week's potentially pivotal opening debate in the presidential campaign of 1976. Both claimed to be confidently looking forward to the face-to-face meeting before some 800 reporters and members of the sponsoring League of Women Voters in Philadelphia's aging (built in 1808) but renovated Walnut Street Theater.

At week's end, television network executives and sponsors were still squabbling over ground rules, and CBS threatened not to telecast the debate, apparently because a correspondent was rejected as a panelist. All three networks said they might not cover the debate unless audience reaction shots are permitted. A court challenge this week by minor party candidates also could threaten the debate.

The chances are that it will be held, and a television audience of perhaps as many as 100 million Americans will be watching. A large percentage of them might well decide which man to support on the basis of what they see that night. Even though there will be two more debates between Carter and Ford, first impressions are difficult to shake, as the 1960 opening debate between Jack Kennedy and Richard Nixon demonstrated. It may well be that the Philadelphia showdown is a more crucial test for Carter than it is for Ford.

That had not seemed true when Ford issued his debate challenge at the Republican Convention in mid-August. Then Carter was far ahead in all the opinion polls and Ford seemed to be playing a desperate catch-up game. The President still trails, but much more narrowly. Yet for better or worse, depending on the voter, he is a known quantity. By contrast, despite Carter's all-out post-convention campaigning, he remains the man on whom millions of voters are still reserving judgment. If he reassures his shaky majority, he might breeze on toward certain victory. If he fails to do so, his support could erode fatally.

Despite all the hoopla on the road, the campaign has been in a state of suspension, awaiting the debates. To be sure, Ford has been scoring political points even while turning "presidential" --signing bills, making pronouncements on policy, calling impromptu press conferences. Carter, too, has gained ground with his party faithful in wide-ranging forays, but he has sparked little noticeable enthusiasm among the independents he must win and the conservative Democrats he must hold.

Verbal Beat. Ford formally opened his campaign last week in his home state at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He packed the university's 14,000-seat Crisler Arena. Speaking from a platform dwarfed by a huge maize-colored M on a field of blue, he was introduced by a band that shifted neatly from the school song "Hail to the victors" to Hail to the Chief. Ford retained his composure as a group of hecklers booed parts of his speech and he flinched but barely missed a verbal beat as a cherry bomb went off in the stands.

Ford's speech itself was less explosive. His themes were mostly familiar from the primary campaign, although he deftly sliced up his opponent. "It is not enough for anyone to say 'Trust me,' " Ford declared. "Trust must be earned ... Trust is not cleverly shading words so that each separate audience can hear what it wants to hear, but saying plainly and simply what you mean --and meaning what you say." That brought a standing ovation.

Ford also scored political points as he directed U.N. Ambassador William Scranton to cast a U.N. veto of Viet Nam's attempts to join the United Nations, mainly because it has failed to supply complete information on U.S. servicemen still missing in Southeast Asia. (Carter said he wholeheartedly favored the veto on the same grounds.) Apparently because of the likely veto, the Security Council postponed action on Viet Nam until after the U.S. election.

The Ford camp at week's end pounced gleefully on what aides hope will turn out to be a major Carter gaffe. In an interview with Associated Press, Carter suggested that if elected he would try to "shift" the tax burden by boosting rates for Americans earning more than "the mean or median level." This would mean higher taxes for those earning more than $14,000 a year. Chortled James Lynn, Ford's budget director: "An incredible position for a candidate to take." Carter spokesmen charged the G.O.P. with distortion, pointing out that he made clear in the interview that he has not worked out his tax program.

Carter last week spoke to his largest crowd of the entire campaign season: 70,000 farmers attending a "farm fest" on a muddy field in Minnesota's rural Lake Crystal. Introduced rousingly by Senator Hubert Humphrey, who accused the Ford Administration of "violating the law" in imposing embargoes on foreign grain sales, Carter assailed Secretary of Agriculture Earl Butz and used a subtle "we" to identify with his attentive audience. "I never met a farmer who wanted a handout," Peanut Processor Carter said. "I never met a farmer who wanted the Government to guarantee him a profit. But we do want to be treated fairly."

Bigotry Backlash. Carter seemed to be benefiting from a growing backlash against the National Conference of Catholic Bishops' efforts to make abortion a major campaign issue. The bishops' stress on the subject and their apparent preference for Ford's position had met with serious objection within the church. The National Federation of Priests' Councils urged "a more balanced image" on the issues, and the National Coalition of American Nuns announced it intended to endorse Carter.

Last week the bishops called another press conference to "clarify" matters. "I make no apology for the position we've taken on abortion," said Archbishop Joseph Bernardin, president of the conference. But Bernardin also noted that "we are not supporting religious-bloc voting, nor are we instructing people for whom to vote. We reject any interpretation of the meetings with the candidates as indicating a preference for either candidate or party."

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