The More the Better

It certainly seemed to be front-page news, and that is just the way the New York Times handled it: EISENHOWER URGES LODGE TO PURSUE G.O.P. NOMI NATION. The story, under the byline of Washington Correspondent Felix Belair Jr., intimated that Ike had all but selected Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., now the U.S. Ambassador to Saigon, as his personal favorite for next year's Republican presidential nomination. Wrote Bel-air of Ike's sentiments: "He regards Mr. Lodge as one of the very few Republicans who could compete on equal terms with President Johnson on the para mount issue of war and peace."

In fact, nobody was more surprised by the Times story than Dwight Eisenhower himself. He has, of course, high regard for Lodge, who served as his 1952 preconvention campaign manager, as his Administration's Ambassador to the U.N., and was the Republican vice-presidential nominee in 1960. Just be fore President Kennedy's funeral, when Lodge was in Washington for consultations about South Viet Nam, he called Ike for "social reasons," casually mentioned that a "number of people" had asked him about his availability for next year. Ike repeated his long-held idea that as far as Republican presidential aspirants are concerned, the more the better.

Said Ike last week: "I would be delighted to see Lodge out there talking, just as I would with Jerry Ford, George Romney, Bill Scranton and all the rest. My position is just as clear as it ever was. I am hopeful that every Republican leader with any kind of audience will help discuss the basic issues, will help develop a consensus, so that the people will have a better chance in finding a voice, in picking a candidate."

As for the Belair story, Ike recalled: "A man came to see me some time ago and seemed keen on Cabot Lodge. He suggested that the more people in this thing, the better off we'd be. That is my own position, and I told him, 'I'm in favor of all, but I have no favorites, and I'm against none.' "

In Saigon, Lodge also knocked down the Times story, said he had "received no such message" from Ike. He continued: "If I did receive such a message, I would consider it and take a good hard look at it. I have no intention of running. I feel I can do the most good by continuing my work here."

Although the Times story was at best misleading, it did have one positive result: it called greater attention to Lodge as the qualified possibility that he certainly is. Almost immediately, Lodge admirers started talking about entering him in next March's New Hampshire primary. This, in turn, had its effect on other G.O.P. hopefuls. The followers of Nelson Rockefeller, figuring that Lodge would take New Hampshire votes away from Rocky and not from Barry Goldwater, were annoyed. And Goldwater backers, figuring exactly the same way, were pleased.

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