The Astrowives in Ohio

Astronaut John Glenn launched himself into Ohio politics in January when he decided to run against peppery old (74) Senator Stephen Young for the Democratic senatorial nomination. But four days before he was to retire from the Marine Corps, Glenn, 42, slipped, fell, and cracked his head against the bathtub in a Columbus apartment. He began to hear ringing in his ears. He had dizzy spells and nausea whenever he moved his head. Postponing his retirement, Glenn checked into a San Antonio military hospital.

He is still there--and flat on his back most of the time. He is unable to walk at all unless he tilts his head forward at a 45DEG angle, holds it perfectly still and then shuffles along with his feet spread far apart. His doctor, Earl W. Brannon, says that the bathtub blow hit just slightly above Glenn's left ear, sending shock waves crashing into his inner ear, possibly causing swelling and some hemorrhaging. "He botched up his equilibrium center to a pretty good degree," explains Brannon.

"A Christian Man." Glenn is not permanently disabled, but his condition demands rest--and plenty of it. That is no way to run a senatorial primary campaign, so Glenn has assigned his pretty brunette wife Annie, 43, to act as his standin. Since Annie dislikes making public speeches, and stutters besides, she in turn has enlisted the help of her good friend Rene Carpenter, wife of Astronaut Scott Carpenter.

Last week the astrowives were orbiting Ohio with a curiously nonpolitical pitch. They reason that they cannot speak for Glenn's politics, and that he himself is prohibited from declaring his ideas because he is still a Marine. The best the girls can do is to promote a sort of "John Glenn, American Boy" image and explain why, as they put it, "a good Christian man like John Glenn would do a grubby thing like entering politics." At a rally in Marysville, Rene Carpenter ticked off a long list of Glenn's virtues, cried, "Why must politics be something dirty? Why can't you believe that there is such a man-almost too good to be true? I know that maybe that's his flaw. We've heard the 'Jack Armstrong' remarks, but you have to know this man to appreciate him."

"Hide-and-Seelc." Among those who would like very much to know more about Glenn is doughty Steve Young. Cruising into Akron last week in a sheriff's car covered with campaign signs, Liberal Democrat Young blustered in exasperation: "How do you campaign against a national hero who is at this moment flat on his back in a military hospital? I'm in a hide-and-seek campaign and I know it. I'm not even sure what I'm campaigning against."

Young's bewilderment was understandable. He would much prefer to forgo the dubious honor of campaigning against two attractive women. But there is only a slim chance that Young will be able to take on the candidate himself. Glenn probably will not get out of the hospital by April 1. The earliest that he can resign from the Marines after that is May 1. That would give him only a few days in which to campaign before the May 5 election.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.