i Page 2 THE BATTALION
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 1976
Battalion needs writers,
columnists and editors
The Battalion is looking for a spe
cial set of people to add to its staff,
and is canvassing the student body
for the traits necessary for the job.
The task is to fill a variety of po
sitions in the organization. Book,
movie and art reviewers are being
sought, as well as feature writers,
feature and editorial columnists,
cartoonists, illustrators, editorial as
sistants and general assignment re
porters.
Review applicants are required to
be able to communicate effectively
their views, based on a knowledge
of the position covered. No jour
nalism experience is necessary.
Feature writers and reporters will
participate in campus and city be
ats, investigative reporting and spe
cial interest reporting.
Applicants are encouraged to call
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Positions will be both paid and
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Party conventions this year
reflected voice of the people
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NOT SINCE LCVE STORY.
The true story of Jill Kinmont.
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‘THE OTHER SIDE OF
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"THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN" Starnn* MARILYN HASSETT i
and BEAU BRIDGES as Dick Burk •
Richard's Window sun| by OLIVIS KEWTOK JOHN
[lyrics by KOBMAN CIMBEI ■ Music by CHARUS FOI
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PARENTAL GUIDANCE SUCGESTEb <3B.
[ STARTS FRIDAY AT 7:15 &
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WASHINGTON — One more
glance backward at the extraordi
nary political passage through which
we have come — and then it’s on to
the fall campaign.
The retrospective thought con
cerns the changing function and
character of the national party con
ventions. Those conventions
showed renewed vitality this year
— but like the old gray mare, they
ain’t what they used to be.
They used to be places where
presidential nominations were de
cided by the bargaining strategies of
major candidates, favorite sons and
party bosses. But that function
began to wither with the spread of
presidential primaries and the in
troduction of television into the
convention hall.
Not since 1952 has either major
party convention gone beyond a
single ballot and only once in 12
times since 1952 has a convention
done anything but nominate the
winner of the key primaries.
That case — Hubert Humphrey’s
nomination in 1968 — was the ex
ception that proves the rule, a de
viation explainable by the interven
tion of the incumbent President on
Humphrey’s behalf and the death of
a leading opponent, Robert Ken
nedy, just before the convention.
The rule of modern conventions
is that they serve as ratifying de
vices for tbe decision already ren
dered in the primaries. That was
certainly the case again this year.
Jimmy Carter was the big winner in
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the primaries and he had no effec
tive opposition in the convention.
Jerry Ford won a narrow majority of
the primaries and had the same kind
of convention victory.
(On the latter point, a guess this
reporter made on the eve of the first
primary in New Hampshire turned
out to be truer than I had any way of
knowing. I hazarded the prediction
that New Hampshire would be the
definitive test for the Republican
Nomination, and that its winner
would be the convention winner.
That was correct — but I certainly
never imagined that Mr. Ford’s
1300-vote squeaker in New Hamp
shire would indicate how narrow his
final margin at the convention
would be.)
If tbe convention has become no
thing more than a ratifying device
for the coronation of the primary
winner, then why all the bother?
That question was being asked
rather insistently by both politicians
and political scientists — especially
since rules changes adopted by both
parties this year embedded the
primary results even more firmly
into the structure of the convention
roll call.
Well, it turns out that the con
vention still has an important sub
sidiary function or two to perform.
One function is the legitimization
of the presidential choice. Someone
can secure the nomination by plur
ality victories in the primaries — as
both Carter and Mr. Ford did this
year — without being accepted by
the majority of adherents of his own
party. It is the acquiescence of
others in their party — demon
strated in convention hall — that
tells those voters that the nominees
are legitimately the party standard-
bearers.
Barry Goldwater in 1964, Hubert
Humphrey in 1968 and George
McGovern in 1972 failed to win that
acquiescence and went down to de
feat. The closing night unity
Exhibit features
antique glass art
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ahman-
son Gallery at the Los Angeles
County Museum of Art is the site of a
current exhibition of American de
corative arts featuring blown and
pressed glass objects from the 18th
and 19th centuries.
The exhibition, which will con
tinue through Oct. 17, also contains
American furniture of the period.
pageants in New York and Kansas
City gave Carter and Mr. Ford that
legitimacy, and both of them have
benefited in the polls.
The second — and emerging —
function of the convention is to
shape the vice-presidential choice,
by providing the environment in
which the successful presidential
nominee makes his decision.
We know, by the testimony of the
two principals, that Jimmy Carter
did not have Walter Mondale at the
top of his list when he reached New
York and that Jerry Ford had not
settled on Bob Dole as his choice
before Kansas City.
The evidence is strong — if not
airtight — that both men were re
sponding to the signals from the
convention floor when they made
their decision.
In the case of Carter, the fact that
the convention was dominated (as
the surveys by the Washington Post
and others demonstrated) by people
more liberal in their political views
than Carter himself dictated a
choice of a liberal running mate.
During the hours of decision. Car
ter was bombarded with negative
signals on the politically bland John
Glenn imporiuned by important
delegate blocs to pick Mondale, the
most liberal person on his list.
Mr. Ford faced the opposite situ
ation — a convention more conserv
ative than himself — and he re
sponded in similar fashion by giving
the delegates what they wanted.
There’s an important lesson here
for the political community. In a
primary-dominated presidential
selection system, the reward is ex
clusively to the winner. Finishing
second — as Ronald Reagan and
Morris Udall can testify — is finish
ing way out of the money.
But there is an important consola
tion prize for the backers of the
also-rans. They can influence — and
perhaps dictate, through the con
vention — the choice of the running
mate. That is another reason the
convention is likely to endure.
Cbe Battalion
Opinions expressed in The Battalion are those of the editor or
of the writer of the article and are not necessarily those of the
university administration or the Board of Regents. The Battal
ion is a non-profit, self supporting enterprise operated by stu
dents as a university and community newspaper. Editorial
policy is determined by the editor.
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tion.
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Rights of reproduction of all matter herein are reserved.
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Editor Jerry Needb
Managing Editor Richard Chamberk
Campus Editor Lisajid
City Editor Jamie Aitfa
Sports Editor Paul Amet
Photography Director Kevin Veiw
News Editor Lloyd Liet
Reporters . Paul McGrath, Lee Roy Leschper, LeAnnKob
Members of the Student Publications Board are: Bob C. flogm
Chairman, Dr. Gary Halter, Dr. John P. Hanna, Dr. Clinton A. Phillift
Roger Miller, Tom Dawsey, Jerri 'Ward, Joe Arredondo.
Director of Student Publications: Gael L. Cooper
Assistant to the Director: W. Scott Sherman
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