Slouch
“YOU ALWAYS COMPLAIN ABOUT BEING TREATED LIKE A
PUNCH CARD THIS TIME OF THE YEAR. FRANKLY, I THINK YOU
BRING A LOT OF IT ON YOURSELF.”
Opinion
Honest, we’re frail
Like baseball managers in the springtime, we at The
Battalion — as students and journalists — are full of hope
for the new school year.
But we want to remind you of some things about our
modern media world, to keep us all honest.
—We journalists are not instant historians. What you
read is a partial, often inaccurate sampling of what we
heard about or thought we heard about during the last few
days.
—We are not sociologists or psychologists. We seldom
really understand why people do what we report they do —
which is why we stick to describing only what we can see or
are told.
—We are not movers and shakers of the world. The
people who do make the important decisions may read
what we write, but we cannot tell them what to do.
—The promises some of us are quick to make — that a
free press will save the world — cannot be fulfilled.
Since those promises have not been met by the press,
you distrust us, feel betrayed. And we journalists —
idealists at heart — disappoint ourselves.
But the disappointments are not reason to quit.
We keep trying to report faithfully what we know and
see.
And sometimes we succeed — sometimes things do
change because of what we write.
So we’re reminding you — simply — to keep in mind our
human faults and shortcomings, even as we report yours.
Only from that base can we be honest — and that’s what
makes great newspapers that truly serve people.
Change a-comin’
The editorial page in your hands has changed, as has much of the
staff that prepared today’s Battalion.
The rest of the newspaper’s format will also be changing soon. Our
aim is to create a more readable, attractive “package” for the news. If it
isn’t pretty, it isn’t read — no matter how well written it is or how
important.
Developing those changes will take some time, and they may be
startling, but they should ease the flow of news from the world to you.
The Battalion
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V
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MEMBER
Texas Press Association
Southwest Journalism Congress
Editor Liz Newlin
Managing Editor Andy Williams
Assistant Managing EditorDillard
Stone
News Editors . .Karen Cornelison and
Michelle Burrowes
Sports Editor Sean Petty
City Editor Roy Bragg
Campus Editor Keith Taylor
Focus Editors Beth Calhoun and
Doug Graham
Staff Writers Meril Edwards,
Diane Blake, Louie Arthur,
Richard Oliver, Mark Patterson,
Carolyn Blosser
Photo Editor . . . Lee Roy Leschper Jr.
Photographer Lynn Blanco
Cartoonist Doug Graham
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 Battalion is a non-profit, self-
supporting enterprise operated by students
as a university and community newspaper.
Editorial policy is determined by the editor.
Viewpoint
The Battalion
Texas A&M University
Tuesday • September 4,191
Broder
Presidential pickers
should be politicians
DEER
victim in
AChev
ship.
“The e
encourag:
Meanw
investigat
By DAVID S. BRODER
For those of us who have convinced
for most of this decade that the presiden
tial selection system has taken a funda
mentally wrong turn, there are a few hear
tening signs that the long-awaited rethink
ing of the “reforms” of the Seventies is
beginning.
In the space of six days earlier this
month, two thoughtful and influential
Democrats weighted in with articles mak
ing an essential and little-understood
point: The frustration many Americans
have expressed with the choices they have
been given in recent presidential elections
and the disappointment they feel with the
performance of recent presidents stem di
rectly from the changes that have occurred
in the presidential nominating system.
Newton N. Minow, a Chicago lawyer
and former chairman of the Federal
Communications Commission, made the
case in The Wall Street Journal. David
Lebedoff, a Minneapolis attorney and
longtime leader of the Minnesota Demo
cratic Farmer-Labor Party, wrote a paral
lel brief for The Washington Post.
While differing somewhat in their
suggested remedies, both men put their
finger directly on the heart of the prob
lem. The changes in the nominating rules
made in the Seventies effectively elimi
nated any real screening of the presiden
tial hopefuls by the people who are best
able to judge their talents and
shortcomings, namely, the politicians and
officeholders who have worked with them
over a period of years.
“The pros,” as they were called, domi
nated the makeup of the nominating con
ventions until this past decade. Then, in a
spirit of reform and with the belief that
broader participation might make the con
ventions “more representative,” the sys
tem was changed to encourage a lot more
amateurs and average citizens to join in
the small society
by Brickman
y&D'LL
FINP IT
IN THE
cStPU leMET
^g^Tl^N -
the selection process.
The main device was to switch delegates
in relatively closed caucuses or conven
tions, where past party service and public
leadership credentials count, to primaries,
where everone’s vote is equal to everyone
else’s.
There are two things wrong with this
switch. First of all, the primaries them
selves are very unrepresentative pro
cesses. As Minow pointed out. President
Carter’s great “victory” in the New Hamp
shire primary was achieved with the sup
port of 7 percent of the people who voted
in the 1976 general election in that state.
The second problem is that even that
unrepresentative fragment of the citizens
has little chance to learn or judge the real
qualities, of the candidates they are con
sidering. Their exposure consists of a
single meeting, a handshake, a glimpse on
the television tube.
As Lebedoff pointed out, candidates
who seek the nomination in such a system
quickly learn to display those qualities that
are most easily communicated in that brief
exposure each possible voter gets.
As a proxy for competence, the candi
dates show off their detailed knowledge of
even picayune issues. As a proxy for emo
tional stability, they show themselves de
liberately low-key. As a proxy for leader
ship, which always risks being divisive,
they learn to read and echo the polls.
And, as Lebedoff argues, the very qual
ities that serve them so well in the
primaries — fascination with detail, a lack
of passion, a preoccupation with polls —
are the qualities for which they are
criticized when, as presidents, the people
finally have a chance to judge their real
abilities.
No dan
on the bo
The point of the Minow and Lelxj Co. refin
articles — and of this one — is not toll Saturday
more abuse on Jimmy Carter, who I barges,
rently is being blamed for moreevilsj Of the
any one person could have caused] tilled.Th
point is that as long as we have this 1©] body fbui
selection process, this is the kindofp missing^
dents we are going to get. psworki
It is too late to change the selection) Wapler.
tern for 1980. But the discussion rep The tan
sented by the Minow and Lebedoffari; explosion
cannot begin too soon, if the changes dipping
going to be made by 1984. the ship <
Because most of the nominating u Coast (
were rewritten and most of the pns
laws passed by Democrats, it is appuj
ate that the debate begin there. lO
But there are also hopeful signsoi if 1
Republican side. The pre-primary pi
dential preference poll being conduj
by Florida Republicans this fall q
sents the ultimate absurdity of the i Ijl 1
system. A lottery is being run amongtl^ ^
who turn out at county meetings ti
who gets to vote in the November pra
ence poll. Candidate organizations
spending thousands of dollars to turn)
few hundred bodies at the caucuses,
hopes of winning the lottery.
No one could possibly pretend tli -
anything but a parody of a sensible pi Ihesched
dential selection system. And mostot
candidates and campaign managers,
The A&N
urdMond
schedule
their credit, despise it. T wish wets inizaflons
kill the guy who thought of it,” ok
them told me, sounding as if he rneanl
Don’t kill the guy. Change thesysi “t Uglier
If not for 1980, then surely for 1984.
(c)The Washington
Post Company
Here’s the ultimate Good Ag reply
By
strict wil
tra-currici
rilities.
The new
to Assi
nance Dor
eded to o
ilities and
There are
e new sys
;-apprc
rnon-profi
eA&M G
Dear Editor:
To
Mr.
Miss
Mrs.
Ms.
Thing
., you are full of.
ALL GOOD AGS (sound
orange tea
feathers
doo-doo
of trumpets) know that
.is a tradition here at A&M.
(blank should be filled in with appropriate issue in
question, e.g. “eating mashed taters with a spoon”)
I have went here for three years now and am a GOOD AG (trumpets again). If you
don’t like it here (big drum roll) HIGHWAY 6 RUNS BOTH WAYS. We don’t need
YOU TWO-PERCENTERS HERE NOHOW. A GOOD AG and proud of it.
Class of.
’80
’81
’82
’83
’84
(name (check your ID)),
.(match the numbers on your ring)
hi
via
Editor’s note: This “letter” was submitted by Les Palmer, a Communications
Specialist with the Texas Agricultural Extension Service.
Letters
Students asked to help
with A&M government
An open letter to the Student Body:
As your Student Body President, I must
say that I am honored to serve in this
capacity. I am very proud of our university
and those ideals on which it is based.
Maintaining those ideals of a university for
the students is our responsibility, not sim
ply mine or Student Government’s. I
know that the quality of students at Texas
A&M is surpassed by no other university.
However, A&M as we have known it will
be challenged in the coming years. The
traditions, attitudes, and values we hold so
dear will be questioned. Are we as stu
dents ready for that time? Will we stand
up for what we believe, to uphold the
ideals of Texas A&M?
I know that we can, through open lines
of communication with the administration
and surrounding community, state and na
tion, show that we are ready and able to
undertake the reponsibility. I hope you
will join me in this by becoming more in
volved with, and expressing your opinions
and suggestions to your representatives in
the Student Senate. Student Government
will work for you; but remember, it is your
Student Government, and the respom
ity for its success rests on us, as student 1
would encourage you to become morel
ive by serving on one of several cow®
tees within Student Government
your involvement, we will be one
closer to maintaining the Texas
we’ve known and loved—Ronnie Ka|
Student Body Presidf
9 .1
t ! ok ‘
At
Analysis
Baker faces hard fight
to stay GOP floor leader
By IRA R. ALLEN
United Press International
WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans
are grumbling among themselves over
Sen. Howard Baker’s intention to remain
GOP floor leader while running for presi
dent, but he is not likely to be ousted in
the current session.
Baker himself may find it difficult to
keep doing an effective job in the Senate
— which requires compromises — while
wooing support from conservative Repub
licans he needs to get the 1980 GOP pres
idential nomination.
The Senate leadership job, however,
gives him a lot of free publicity, so the
double burden may well be worth the ef
fort.
Baker was elected Republican leader in
1977 by just one vote and has been effec
tive in making sure the minority GOP
members have an influence on legislation
and procedural matters in the Senate.
While there is a growing body of con
servatives who would like to see a more
hard-line idealogue in the leadership post.
the consensus is that Baker's job is safe —
at least until January when the second ses
sion of the 96th Congress convenes.
He is expected to formally announce his
candidacy for the GOP nomination this
fall.
A spokesman for Sen. Robert Dole,
R-Kan., another GOP presidential con
tender, said that — contrary to reports —
Dole is not leading a dump-Baker move
within the caucus of 41 Senate Republi
cans. He said there is no “overt effort” to
remove Baker now but, “There may be an
appropriate time” later.
The spokesman also noted there are
“coalitions within the Senate interested in
having Baker step aside,” a reference to
the Ronald Reagan contingent, which in
cludes Reagan’s campaign chairman, Sen.
Paul Laxalt, R-Nev., and his 1976 would-
be running mate. Sen. Richard Schweiker,
R-Pa.
That group feels it is unfair for Baker to
use the leadership position as a daily
forum for his views.
But there also are pitfalls in being Se
nate GOP leader. Baker alienated con
servatives last year by helping President
Carter win passage of the Panama Canal
treaties, and made no new friends in spon
soring a Federal Election Commission
nominee opposed by half the Senate Re
publicans. Thus, hanging on to the leader
ship post — with more controversial ques
tions sure to arise — could be damaging to
his ambitions.
Baker has said that after the autumn Se
nate debate on the strategic arms limita
tion treaty, he will “step aside” — not
down — and let assistant GOP leader Ted
Stevens, R-Alaska, run the minority inter
ests on a day-to-day basis.
That, however, does not sit well with
some members. Despite Stevens’ popular
ity, he was not elected leader, and would
not win if he ran for the post, according to
one line of thinking.
If Baker should be challenged in the Se
nate, his spokesman said, he can count on
at least 30 votes — enough to ward off a
successful challenge.
“I know of no effort to do anything,” the
spokesman said. “There’s no effort to
screw with it now, but I don’t know what
requ
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will happen at the first of the year.
“All the precedent is in favor of
minority leader or the majority le**
keeping that post (while running for p® 1
dent),” the Baker aide said.
hop
tidd
all.
In feet, there is not much prececM Sew camp a jj
Only one floor leader has ever run
president — Lyndon Johnson in
Hall childr
files’’ i n
Elected b
and despite his legen
Johnson in 19tv b
dary effectivenff “l s an( ' h
the Senate, he did not succeed in his f
idential campaigning that year.
Joan Clay
fio “alHigh v
Correction
safeh
par eri
Stage Center will be showing
one-act play Thursday, Friday and Si
day nights, not just one. They are, “
in the Wind, ” “17 Seconds” and “Ctf
Crazy Papa.” Show starts at 8p
“Crazy, Crazy Papa” will not run later 1 ' ,r ained i
the season as stated.
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