Abstract

Editorials

The article discusses some recent issues related to election in the United States. The script for this year's fantastic succession of political happenings called for the dramatic announcement of a bombing hail on the eve of the election, with the new phase of negotiations scheduled to begin on the morrow thereof. But however calculated, the bombing halt is good news. It is, as U.S. Senator J. McCarthy has said, not the trump card but a good opener. That it should have come much sooner is scarcely relevant at the moment. Each Presidential campaign starts the discussion anew; how good are the polls? The argument continues, actively and with mounting excitement, until the votes are counted. Then there is usually a brief autopsical discussion centering on how well or how badly the pollsters forecast the outcome, and the subject is dismissed until the next election. But this time it may be different, for the reason that startling discrepancies have emerged between the Gallup and Harris surveys. A Gallup study purported to show that U.S. President Richard M. Nixon could defeat either Senator McCarthy or Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey.