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INBRIEF
CAMPAIGN/
1980
by
Stanley R. Rader
J
ohn B. Anderson , lndepen–
dent candidate for the presi–
dency , has been vilified by
some participants on the po–
lítica! scene as a party turncoat on
an enormous ego trip. Surely this
is a biased oversimplification at
bes
t.
The big question is: How did
John Anderson suddenly emerge
as a potentially viable third-party
candidate and come to be re–
garded as a serious threat by both
major political parties? The an–
swer líes more in the
conditions
now present in this country than
in the man.
Rarely have we been in such
política! turmoil. We are begin–
ning to receive the full fallout
from the post-Vietnam and post–
Watergate syndromes. Four out
of five citizens maintain that lhis
country is in
"deep and serious
troub/e."
Distrust of authority is.
now an integral part of American
life. People feel that they are
being deluded by politicians. And
as
Fortune
magazine put it,
"Never in modern times have
voters been so
weak/y committed
to one or the other party, so
unconvinced that there are satis–
factory 'Democratic' or 'Republi–
can' answers to the nation's per–
plexing problems ..." (Decem–
ber 31 , 1979) .
Add to all this the fact that
the presidency itself is imperiled
as never before. Even before the
Constitution was ratified by the
states, James Madison expressed
bis grave concern tbat one
branch of the U.S. government
might
undu/y
encroach on the
duties clearly belonging to an–
other. It goes without saying
that all three branches have been
guilty of such encroachment in
our 200-year bistory. And up to
the last few years, the office of
' 14
the presidency has certainly
more
than held its own in this
perennial struggle.
Now at a juncture in our his–
tory when we desperately need
strong and capable executive
leadership, tbe powers of the
highest office itself have been
seriously eroded. Congress has
imposed many constraints and
restrictions on such vitally impor–
tant matters as presidential im–
poundments of large funds, the
privacy of executive agreements,
and instant presidential authority
to employ the armed forces in
trouble spots around the world.
And, of course, whether rightly
or wrongly, the harrassment of
~~
Distrust of authority has
become an integral part
of American life. Many
fear that they are being
deluded by politicians.
' '
the CIA has severely curtailed
the President 's ability to obtain
reliable intelligence.
Unfortunately, by its very na–
ture, the legislative branch
cannot
effectively fill this presidential
power vacuum. As one leading
castern newspaper wryly stated:
"There cannot be 435 secretaries
of state on Capital Hill."
Another factor that has gravely
weakened the President's power
is the steady erosion of practica!
party discipline. The day has
ended when a President could
simply pick up a phone and
confi–
dently
ask the majority leader if
he would muster so many votes
for this or that measure. The
chances are the answer would be
no-and not always because lead–
ers of congress are unwilling. The
truth is that the interna! charac–
ter and machinery of Congress
itself has broken down to a large
extent. Strong central leadership
on powerful congressional com–
mittees is virtually a thing of the
past.
One cannot fairly lay al! the
blame for ineffective executive
leadership on the personal fail–
ures and inabilities of the Presi–
dent. Certain key
institutional
resources are no longer at the
President's disposal in the way
they once were.
Even worse is the loss of high
regard for that office. This is a
natural result of the post-Water–
gate syndrome. And J'm afraid
the media has not been of much
help even in so-called minor mat–
ters.
If
the President happens to
slip and fall , the television cam–
eras are there ready to !ay it all
before the American public in
full color. (President Roosevelt
was afflicted by infantile paralysis
and could not walk. Yet 120
million people were hardly aware
of his handicap because of the
skill of the media and their con–
cero for protecting that great
office.)
All of these factors and others
1 don't have the space to mention,
in one way or another helped
create the climate for the sudden
emergence of John Anderson 's
candidacy. People are desperate
for leadership in this country, and
party loyalty is
not
the factor it
once was.
Early in bis congressional ca–
reer John Anderson made what
he now considers to be a mis take.
He sponsored a constitutional
amendment which, while it
pro–
hibited
the establishment of a
state religion, it would have
caused the United States govern–
ment to "devoutly" recognize
"the authority and law of Jesus
Christ."
This is the long-run answer to
all the problems afflicting the
body pol itic. The difference is
that Jesus Christ will impose that
law and authority Himself!
o
The
PLAIN TRUTH