Mr. Nixon's Nightmare
It is no doubt difficult for the American electorate to keep a due sense of proportion in the midst of a Presidential election campaign, but there is no good reason why outside observers should be whipped into a state of excitement over the case of Senator Nixon, the Republican Vice-Presidential candidate. He has been accused of accepting for expenses the sum of $18,235 from a committee of Californian business- men. He has defended himself in' a nation-wide broadcast by giving the financial story of his public life and offering to resign his candidature—a dramatic gesture. But it would be a pity if the whole incident were played out in terms of gestures. The righteous Republicans who urged General Eisenhower to dismiss Mr. Nixon from the Vice-Presidential candidature on the very suspicion that he might be tainted by corrupt practices were really talking nonsense. • The best feature of the whole campaign so far is that, despite the best efforts of the organisers of party demonstrations, the American electors really have been presented with a real decision between two strong candidates. It would be far better to keep the campaign on a realistic level. Neither General Eisenhower nor Governor Stevenson has very much to gain by striking attitudes of affronted righteousness. Corruption in American politics is best treated as a_ practical problem to be solved by practical action. Without a full enquiry, and without overwhelming proof that Senator Nixon had acted dishonestly, the Republican Party would do itself more harm than good, in the eyes of any fair-minded voter, by dropping its Vice- Presidential candidate in mid-stream.
