lA lA

Destiny Again Calls to a Kennedy Kennedy a to Calls Again Destiny

. . . his image is eyed eyed is image his . . .

4 4

. . open headquarters headquarters open . .

KEVIN KEVIN

KEN O'DONNELL O'DONNELL KEN

Sunday, Sunday,

H. WHITE WHITE H.

Feb. 16, 1969 1969 16, Feb.

Nod Toward '68. '68. Toward Nod

THE WASHINGTON P031 P031 WASHINGTON THE

to do was show up at a ward politi- ward a at up show was do to

cian's dinner and the papers would would papers the and dinner cian's

year, are so close as to be uncanny. uncanny. be to as close so are year,

headline: RFK Plea for Unity Seen as as Seen Unity for Plea RFK headline: Same Sense of Destiny Destiny of Sense Same

In New York all Bobby Kennedy had had Kennedy Bobby all York New In

tions. tions.

those of his late brother, Robert, in in Robert, brother, late his of those tiny prevailing the local political air. air. political local the prevailing tiny

Kennedy in today and and today Massachusetts in Kennedy

there is the same sense of higher des- higher of sense same the is there

New York prior to the 1968 election election 1968 the to prior York New

tween the situation of Sen. Edward M. M. Edward Sen. of situation the tween

a furnace of conflicting local ambi- local conflicting of furnace a ousy, love, fear and respect. respect. and fear love, ousy, traditional reluctance to be drawn into into drawn be to reluctance traditional

forge a base of strength and unity in in unity and strength of base a forge top elective offices, yet deterred by a a by deterred yet offices, elective top Party whose leaders regard him with with him regard leaders whose Party

been almost entirely excluded from from excluded entirely almost been

been there before. before. there been

tined for the White House, still merg- still House, White the for tined an ambivalence compounded of jeal- of compounded ambivalence an his home state where Democrats have have Democrats where state home his

Uncanny Parallel Parallel Uncanny

state is Massachusetts, but the visitor visitor the but Massachusetts, is state

over a slain brother, trying to preside preside to trying brother, slain a over

over a divided and fratricidal state state fratricidal and divided a over ing from the depths of melancholy melancholy of depths the from ing

the political landscape to avoid the the avoid to landscape political the from 'New York has to blink twice at at twice blink to has York 'New from

Late Brother Seen Seen Brother Late

Betiveen Senator, Senator, Betiveen

eerie feeling that he had somehow somehow had he that feeling eerie

Similarly, every move Teddy Ken- Ken- Teddy move every Similarly,

Perhaps more than anything else, else, anything than more Perhaps

One can go on. The parallels be- parallels The on. go can One

Here is a Kennedy. seemingly des- seemingly Kennedy. a is Here

Here, too, is a Kennedy anxious to to anxious Kennedy a is too, Here,

BOSTON—The year is 1969, the the 1969, is year BOSTON—The

Washkitten Pima Stiff Writer Writer Stiff Pima Washkitten

By Leroy F. Aarons Aarons F. Leroy By

plative mood on the Hill. Hill. the on mood plative

Senator Kennedy in a contem- a in Kennedy Senator

. . desires anointment anointment desires . .

ENDICOTT PEABODY PEABODY ENDICOTT

FRANCIS X. BELLOTTI BELLOTTI X. FRANCIS . . . perennial candidate candidate perennial . . . nedy makes is watched for clues as to presidential strategy. The Senator is scheduled to appear at a dedication nedy endorsement now might be more Monday of Boston's new City Hall; destructive than helpful, throwing the wondering local politicians will watch Party into a bitter wrangle. "If Teddy for any signs of a subtle endorsement gets into this and picks somebody, he's of Mayor , who wants to got three enemies and one friend," run for Governor in 1970, and, who says one well-informed politician, perhaps, has the progressive image hurrah days of Mayor Curley. "He'll stay out of the thing until pri- Teddy is anxious to cultivate as he This, actually, is the problem. The mary time. He's not about to get boxed looks to 1972. Democratic Party here has been in on one candidate." The 1970 race for Governor is al- tagged with the aroma of old-one, po- Here, again, the parallel with New ready the hot political issue here, tentially corrupt, Irish ward heelers, a York is fascinating. Before the 1966 nearly two years before the election reputation that is not enhanced by its gubernatorial election, Robert Ken- and 18 months before the state conven- tendency to bloody itself in primaries nedy was urged to come out in favor of tions. On the Republican side there is and come up with lackluster statewide a progressive candidate. He hesitated no debate: The nominee will be Fran- candidates. for so long, that by convention time he cis W. Sargent, the personable but Except for Peabody and Bellotti in could do nothing to prevent the nomi- lightweight Lieutenant Governor who nation of Frank O'Connor, an organiza- moved Into the Chief Executive spot tion Democrat who lost to Nelson A. when John A. Volpe went to President Rockefeller. Nixon's cabinet. • An added factor is that Ted Ken- Four Already Known nedy will be up for re-election to the Senate in 1970, This raises a lot of still Among the Democrats, however, unanswered questions. Does Kennedy there are already four officially or un- —who won by a million votes in 1964 officially declared candidates, which —intend to seek an even greater man- seems to assure another of the blood- date in Massachusetts as a prelude to baths Bay State Democrats seem in- 1972? As head of the ticket, will he clined to engage in every election. want an appealing candidate for Gov- In addition to White, the Lindsay- ernor or does he intend to rely on his esque Mayor whose agents are already own coattails bring in the Demo- trying to line up delegate support, cratic slate (which didn't work in 1964, there are: when Volpe won the Governorship)? • Kenneth P. O'Donnell, political op- Just how active does Teddy intend to erative for John F. and Robert F. Ken- be in the 1970 race? nedy, who ran a primary against Ed- His associates say Kennedy has de- ward McCormack for the 1986 guber- cided none of these questions. Some of natorial nomination and lost, the decision, 'however, may be taken O'Donnell has opened a headquarters. out of his hands by the Republicans. State Senate President Maurice • May Run Nobody The state Republican Party, which has lost its top leadership to the Nixon Donahue, a man who wields great Administration (Volpe and Elliot Rich- power in Party circle, but is not well ardson, former Attorney General who liked bY the public. He was Kennedy's went to the State Department) is seri- campaign manager In the 1982 Senate ously considering running nobody race. against Kennedy, "How do you run against the third • Former Lt. Gov. Francis X. Bel- coming of Christ?" asks State GOP lotti, a perennial candidate who lost to Chairman Josiah S. Spaulding piquant- Volpe in 1964 after defeating then-Gov. ly. But Spaulding favors putting up an Endicott Peabody in the Democratic attractive young candidate against primary. Teddy, if for no other reason then to Each of these men would dearly love force him into the open on issues that to be anointed by Kennedy (O'Donnell might come up two years later. admits candidly: "I would give my There is some agreement that Presi- right arm for it.") But the Senator 1964, the Democrats haven't elected a' Governor or Lieutenant Governor in dent Nixon would be unlikely to allow shows no inclination, at least at pres- Kennedy to go unopposed in his home ent, to get into the mix. ten years, or an Attorney General in six years. And, in 1966, Edward state just two years before the na- Beaten by Brooke Brooke, a Negro Republican, defeated tional election. Peabody for the U.S. Senate. This, de- Says Ken O'Donnell, veteran of Oddly enough, despite the long Ken- many political wars: "If I were Francis nedy tradition here, Teddy's influence spite an enormous Democratic regis- tration edge, which helped give Hubert W. Sargent running for Governor in within the Party structure is limited. 1970 I'd say let him alone; get him the He can name the state chairman, and Humphrey more than 60 per cent of Massachusetts' vote in 1968. hell out of the state. If I were Richard has done so, but in the absence of a Nixori, I'd be saying the hell with that; Democrat in the Governor's chair, or Faced with this history, some local Party leaders have urged Kennedy to I don't want Teddy running all around as Lieutenant Governor or Attorney the country in 1970 taking potshots at General, the real power lies in the risk taking an early position on a can- me." State Legislature. There, Senators and didate, preferably an attractive vote- getter like White. Thus, it seems inevitable that in Representatives share the dividends Massachusetts political percolater, the patronage and a system of ward poli- Not Getting Boxed In tics that hasn't changed since the last essential ingredient is Teddy Kennedy, Those opposed to the idea say a Ken- whether anybody likes the recipe or not,