Fun on the Sawdust Trail

By Hugh Sidey

The Presidency/Hugh Sidey

Not long ago, Charls E. Walker, former Deputy Secretary of the Treasury and current nabob of conservative political influence, was elegantly dining near the White House when suddenly he leaned back, exhaled a cloud of smoke from his Montecruz cigar and exclaimed: "Damn, politics is fun again!"

That may seem a novel thought to pop up this campaign season in the midst of so much hand wringing over domestic economics and somber warnings about nuclear war. Yet there is a truth there.

Walker's point was not that life will be any easier, nor will there be so much laughter, but that the presidential contest is developing into a choice between distinctly different men and policies. "The issues will be ventilated," he claims. "It will be a good debate." He was looking beyond the current fuss over the TV debates, of course, and talking about the sort of struggle that is fun in the world of power. While a lot of Americans gaze with a certain despondency on the candidates, they continue to watch, mesmerized by the political drama.

Robert Strauss, the Carter-Mondale chairman, subscribes to the belief that politics is a kind of sport, however serious the consequences. "It is an exciting spectacle," he says. "There is a real difference between these men. I know which one I think is best, but I'm not God. The American people will be God in November, and I'm sure they will come down on the right side." To Strauss, that is the sort of drama that makes life meaningful. He moves instinctively, putting in long hours but finding that the excitement leaves him less tired than in other jobs he has held.

For the candidates and their groupies, the movement, the hoopla, the crowds, the heat and even the food have a singular appeal. Jimmy Carter's excursions have been like a physical tonic. Once he got on the road he looked better, talked better and seemed to have more energy. Since childhood, he has been an evangel of one kind or another, and now he is taking his sermons down the longest sawdust trail man has ever devised. He came back from one trip so fired up that he had to phone Strauss late at night and twit him about being on vacation "while I've been out working."

Talking about life around the White House, Rosalynn recalled the night she was doing political work while the President wrote a speech. Then they jogged on the White House South Lawn, jumped in the pool and swam together. The whole thing she found "just wonderful." The two of them are on one of the greatest adventures left on this planet.

Ronald Reagan is not given to philosophic rumination, but there is something of the same aura about his crusade. Old movies around the fireplace may be fun, but nothing like this. He is an actor who has found the biggest stage in the world, who rises every day and puts on the grease paint and the smile and waits for the roar of the crowd. Some medical authorities suspect that the continuing applause for Reagan is one reason his hair has not turned gray.

There may be protests about the nomadic existence of the candidates. But there is plainly something heady about swooping down through mountains or over prairies and hearing the blare of bands in tribute to the caravan. Anybody who has heard the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sing The Battle Hymn of the Republic for a rally has felt the stir. Reagan even seems to enjoy the campaign food. Unlike other candidates who only nibble, Reagan plows right in.

John Anderson, a preacher of sorts, confessed after 20 years in the House of Representatives that he had grown discouraged and bored. Now he has made America think a bit more and found an audience he never dreamed he would have. Despite being short of everything from money to time, he loves it.

At best the presidential campaign is a seminar on America and all its diverse parts and themes, and anyone interested in history, the land and the struggles within U.S. society has got to be captivated by the performance. And if a fellow happens to win, the prize is still worthwhile. "There ain't but one good job in this Government," Strauss told Carter one night. "And you got it."

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