Magazine Publisher Says Goldwater Will Announce His Candidacy Soon

Sen. Barry Goldwater (R-Arts.) will announce his Presidential candidacy "very shortly," William A. Rusher, publisher of National Review, said last night.

Observers have predicted that Goldwater might prefer not to run in 1964 because of President Johnson's strong Southern backing. Rusher did not reveal the source of his information, but mentioned that he had spoken with Goldwater about three weeks ago.

Making his annual appearance before the Harvard Young Republican Club--which he founded in 1947 while at the Law School--Rusher said that "the hard-core South is once again up for grabs" although Goldwater's political strength had remained "at a remarkably and encouragingly high post-Kennedy level." He apologized for discussing politics so soon after President Kennedy's assassination, but said he was merely "speaking as an observer, touching on some things we should all be thinking about."

Shot in Foot

Rusher said that one of the reasons for Sen. Goldwater's strength was that so one can capitalize on the "loss of momentum in his camp." He claimed that Richard Nixon had "shot himself in the foot" by moving from his California base of political support, and called New York Gov. Nelson Rocks-feller "a victim of his well-defined position to the left in the Republican party."

Rusher said that he could not think of "a same argument" in favor of Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. '24, and added, "as far as I can tell, Lodge's candidacy started in yesterday's New York Times." The Times reported Sunday that former President Eisenhower had written Lodge, asking him to consider running for the Presidency.

"It was once said by Sir James Jeans, that the universe is a thought in the mind of God. Sometimes it seems to me that the Republican Presidential race is a thought is the mind of the New York Times. It all seems to go on there without much reference to exterior events," Rusher observed. He said he thought Eisenhower might "go along" with Goldwater if the senator won in the primaries.

Turning to Democratic politics, Rusher predicted that President Johnson would "swing over rather sharply to the left" in an attempt to "comfort and mollify" the liberals in his party. He said that Johnson appeared to be strong because he had not yet alienated specific groups by committing himself politically.

"If this man can hold tightly on to the South and to the Northern Negro and to the Catholic vote, he deserves to be President," he added.