ELECTIONS Political repercllssio,is from th~ astottnding Republican comeback sJ ; e r r i . r ~ still reverberating across the land. Not the least of wllich - a head-start toda . y on the Republican presidential sweepstakes of Nineteen Sixty-Eigl1t. Governor N• Romney's big win in Michigan signal for a flood of "Romne_y for President" bumper stickers. Romney himself -- refusing comment on his alleged President'ial aspirations - but acting for all tlle world like a bona-fide candidate. The Governor disclosing that he had co,atacted ••••rr several other big winners in the Republican party - in a plea for "national Republican unity~'. At the same time, taking a swipe at Richard Nixon - a potential Presidential challenger. Romney declaring that Nixon is not - as he is often described -- "a national spokesman" Jo-,· the Republican party. ELECTIONS - 2 Mor e of tlz e same political maneu ve ring - on the W e st Coas~ Jl!l'1tere Go ve rnor- e lect Ronald Reagan of California - a landslide u inner - conceded that under cerlain cira , mstanc e s - he just might be a "favorite son" caJtdidate for President in ' Nineteen Sixty Eight. "Especially" - said he "if tlzere is a di v isiveness in the party." Meanwhile, Nixon calling the RepublicaJt success -- the biggest mid-term repudiation suffered by any President in a generatton. A result that sho11ld be read - said he - as a warning to HaJtoi aJtd PekiJtg. A warniJtg - he went on - of "a growiJtg desire by AmericaJts to iJtcrease our military, diplomatic and ecoJtomic pressure on the Communists - so as to end the war in Viet Nam -- SOOJt, " Toward that same eJtd - Nixon further urgiJtg tire Pres i dent to call a meeting of the leaders of both parties - as soon as his health permits: to review the E L.E...C.IlQff_S - 3 condr,ct - of Vietnamese policy. The President appears to be "confused" said Ire - on matters of,,_. war and peace. RANCH FOLLOW ELECTIONS -------------------------- By contrast - tile President strangely sile,al today - back al the L B J Ranch. Delegating electio,r comment to · a presidential aide - who said that the administration still holds ''a pretty good majority" in Congress. Be that as it may - the Republica,a gai,a of ,aearly .. ~ fifty house seats,.( seen by most political observers as a factor the Preside,at ca,s,aot ig,,ore. As o,ae pu11dit put it - it meafts "that President Joh,eso,s might as well forget .. about malting further big adv , a,eces - i,s the great society!" VIET NAM From i-·iet Nam - news today of~ . still another ~ major American victory; in that clean sweep of a Y~-t~ one-time Communist,~t · ronghm-near the Cambodian border . A force of U S infantrymen - scouring the cor,ntryside for Communist stragglers ,oh . en they were suddenly hit · hard - by a uar Viet Cong sneak attack. Then a11other - from the opposite direction. And finally, a third "human wave" assault - inte,st o ' n over-run11ing the America11 posit ion. No such luck. Tlie Americans figh . tittg back toitll everything they had - includiNg close support ' from planes and artillery. Until the enemy broke - and fled,,. terror. After three hours of fighting - the battlefield littered with the bodies of nearly three hundred Viet Cong. • • • · A later search of the area - disclosing an additional ninety-fi,·e bodies -- stacked in caves,- American losses - r\ called - light. ✓ !19_!1_!!. Overseas - at Bonn - a complete surrender today - by West German Chancellor Ludwig Erhard. Denounced by the opposition - r · enounced by his own party - Erhard bowing to the inevitable . Giving up his fight - to remain in office; agreeing lo stay on as caretaker head of the German government - - only u,rtil the selection of his sa,ccessor. The choice - expected to come from among four of Erhattd's chief lieutertants - i• the Christia,r Democratic Party. No11e expected to breall sharply - from Erhard's past policies. But all of thet,i k,rowrt to favor greater independertce -- from tire United States -- a la Charles DeGaulle. DUBLIN Another changing of the guard today - in Dubli11, Ireland . Finance Minister Jack Lynch elected ovet>whelmingl -- as new leader of the ruling Finanna Fail Party n,ad so the nation's new Pt>emier - ••~• succeeding retit>i11g Sean Le Mass. Lynch - a former football star - who holds six all- /rela,ad medals for sports. Only forty-nine -- he's co,asidered a moderate i,a Irish politics. Bis ... cceptar,ce ••II speech brief and concise. "I am co,asclo11• I am tire secoftd successor to Eamor, De Valera" - said he - "and ,ro greater laonor can befall a,., ma,a. " CAPE KENNEDY At Cape Kennedy - another ttt enty-fo11r hot1r delay .,..._,.. - i,z lite scheduled launch of Gemini-Twelve . The problem today -- as it was yesterday -- in the back-11p guida,,ce system of the s pacecTaft 's Ti tan booster rocket., .,,-orci,ag postponement of the start of the planned four-day mission - at least until Friday. Tire original t11Jenty-Jour-hour delay - caused by a sltort circuit in the rocket's autopilot. , . A ' device for ;, g•ilding the rocket - if its mai,a system should Jail. A ,se"' autopilot installed over,,igltt - only to tur" up defective this mor,aing in final tests. So for astro,,auts Jim Lovell aJ1d Buzz Aldri" -- aJ1otlter day of lcoJ>ef,d 1tJaiting for a final "go" . ALASKA ELECT/ ON ------------------ I uonder uhal significance there is in the following election item? As •••xtx you f~ know, it is ra · ther t1nusual for a President of the United States to vis it A las k a . Se l do m has i t hap pe n ed. A n d, as we all lr,row, President Johnson stopf,ed off there just a fe• days ago o,e his way back from Viet Nam, The Ma,rila Conference, A11stralia and so on. Re spoke in Anchorage, a,ad the report was that his visit · there might have a most importaflt afld decisive effect o,a the electio,a in our Foriy-Ninth State, where the results aJ'e ofte,a extremely close. O,a the basis of the reta,rns iJt from Alaska so far the President's eleve,atlt io•r visit had little o,. ,eo effect. In that State wlaicla laas often bee,a referred Republicans ~ ,1.., to as Democratic territory. tlreAtr«tJa••~ a"'- to be making a clean sweep, wi,e,ai,tg both the Se,aate a,id the Rouse. ,- ,.s:I:. :r,. the Senate, electi,ag fourteen out of the twe,at · y senators. ALASKA_ELECTION - 2 As for the race for Governo · r, the returns have bec:n see-sawing. At first the word was that the )//~ · incumbent., Egan, "as l e ading. But 4o,twJQ. late this I\ afternoon, the word was that the RepublicanJWally Hickel, is now far enough in the lead to win . But, the "b11sh" to be ~ preci11c ts are still _,t•••~ heard fro , m, . . , the abs e,atee vote. We hear from Alaska that whichever way it tur11s out for Gover,sor, a recou,at is- almost sure to be dema,aded. For those who have · been watching the ,XI¥ political career of a you11g ma,s whose i,sitials are L T, the latest is that he was elected to tlae State Se,aate ~ by an overwhelmi,ag vote, lea,~tlte ticltet. ~ r\~~~2:J~ ~-i+"' _______ ,_) w~. LONDON -------- In London - lhey,.,.e cal . ling it - the end of an •• era. The era - of the Beatles. Nothing official - as yet . And "the boys" - as they are kno,;;; ~ t i l l committed to make another moviS ~ together. Brilons"-convinced, however - that the Beatles are breaking tlP, Be Each apparently intent on pur~uing his oton individual career - ~~J!:n~• ~ ~ ~ p a u l McCartney perhaps best summing up the - ' 1 . ) ~ , ,sew attitude of the Beatles - ~;:;;.oi;J"~ "I ca-,,-;ee myself as a silver-haired songwriter - but 11ot as a silver-haired old Beatie."