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"A comprehensive, collaborative elections resource."
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Just Call Him Senator
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| Parent(s) |
Race
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| Contributor | Craverguy |
| Last Edited | Craverguy Oct 01, 2008 02:51am |
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| Category | News |
| Media | Weekly News Magazine - TIME Magazine |
| News Date | Friday, November 13, 1964 06:00:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | Forget about all those other labels-the old song and dance man, the late-late-late-show good guy, Moppet Shirley Temple's straight man. From now on, just call George Murphy "Senator." He has more than earned the right and the job.
Murphy's victory last week over short-term Incumbent Democrat Pierre Salinger was a classic study in how to handle the California electorate. Democrats there outnumber Republicans 3 to 2. To rate even the thinnest chance of winning, Murphy not only had to hold onto all factions of the G.O.P., from rabid-right kooks to solid moderates, he also had to pick up some 20% of Democratic and Independent votes.
Blue Eyes v. Blue Jowls. His campaign was managed by Robert Finch, Dick Nixon's old stage director. And the winning script was simple enough: be bland, be affable, offend no one by taking controversial stands, and never let anyone forget that Salinger was a carpetbagging resident of Virginia when he entered the campaign. To please the right wing, Murphy endorsed Goldwater; to please the moderates, he constantly referred to his differences with Barry on the civil rights bill and foreign aid cuts. Murphy's blue-eyed good looks contrasted jarringly with Pierre's blue-jowled appearance, an important point in image-conscious California. After it was all over, even Democratic Governor Pat Brown was impressed by the Republican campaign, called it "one of the best I have ever seen." |
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