Midday; Hubert Humphrey at Lake Waverly

It is of course all a game whether or not the veteran politician candidate of past years will officially run or not run and when it's played by a host of participants the candidate surely the political speculators the media and the other announced candidates of all elements the candidate is naturally the most vital for the game is called due to a lack of interest and the candidate must meet certain qualifications to be afforded such a luxury of attention perhaps too much attention. They candidate in this case a veteran politician and former vice president must be reported to be highly regarded by both party operatives and the public at large. According to public opinion polls going back to late 1075 this candidate sorry non candidate qualifies. Next the candidate must be well known to the American public a household word. Again Hubert Humphrey qualifies due if nothing else to shear a long jetty in Washington. The candidate must be basically skilled in reminding everyone over and over and over and over again that he is not a candidate. He must emphasize this repeatedly in his speeches in Los Angeles one night Chicago

the next New York the next Minneapolis the next and so every city hears it first hand. The other candidates this candidate opposes must not be too dynamic or powerful too immuno belay the political machinery in one's own favor. And if one such candidate does exist he or she must make a statement about for example ethnic purity in one's neighborhood thus giving fuel to others who collectively question the candidates unknown innermost thoughts. And of course one must make himself readily available to wire service photographers who want a shot of the non-candidate spreading grass seed about ones like front property. Thank goodness it wasn't raining that day. It was raining last Friday April 23rd when I visited Senator Humphrey at Waverly. It's less than an hour's drive west of the Twin Cities convenient for Twin City area media. A young aide answered the door and took me directly to a Mr Coffee machine in the kitchen in the large living room off the kitchen Mrs. Humphry was relaxing informally chatting small talk with a reporter from Time magazine who had dropped by. Humphrey was not home.

He had taken off an hour and a half earlier by himself and drove to the Waverly grade school to talk with the students. It would have been a perfect original media event but no one knew about it except Tom Frey and his aide. When the visible non-candidate came bursting in several minutes later it sounded like a rich little impression praise for the youngster's and a request for lunch over a 10 minute lunch in the kitchen while conferring with another aide from the Joint Economic Committee. Humphrey got two phone calls one from a corporate interest. They wanted to fly him to New York to get his views on certain issues. Another came from Palm Springs a big union wanted similar information. When Humphrey returned to the living room the guy from time walked toward the library waiting for a later conversation. Mrs Humphrey also left and an aide reminded the senator that a crew from ABC television and a guy from Newsweek were due to arrive in half an hour and Humphrey enjoying what he admits is the highest popularity rating of his 22 years in the U.S. Senate was not to be rushed. The love the phone calls over lunch the

youngsters and the attention. They also know that the current situation he happily finds himself in could lead to absolutely nothing or a term in the White House. And my problem was how to ask the same question again but differently. Lost the laughing early in the conversation. We're right here on the north bank of Lake Waverly. If you look out there you can see that lawn that I was working on the other day and we are looking out through our big. What do you call those windows. Picture frame windows picture window picture windows and you'll see a birch tree there you see some spruce and you see a will a pretty and you see some ash and Elm out here and they're not the biggest ones and we're sitting here on our Davenport here in our living room looking out across some tulips here and they are in the front of our house out there in the in the garden section. So it's a pleasant day. It's a little chilly outside and rainy but was it is we really need that rain I'm on to say that I had hoped that we could be outdoors doing this interview today that was our plan.

But I mean we need the rain so badly and you can come and go here all by yourself and you do don't you oh yes we have we have no guards. You know in the sense of me having somebody around Secret Service that we have a young couple that lives here in a trailer house that we have right up by the gate. And Mr. Mrs. Bresnahan the teacher and Mrs. Bryson hand stays here they have a little boy Jason who is a lovely little child and they are sort of the caretakers with us here. We all sort of work together out here everybody pitches in. Are you going to have this freedom this time next year. Now see there's I want to there are some of the reasons one of the reasons that I've had some hesitancy in the minute that you become a candidate for president. You were immediately surrounded with Secret Service. Imagine getting elected. There would be tremendous change in one's lifestyle. Not that it would be distasteful to me but this place which is so private now which is so very precious to us so much love and hard work has gone into this house. Out here in this

yard it would become a public institution all at once you know Waverly white. Yes and I suppose that has its romance to it but we kind of like it this way we can look out here and where you're sitting right now. This was practically the whole house just this little square here. Some years ago now and we added on to it we had the little dynamic we had on the kitchen. We had it on the family room. We had it on the library back here we changed our bedrooms back years so that we had a nice dressing room and bedroom. So this house has been rebuilt half a dozen times or added on to over the years and it's very comfortable. Interestingly enough this is the one year for a long time they were not doing anymore buildings All right. And yet we are happier at this time in this house than any time in our lives because it's it's sort of the fulfillment of what we wanted it to be. You know it's not very fancy. It's comfortable. It's no great palace it's just a fine

living in a home in which there is love and much living. That's what we have here. So I had to decide my political life on the basis of what I wanted out of life and what I wanted now out of life more than anything else is a sense of peace be with my loved ones my family to be with my friends and yet to serve the public and serving the public in the Senate is a great challenge to me. And might I say I really feel that I'm doing the best job in the Senate that I've ever done over this is my 22nd year in the United States Senate. I'm dealing with issues that are. Issues that are made for me. The economic issues the social issues the foreign policy issues. Those also prepare one. They prepare you in case you are called on to lead the country. And so that you may again understand if I am called on I will be ready and if I am called on by the delegates of the convention not

by a lot of brokers you always read about the brokers the delegates. These are these are delegates selected at caucuses and selected in primaries for the purpose of selecting and nominating a president and by the way the delegates that are selected in many of these primaries are not pledged to their candidate most of them for more than one ballot. Most of them are pledged only to the candidate under whose banner they ran for one ballot so that if there isn't a nomination on the first of the second ballot of the primary candidates I think it's up them for grabs as they say. And it would be in that situation in which my possibilities of being a nominee would come to the fore FETs when the scrambling starts and get in the middle enter this time in the in the convention. Yes. It's entirely probable and I'm sure you've thought about it many times that the presidential candidates themselves may decide to put something together. You know they may say well why not. I mean we did the fighting out here. Let's just put it together now that hasn't always happened in

1052 Adley Stevenson didn't enter any primaries and he was the nominee of our party in 1056 he entered a few but not nearly as many as Mr. Keefe offer. And yet he was the nominee of our party. In 1964 Lyndon Johnson was the nominee of our party and I think at the best he was a symbolic candidate in a couple of primaries he didn't have to enter any primaries it was no primary contest. So primaries have played a role in the party politics Franklin Roosevelt didn't enter any primaries Harry Truman didn't enter any primaries when he became president in 1948 primaries are recent recent recent vintage. But again as I've said if you are to be a declared candidate and you really go on out and looking for delegates I think then you ought to run in the primaries. If you're not a declared candidate you're foolish to run in the primaries because all you're doing is spending your energy and your money. Now look at all these candidates are all broke every one of them despite the fact that the government has been painted a

large 50 percent of the costs. The government's been paying 50 percent and there is no one that isn't broke right now except the government owes them some money. Well the government owes them they're broke and the government owes and some money but even after they get the money it's only enough to pay back what they borrowed and still be in debt. This is what happened to Birch bye. This is what happened at Freddie heris this is what happened to every one of them and the dropped out they saw the futility of it. We have overdone the primaries 30 some primaries and they with the election reform laws that we have the inability to raise large sums of money. This is impossible because the primaries depend on two things organization and media and media television media and television areas. Is god awful expensive. It's just back breaking and Except if you are a non candidate like yourself you get more media than you could possibly afford right. Oh I my gracious you know I was at a newspaper today without seeing your picture or your name Isn't that marvelous. You know when I was running I couldn't get that

at all as a matter of fact I remember when I told you those four primaries in a row in 1972 I won Pennsylvania hands down Ohio Indiana and West Virginia. Now what primaries have you heard about Lacy Pennsylvania Ohio and Indiana. They're all big primaries I won those for a role against a handful against a half a dozen candidates against Wallace musky Jackson McGovern. I beat them all in those primaries. Never did I get on the front page of one of the big magazines. You wanted too much. Well it came through that you wanted to. Maybe so. And now no matter how much you want to don't want to people have the impression that you're there and perhaps qualified but you're not grabbing it. Is there an attraction to somebody who doesn't want something too bad that maybe but I'd like to think that it's because people believe that I'm sincere and that there comes a time in a man's life when he doesn't need I don't need to be on it. I don't need to have the presidential

nomination for my own satisfaction. Do you really mean that if I didn't mean that. My friend I would be on out really trying to get this nomination. But I came to that conclusion well after 72. I really came to that conclusion. And to me it's it's a matter of peace of mind. I have tried to tell people that I'm very content with my work in the Senate that I find myself doing a job there that I believe is worthy of myself in the sense that I feel comfortable with it. I have also said that if at the end of these primaries there was no real front runner after all the candidates have had their run at it. And if at the convention as a result of the fact there was no really commanding person in command in command in a leadership role. That I would be available that the delegates if they were to select me and it would have to be the delegates that I would be honored to accept that nomination. So my answer to you is this

that I have no plans after the Pennsylvania primary. A lot of a lot of people that seem to be saying in Minnesota and around the country columnists and political observers that this does not sound like the Hubert Humphrey of past years to be so publicly casual that you perhaps want the White House and are doing things maybe in a subtle nature of far more than is you're admitting yourself that you really do want quite a bit do not realize I have I have read all of this and I find it intriguing and interesting but seldom do the people that write it talk to me about what what I'm saying and what I'm doing. If they talk to me about apparently don't believe me. Surely I would have had for a long time a great desire to be president of the United States. I prepared myself for it I thought I was ready to assume that responsibility in 1968 but the voters felt not. In 1972 I thought that I was prepared to do it and my party in the

convention felt not. So I decided this time that I wouldn't seek it. You know that there was I was not going to enter that political scramble. I made up my mind that I had asked enough and often enough when the time had come to quit asking quit begging quit scrambling quit pushing quit shoving and just simply do what I am prepared to do and do well that is serving the United States Senate. I'm a party leader and that I know I speak out on the issues and I find no lack of platform to do that. I hope that I can make my contribution to my country. In the way that I'm now doing it. People say well this isn't the Humphrey that we once knew that's true. Different people do change. There's no reason that you have to be a candidate for president every time there's an election up particularly if you're content with the or with your work that you're undertaking or fulfilling the present time. I'm not that much more relaxed

about it. I just believe that the people of the country today want their public servants on the job. I can't be a good senator and a presidential primary candidate. It's impossible. I cannot do the job that I want to do in the United States Senate and run all around this country and every one of these 30 primaries or in a large section of it. We've tried that before. I tried it and I was very disappointed in my own performance. And I was I was distraught. I tried to be both a good candidate and a good senator and I wasn't good either. As a result. This time I have taken good care of my work in the Senate. I am a very responsible position. Let's put the primaries aside then because you have for all these months you are a non candidate for months you've been at the top or near the top of a lot of the major polls the biggest polls the smallest polls. A recent CBS News New York Times poll puts President Ford at the top. And with

Hubert Humphrey in the race you would be the only candidate to give the president a run for his money. You have you mentioned over a thousand speaking requests a week or invitations of some guy stations. This is something that you did not experience in the 60s Duren and Vietnam and perhaps never experienced this unprecedented popularity. How do you explain or the popularity that has come. To you from mentions in sitcoms on television to boxing matches to Pennsylvania non-committed delegates do not run. It's awfully hard for me to direct my attention to that question with any degree of objectivity because I'm the subject of it. It is a fact that my political popularity is at an all time high. I don't think there's any doubt about insofar as I'm personally concerned I think it is a fact that this is very comforting to me. It's maybe the finest reward of my public life and it does very candidly

pose some serious problems for me in reference to the current presidential primaries in the presidential election. I don't know why it has come. I have some views on it. I've been at public life for some years I've tried to do a good job. And these recent years I think I suffered greatly because of the war in Vietnam I was a part of the Johnson administration. I went through that turbulent period of American politics. The war issue the Vietnam issue was still with us in 72. I never considered myself to be a hawk. I never considered myself to be a hard liner as such but what I considered myself to be as compared to what some others is another question today much of that problem is behind us. I find my my support on college campuses to be a very fresh and an active and fulsome that wherever I go so that all I can say is that I think people have come to the conclusion that I'm serious about my business.

I tried to be a decent fellow. I don't hold grudges. I haven't gone around most of my life trying to get even. Many people have said you know the Dumfries not tough enough. There some people think that politics is made up of bullies in toughies. I didn't I never like bullies I don't care whether they're in politics or out of politics and I don't much like toffees. What I like are people that are fair and decent and I think if you're fair and try to be fair if you try to have a sense of understanding and tolerance and forgiveness if you work hard if you give of yourself and don't ask too much you may very well have some friends. And in this instance I think that's my reward. I find this with the youngsters I find with the oldsters I find it with my old friends and labor but I also find it surprisingly it with a tremendous number of people in the professional and business world. Do you think it's unrelated to the presidential campaigns. No I do not. I think that there's a relationship I believe that people look back to 68 and I think some of them

feel that maybe maybe I should have had a little better opportunity maybe that I should have had a chance to win. We came awfully close to it. But I really believe that that I've come into the fullness of my political life these last few years. I've had vast experience and maybe it's time for my to be exceedingly frank with you particularly since it's public radio Public Radio's entitled to candor and frankness. I have traveled this world and I have traveled all over the United States. I'm a well know one man and I know many many people. I have had a tremendous lot of experience in public life. I have negotiated with people in the highest levels of governments in other parts of the world. I know practically every prominent political leader in the world I've had to wrestle with some of the toughest political diplomatic and economic problems I've had 30 years of public life from America great city that started back in

Minneapolis Minnesota. Up through the vice presidency and being candidate for president in my party. If you and I were to take a trip this afternoon and go to Europe I could take you to the to the governments of every country in Europe and introduce you to the president or the Chancellor of the prime minister and in a duce them to you by first name. And I mean this is you know this is a fact of life. Now when you travel around America just this afternoon I had a call from New York prominent corporate people want me to come up and spend an evening with them to talk they want to hear my views on certain matters of importance to them. Within the same hour I had a call from a very big union that wanted me to come to Palm Springs. Now one of them represents the establishment of corporate wealth and the other one represents the establishment of organized labor. In the meantime I sandwiched in a little school over here at Waverly Minnesota with three hundred eighty five children from the first grade through the sixth and spent an hour and 15 minutes with them because I love them. I feel that my my politics today is come full

bloom that I am a grown up mature man that knows my business. Would you say you were the best qualified across the board to run for president. Well I'm the best qualified I've ever been qualified I mustn't pass judgment on all the old you just you've just gone through a long string of truths about how you have you know these leaders you've been around and I'm a legislator or of some ability and competence and experience at least and to many people you're a candidate. So why is right it why don't you run as a candidate but stay out of the primaries considering what you guess I have to make other choices other things affect one's decision by the life of my family my personal desires and quite frankly maybe the time has come for people to. Make their own choices without having it shoved at them. Here I know they know who I am. I'm here I'm not saying to somebody that I wouldn't want to be president of this country. I surely am not saying to anyone that they received the nomination for the

presidency and my party would be anything else but is singular on earth. I know what would be and also be a great responsibility. But I'm here and if the Democrats want me I'm here. If they don't need me there are others that can fill the job and I'll try to be a good soldier and help them. Can you as a politician as a veteran legislator statesman watch and play it by ear through June like you have said and maybe let Carter get enough delegates where he can go in with 11 or 12 hundred without even fighting a little bit to keep that down knowing that if you do fight a little bit you have a far better chance of a brokered convention if Mr. Carter is Mr. Carter or Mr. Jackson or any of them come in that convention with eleven hundred eleven hundred fifty 12 hundred delegates they deserve the nomination and they'll most likely get it. I am not going to try to spend my time stopping

somebody. Much of this stop business and all comes out because there are people in other states that. That would like to have me run and so therefore they say well we've got to stop Mr. So-and-So if we don't why Humphrey won't be able to run. I guess the best way to just kind of finalize all of this is that. If I wanted to be a candidate in the sense of an active pursuing candidate I would have a National Committee working on my behalf. I would not be spending isn't the days that I am now at Waverley Minnesota. I thought buck short was doing that. No Bob is not. Bob is not a chairman of anything. Bob is a friend. He is interested in my future of my political future. He's been talked about as organizing some kind of a draft Humphry committee I've suggested to him that I didn't think he ought to do that. I doubt that it will be done. I hope that it won't be done. I have told Bob and others that the most that they ought to do is just keep their eye

on what's going on politically. It's a good idea many of them will go to the convention Robert Berglund Congressman Berglund of Minnesota is very close to me and he's very interested in my political future and he thinks I ought to be a candidate for president. Now when Bob talks to me about it I said Well Bob you just keep your eyes on what's going on in case we go to that convention and I'll surely be there. And if things at the convention develop we'll need to have a lot of information. So the more information that you can gather the better.