Politics Across the Country: New York

A mid-summer look at the prospects for “new” or “radical” politics in the New York-New Jersey region produces mixed reactions. At one end of the political spectrum is a not very attractive candidate for governor of New York, Arthur Goldberg, with little prospect of winning in November. A bland and issueless candidate, he was almost nudged out in the primaries by Howard Samuels, a newcomer with a decidedly demagogic image. At the other end, Kenneth Gibson, a black man, has skillfully won an election for mayor of Newark, thanks to a fair amount of white support. He has taken over his thankless job in a serious and considered way. Or to continue the contrast: Paul O’Dwyer, a candidate in the Democratic primaries and surely the most attractive among the lot (but without much of that luck of the Irish), runs a close second in a lethargic campaign dominated by TV extravagance, while a number of important New York unions are supporting Rockefeller for a fourth term round as governor when his writ as “progressive” has clearly run out. Not to mention a number of conservative white professional unions of firemen, policemen, etc., endorsing Bill Buckley’s brother for the Senate. *

In a word, some change, some progress, but a long way to go before one can speak of a transformation of the Democratic party into an instrument representing a new coalition of urban masses, minorities, and new middle class. Perhaps most encouraging of a...