Victory for Jimmy

In running for Congress in California, Jimmy Roosevelt had to overcome almost as many problems as a soap-opera heroine. To begin with, he had to make a political comeback; in 1950 he had been beaten by more than 1,000,000 votes by Earl Warren for governor. This time he 1) faced nine candidates, 2) was repudiated by Democratic National Chairman Steve Mitchell, and 3) was, of course, dogged everywhere by his famed signed letter in which he confessed to adultery with nine women.

Instead of risking large, outdoor audiences -- and hecklers -- Jimmy wisely decided to put on a parlor campaign in Los Angeles' 26th District,-- and apply the Roosevelt personality indoors at close range. He asked good Democrats to open their homes to him and they did, five or six times daily. At cozy meetings, attended largely by neighborhood housewives, Jimmy drank coffee and served up charm along with his political pitch. He knew what the assembled ladies would be thinking about. So a lesser candidate would carefully bring up the subject, and suggest that everyone would like to hear Jimmy's side of the story. Then Jimmy would explain gently that his wife had blackmailed him into signing an untrue confession. If pressed, he would add: "To me, public life is a profession. If you were going to seek medical advice, you wouldn't ask the doctor about his private life. You would simply pick the best doctor." Last week his Kaffeeklatsch-and-candor campaign paid off with a 6-to-1 victory in the Democratic primary. Jimmy is almost sure to win in November, unless, as often happens in soap operas, the problems pile up again.

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