Wrong Climate

Midwestern Democrats, about 1,000 of them, seemed to be having a rollicking good time at their party conference. Gathered at the Sheraton Hotel in French Lick, Ind., near the Lost River, they cheered waiters who balanced trays on their heads, made ribald jokes about the laxative effects of French Lick water. Only one thing kept nagging at them--worry about this fall's elections.

For public purposes, the Democrats kept up a bold show of confidence. They nodded when White House Aide Larry O'Brien, a guest speaker, stressed the electoral significance of the Midwest. "What happens here," cried O'Brien, "will be the determining factor in November. The Midwest holds the key." And they acclaimed O'Brien's peroration: "I say let the blood flow. We have the cause and our cause is right." But in their private, more candid moments, they were beset by doubts. "Realistically," said one, "we Democrats are faced with the basic problem that the votes aren't there. We made our score in 1958, when we had a lot of things going for us, like Ezra Taft Benson. The same climate isn't here today."

The Midwestern Democrats concluded:

> Their Senate future appears brightest. They do not expect to lose any seats, and may even pick up a couple. Their highest hopes are in South Dakota, where G.O.P. Incumbent Joseph Bottum is challenged by former Food-for-Peace Director George McGovern, and in Wisconsin, where aging Republican Alexander Wiley is up against retiring Governor Gaylord Nelson.

> In the House, the Democrats simply hope to keep their losses at a minimum. Many concede that they are likely to drop up to six--two in Illinois and one each in Kansas, Michigan, Missouri and Wisconsin.

> In the statehouses, the Midwestern Democrats can see nothing but trouble. They are not certain that they can take a single Governor's chair away from a Republican. They all but concede that the G.O.P.'s Fred Seaton will beat Incumbent Democrat Frank Morrison in Nebraska. They admit that Ohio Democrat Mike Di Salle is an underdog against Republican State Auditor James Rhodes. In Wisconsin they have little hope that Democratic Attorney General John Reynolds will defeat any of three Republicans fighting to succeed Nelson. And they view Michigan's Democratic Governor John Swainson as no better than even money against Republican George Romney.

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