Nation: Patton’s Defection

The martial epic Patton so stirs Richard Nixon that he has seen the film at least twice. But the star, George C. Scott, may not be entirely the President’s favorite actor any more. Scott, who voted for Nixon in 1968, has defected. He has joined the Democratic Party’s Committee on Congressional Leadership for the Future, promising the group’s head, Sargent Shriver, that he will be available as a spsaker and fund raiser for Democratic candidates in this fall’s congressional campaigns. The word of Scott’s apostasy went around in Washington, and almost immediately, as if to welcome him, Lyndon Johnson sent a request from the Pedernales asking to see a print of Patton. Nixon will have to console himself with John Wayne’s loyalty.