The Vice Presidency: Spiro of ’76?

Reports circulating that Mr. Agnew plans to advance his well-known “Southern Strategy” by dumping Mr. Nixon from the 1972 ticket in favor of Strom Thurmond were hotly denied by Agnew aides.

Columnist Arthur Hoppe’s apocryphal news item as Spiro Agnew returned from his Asian and Pacific trip recently was not meant to be taken seriously. Neither was President Nixon’s welcoming remark, in which he jocularly warned the Veep to “watch out how good you’re getting.” There is, nonetheless, a certain edge to the jesting these days. Spiro Agnew is emerging as a politician and a power in his own right as no Vice President—including Richard Nixon—ever did.

Agnew’s attacks last fall on the news media, the Eastern liberal establishment and war protesters touched a responsive chord in America. Agnew is “really a booming stock right now,” says an aide. Tickets for upcoming Agnew appearances in Atlanta are selling out fast, and he is booked into Florida and Mississippi. A Florida dealer has sold 30,000 “God Bless Spiro Agnew” posters. In California one enterprising printer is marketing 50,000 “I Like Spiro” bumper stickers. Others cropping up on America’s bumpers include “Sock It to ‘Em, Spiro,” “Spiro Of ’76” and “Agnew Tells It Like It Is!” In Pennsylvania, Spirophiles have started SAFARI, “Spiro Agnew Fans and Rooters Inc.” Republicans around the nation are clamoring for Agnew appearances.

A recent Gallup poll on men most admired by Americans showed Agnew an unprecedented No. 3, after Nixon and Billy Graham. He is still the butt of jokes at chic Washington cocktail parties, but over at the White House, the sly little Agnew jokes so popular among staffers six months ago are no longer heard. The Veep’s picture, rarely in evidence at first, now shares the walls of the basement corridor with Nixon’s.

Despite the appearance in California of “Agnew ’72” buttons, there is so far no sign that Nixon is jealous of his No. 2’s popularity. Says one White House aide: “Agnew’s standing vindicates the old man’s judgment at Miami. You remember how he was criticized.”

Time to Goof. There is little doubt that Agnew has come a long way since the 1968 campaign, when his chief contribution was a tendency to alienate voters. He is now seen as a man whose political instincts were underrated. Even those who regard his peccadillos as outrageous are no longer amused; Agnew’s popularity has put new muscle behind his words. His attacks have made television commentators notably more cautious in their postmortems. His gaffes on the Asian and Pacific trip—such as nearly sitting on diminutive Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos—were largely overlooked by a chastened press.

Republicans now eagerly look forward to the Veep’s carrying their party’s banner in the fall election campaigns. But Democrats are hoping that the original, bumbling Agnew will somehow shine through. “His popularity won’t last,” says one Democratic National Committee official, adding with perhaps more wishfulness than conviction: “He’ll have plenty of time to goof up between now and November.”