The Vice-Presidency: How Did It Go, Spiro?

When Richard Nixon puts that question to Spiro Agnew this week, the Vice President will be able to give a creditable reply. Returning from his 39,000-mile tour of eleven Asian and Pacific countries, Agnew can report that his first venture into geopolitics went without a major mishap. It was, as billed, a useful educational tour for the man who could some day become President.

One of his final lessons in foreign relations came in Canberra, after a brief rest stop in Bali. In Australia, Agnew encountered a growing national awareness, accompanied by an unwillingness to continue regarding the U.S. as an ideal ally. There is still a strong feeling of friendship, but the recent massacre at My Lai has reinforced local antiwar activists who want withdrawal of the 8,000 Aussie troops now stationed in Viet Nam. As one radio commentator put it: “We are still sacrificing 20-year-olds as an insurance premium to the American alliance.”

Asian Affairs. Agnew ignored both the demonstrators and the flurry of press criticism. He stuck to his script and reiterated the so-called Nixon Doctrine: “Despite a great deal of speculation and rumor, we are not withdrawing from Asia and the Pacific. The United States will keep its treaty commitments. Our policy is neither one of gradual withdrawal from Asia nor of unwarranted intervention in Asian affairs. As a Pacific power, we will remain in the Pacific.” Both in Australia and New Zealand, Agnew’s last foreign stop, the Vice President said that the U.S. was committed to the defense of the two countries in the event of an all-out attack.

While Agnew was studiously decorous wherever he traveled, the attending flock of Secret Service men drew some negative reviews. To the Australians, the sight of the Secret Service running alongside Agnew’s car through the quiet streets of Canberra looked undignified, even panicky. “These athletic, shorthaired, earnest and heavily armed young men,” said the Canberra Times, “appeared to be possessed by inner furies unknown to the peaceful southern tablelands.” As expected, the usual demonstrators were on hand. One threw himself in front of the Vice President’s limousine and others burned the U.S. flag, but they were easily contained by local police without the Service’s help.

A Bit Fuzzy. Aside from those occasional dustups, the Vice President’s trip went with programmed efficiency. Not too much was expected of him, and if his explanations of the Nixon Doctrine were at times a bit fuzzy, that was hardly his fault. The Administration seems to have coined a phrase, but is still searching for a policy to define it.

In Agnew’s opinion, the most important lesson gained from his trip is the knowledge that what Asian leaders say—and what they think—are often quite different things. “Most general impressions that come out of the Asian governments,” said the Vice President last week, “are not as forthcoming as their private consultations.” What he meant was that Asian leaders often say publicly that they want Americans out of the area, while privately they encourage Americans to stay. This may have led Agnew to ponder the corollary as well —that Asians sometimes may tell important Americans what they think important Americans want to hear.