August 14, 1968

Why Gov. Rhodes Declined Vice-Presidency

I guess this is going to be one of those now-it-can-be-told stories, but it is the best way to explain  why Governor James Rhodes turned down the Republican vice-presidential nomination at Miami $each.

It is a long story but political drama of the highest order.  Somebody ought to make a movie about it.

Keep in mind that the political philosophies of Ohio voters are about evenly divided between liberal and conservative, regardless of the party.  Uniting these opposing forces —or at least keeping them from annihilating each other—is the delicate task of a state party chairman.

So it was to this problem that John Andrews, chairman of, the Republican State Central Committee, addressed himself last November.

Foreseeing the possibility of a party split at the convention this year similar to that 1964 which brought the Republicans to their knees, Andrews and Central Committee decided on a "favorite son" role for the Ohio delegation.  Governor Rhodes, titular head of the party, readily agreed.

The favorite son gambit is not well understood today outside political circles, probably because it is a notorious relic of machine politics practiced at the turn of the century.  In those days of limited communication and iron discipline, a party leader often could pack a, delegation with henchmen and deliver their votes at will td the highest bidder.

Political deals are harder and harder to make in this day and age, what with reporters for the powerful chain dailies, network television stations and nosey weeklies poking around.

However, the favorite son approach is still extremely useful if a convention delegation is likely to disagree violently about the real candidates.  Disputes over the national ticket can prevent cooperation back home for election of state and county candidates.  Hostile factions, in recognition of mutual need, usually can agree to stand behind a "favorite son," for one or two ballots.

In Ohio, delegates to a party convention are elected in the spring primary.  Their names are placed on the ballot either --by party appointment or citizen petition — most frequently by the choice of county chairmen.

Candidates for delegate must state on the ballot their first' and second choice for president so that the voters may elect appropriate representatives to the party convention.  Once elected, delegates are obligated by law to vote for their pledge on the first ballet unless released by him.

With party harmony as his objective, Andrews asked county chairmen to recommend delegates who would pledge to Rhodes for the required one vote.  In the 17th Congressional District, where I live, the delegates chosen were either party regulars or pro-Rockefeller.

To Congressman John Ashbrook, myself and others unaware of the grand strategy it looked as if the Governor was trying to pack the Ohio delegation for a Rockefeller coup.  In a burst of independence Ashbrook put together a slate for Nixon which I joined.  We obtained voter signatures to get our names on the ballot and won handily over the regular party slate.

So there I was at Miami Beach—a bona fide alternate of the Ohio delegation and determined to support the best man after the mandatory first ballot, whoever he might be.

It became apparent in caucus .after caucus that Rhodes and Andrews were determined to be neutral in the candidate tug-of-war.  They gave not the slightest hint—by word or deed --what their personal preferences were.

Though all but two Nixon and one Harold Stassen delegates were pledged to Rhodes, their true interests were about evenly divided between Rockefeller and Nixon.  However, a faction for Reagan was developing rapidly.

It was in the last pre-balloting caucus, when delegates from all factions were talking about revolt, and after several delegates criticized Republican presidential candidates on national television, that Rhodes uncorked the longest, most emotional speech I have heard him make.

"You can knock the governor all you want," Rhodes, paid, "but when you bad-mouth one presidential candidate or the other you're committing political suicide.  We tried that in 1964 and once was enough.

"Frankly, I don't care who wins the nomination.  If we all work together we will elect him no matter who he is.  Our big job is to elect congressmen, a Republican senator and state legislators.  I guarantee you we won't elect the ticket or the legislators if we fight among ourselves.

"Ohio has an opportunity to out five Republican Congressmen in key chairmanships — Frank Bow in appropriations, Frances Bolton in foreign affairs, William McCulloch in judiciary, John Ashbrook in un American activities, and William Ayres in labor and education.

"I don't like polls because you've got to be an expert to figure them out.  But we've made a poll and I assure you that some of our people are in trouble.  If we start squabbling among ourselves the first one to go will be Frances Bolton, who has a new district, and the rest of them will be close behind.

"We came down here united, and we're going home the same way so, we can win in November.

"I want to make it clear I have no ambitions to be vice-president or anything else but governor of Ohio.  You know as well as I that all I would have to do to get anything I wanted is to release you and be vocal about one of the front runners.

"But the only thing I'm interested in is the party in Ohio and winning in Ohio," said Governor Rhodes.

The delegates gave Rhodes I three standing ovations during his fiery appeal and sustained applause at the end.  A resolution was offered that the delegation go as pledged, but Andrews said he did not feel a resolution was necessary as all of us were men of honor who would do as they said.

All in all it was most persuasive.  It welded the delegation, and probably the party, for the election campaign coming up.

It is now history that Nixon was elected on the first ballot without Ohio.  Surprisingly he did it also without the other big-vote delegations from New York, California, Pennsylvania and Michigan.  As it turned out, Andrew's strategy was perfect.  A split delegation would have had no effect on the outcome of the nomination, and painful intra-party wounds would have been opened up perhaps fatally.

The nomination of Nixon was the high point of the convention, but for Governor Rhodes the biggest decision of his life was still ahead.

Immediately following the nomination, Rhodes was invited to Nixon's hotel suite, along with a score of other party leaders.  From 1 a.m. until 3 a.m. Nixon listened carefully to their recommendations for a vice-president.  According to my source, Rhodes recommended New York Mayor John Lindsay.

South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond, former Dixiecrat candidate for president, was present and found objections to Lindsay, Senator Mark Hatfield of Oregon, and Senator Charles Percy of Illinois.  Thurmond contended the liberals were too soft on Vietnam and violence to be acceptable to the south where Third Party Candidate George Wallace threatens a clean sweep.  Several men at the meeting objected to Reagan on the basis he was too conservative.

After two hours of discussion, Rhodes and the others left leaving Nixon and a few aides to make the decision.  They settled on a middle-of-the-road candidate with no political scar tissue.

Andrews confirms that Rhodes was awakened at 7 a.m. by a Nixon aide calling to find out if the Ohio Governor would accept the vice-presidential nomination.  

The Governor said thanks, but no thanks, stating his interests in Ohio and his wife's health were paramount.

Three hours later Maryland Governor Spiro Agnew got the nod from Nixon for his running mate.

When, the history books are written about this campaign, Nixon and Agnew will rate a lot of ink, but somewhere at the bottom of the page there should be a footnote about James Rhodes who sacrificed the second highest honor of our land for his party and his family.

Author: Lindsey Williams