THE CHALLENGES WE FACE

            Compiled from the Vice-President’s remarks before various groups, responses to questions and speeches, this book is a carefully chosen collection of essays on domestic and international affairs.  None of the speeches date earlier than 1957 with the exception of an address given in the House in 1950 on the Hiss Case.  There are some patriotic talks on The Pioneer Spirit and Our Legacy from the Old World; a justification for Khrushchev’s visit here from an address before the American Legion; and the speeches given during his trip to the Soviet Union including the famous “Kitchen Debate” with Khrushchev.  In the section on foreign policy the Vice-President examines the aid program in terms of how it serves the interests of the U.S., suggests a minimum program to encourage private investment abroad, and warns against trying to compete with the Soviet Union on its own terms.  He affirms again and again that the U.S. is in a position to meet a military threat by the Soviets, but he insists that the greatest threats lie in the areas of political, economic, and psychological warfare.  On Latin America:  he claims that the vast majority of the people of those countries have a real feeling of friendship and affection for the U.S.  On China:  he is “naturally” opposed to recognizing Red China now and does not see any changes in the situation that would suggest a reverse in our policy.  In the domestic issues section he talks about the characteristics he thinks the American people expect in their President; professes belief in local control of the educational system and suggests that Federal aid be limited to school construction; endorses the Landrum Griffin Bill in discussing his role in the steel strike; and on the question of civil rights he says the he believes that the administration has made progress without going to extremes.  There is very little here that will support the views of those who feel that what Mr. Nixon had to say before 1957 is as much a part of the record as the new “high road” look.