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••• V# Canada mistakenly thinking the treaty had to be ratified by the Virginia Senate instead of that of the United States.
But in spite of the fact that the lieutenant governor of the Commonwealth has absolutely nothing to do with the treaty and its ratification, the issue seems to have caught on, and Canada appears to have succeeded, to an undetermined degree, in turning his election into a referendum on the question of ratification.
It is no accident that this has happened.
With polls showing that his campaign was heading for disaster, the use of the canal as an issue was reportedly suggested to Canada by the National Conservative Political Action Committee, the Arlington based group which is also behind the hard-sell anti-Henry Howell television blitz that is supposed to start this week.
Canada picked up the canal ball and has been running with it, very nearly to the exclusion of all state campaign issues.
The strategy has proved surprisingly effective, and Canada has been drawing national attention by his efforts.
The reason, of course, is not difficult to understand. Although the connection of the canal with Virginia politics is foggy at best, the question of its ratification is emotion charged and has the kind of patriotic appeal that many Virginians find irresistable. According to Canada and other critics of the treaty, we are, after all, “giving away the canal and paying the Panamanians to take it.”
Also, the lieutenant governor’s race is a very nearly perfect political laboratory in which to test the ratification question as a viable political issue.
It is a race almost devoid of other issues. There is nothing beyond the personal qualities of the two men and party loyalty to distract the voters from making their choice on the basis of the canal question.
As Sen. Barry Goldwater said last week in a speech in. Hanover County, the RobbCanada race provides the perfect opportunity for the Virginia electorate to send a message to Washington on what one state thinks about the matter.
Both those who oppose and favor the treaty will be watching the outcome as an indicator of public sentiment on the ratification issue.
But the political engineers will also be looking for something else. They will be watching the percentages to see how much Canada’s political health improved after he made the treaty an issue.
If he should win, which at this writing seems highly unlikely, the treaty’s opponents will have picked up some solid ammunition to use in the coming ratification battle in the Senate. Also, the conservative political strategists will be confirmed in their view that the canal is a Heaven-sent political issue to use in next year’s congressional races.
But even if Canada loses, and yet the outcome shows that by opposing the treaty he narrowed the gap substantially over Robb’s early runaway lead, the conservatives will be convinced that they have made their point, and found their issue.
89.2%