[ applause ] the average man in our country doesn't understand the paying of his money continuously to nations who not only won't help us but even trade with the north vietnamese. and we have defended europe twice. and mr. du gaul in europe wants to devalue our dollar by taking gold out which would devalue the system of money in the free world. and it's been devalued enough because of inflationary processes in our cone urnt and we know what happened to the pound over in england. because of socialistic overspending. money that brought no return to the english people. and we've got to get our house in order or we're going to face that same problem here in these united states. and we ought to tell mr. dugaulle you're not going to impair the dollar concerted by a concerted effort you're making by taking gold out of our country and if you continue to impair the dollar when you don't have to we're going to put back

on the books some of those billions of dollars that you owe us after world war 1 and world war ii and we're going to ask you to pay it back because they owe us billions of dollars. and i think that's a common sense approach. [ applause ] ♪ >> thank you very much. >> wallace's victorious california campaign was unique. nothing like it had ever been accomplished before. even though countless groups and interests had tried to gain ballot position and found it impossible. and because it had never been accomplished, unorthodox methods had to be used. for example, small groups of alabama volunteers commuting to and from california direct and

encouraged volunteers. the wallace campaign started small and grew. more than enough signatures were obtain obtained. this was brought about by the unusual nature of california politics. infighting, while common to all political parties in all states, is rampant in sunny california. two california politicians, one a republican and one a democrat, simultaneously described each other's party members as 2 million chiefs in search of indians. there were two primary objectives to the campaign. to let californians know what governor wallace stood for. this by radio, television, and newspapers. and secondly, getting voters to sign registration blanks to change their party affiliation. this unique part of the law, making third parties get a

certain number of votes to reregister, is a political fact of life because california has closed primaries. this means that in order to vote in a party primary you can do so only in that party in which you register as a member. changing your mind means changing your party. and in the wallace campaign it all had to be done in less than a two-month period. this objective has been the target of special legislation throughout the history of california politics. here dr. david g.fayrali, a ph.d. teaching political science at the university of california at los angeles, comments on the extreme difficulties of getting on the california ballot in the first place and the special road blocks encountered by the wallace campaign because of time and circumstance. >> 6 million people voted for governor. getting 66,000 people to sign up for a new party is a difficult

task. it's up to the legislature of the state to determine the minimum size of the party. and i guess it could be argued that california's laws make it very difficult to have a third party going. november and december are not the most politically active months. people are thinking of christmas, thanksgiving and so on. this is one obstacle. secondly is the strong tradition of a two-party system that we have in the united states. and this is true also in california. third certainly you're trying to get people to change their registration from republican and democratic to a third party. so there are many obstacles that are faced by third-party candidates in california. >> facing these problems, the wallace campaigners decided the only way to get voters to sign registration blanks was to have the whole problem of doing so

explained to them quekly and honestly by the only means. individually. >> say hello to governor george c. wallace. if you'd like to shake hands and chat with him you can do so. we have registrars that will register you in one minute. put him on a ballot here in california. >> california law in effect in 1968 states that 66,059 voters must reregister to qualify a candidate on a primary ballot. when the campaign kicked off, many political experts said wallace didn't have the appeal. but as weeks passed and the crowds grew and enthusiasm was obvious, these same experts began reversing their earlier predictions. the campaign kept moving. it was propelled along by the indomitable wallace spirit. and because of the very unique solutions found to the many complex problems by the small

but effective wallace campaign staff. money is important to any campaign. but to get money you first must get people willing to give and believe in what they're giving too. the wallace california campaign started in a political off-season. the 1968 presidential race is far off in the minds of voters. timing is impossible to manipulate. then, approaching the january deadline, one of the coldest winter blasts in history hits sunny california. as if unseasonal weather weren't enough there were the physical problems of working in california itself. home base. from somewhere to anywhere takes a half hour to an hour and a half, depending on the freeways. then the wallace campaign staff faced the problems of political

tradition. swaying voters away from a long-time party affiliation and doing it with a skeleton staff. it was a maze of problems where one problem triggers four. bad weather, no people. no people, no registrations. then no new followers and no donations. the net total of one valuable day lost. but these are the risks inherent to the very nature of politics. politics itself is a serious strategic contest. the born politician relishes both the risks and the strategy. wallace and his staff have weathered both success and failure. every politician has. but what makes it appealing are the convictions and the high stakes. people rarely get to see the other side of george wallace.

george wallace the man. >> when i met my wife right after she'd finished high school when she was only 16 years of age, well, she was very pretty for one thing. and of course i didn't realize how young she was, then as i do now, after i've acquired the age that i am. but she was very pretty and just some little twist, a spark about her that you know, it's hard to explain. it's just like any man who meets his wife for the first time. there's something about her. she helped me to get my start in political life, politic for me when i was running for the legislature and she was too young to vote for me. she didn't even get to vote for me when i was elected to the legislature in 1946. well, of course in public service that is holding legislative office and the executive office of the state of alabama that i held for four years, you are in a position to do things that you thought ought

to have been done or should be done for the people of your state. but i also like to see go down to the county seat in clayton and also to the little town that i was born, raised in and finished high school, cloud, alabama. and see friends and to reminisce. and i do occasionally go to the county courthouse, clayton, alabama, and sit around as is the custom in the rural south. i enjoy this immensely, and it's very stimulating and a rich, warm experience to go back to the country with your hometown friends. and i like people and large or small crowds suit me, and i enjoy being with people. >> while the wallace campaign gathers its momentum, the great majority of support is near home

base. southern california with near 60% of the state's total population. the los angeles greater metropolitan area is the home of 7 million persons and provides the greatest number of registrations. it is according to wallace campaign staff the one thing working for them. a small staff precludes blanketing the state completely. it can't be done. while there are valuable registrations from the northern area, it is impossible to cover the entire state as the southern area can be covered. even with the major difficulties inherent to the region. statistically speaking, the campaign faced disaster. it couldn't be done, polls and predictions kept saying. but statistics are merely reflections of hard facts, not the whole human story. one part of the real story can be found in the areas dissected statistically.

areas in which the working men live swing easily to wallace. bell gardens within the county of los angeles. population, 30,000. democrat 4 to 1. by the end of the campaign, wallace claims more registered voters than the totals in the democratic and republican parties. huntington park, a residential section bordering an industrial area. wallace workers open an office, and the area swings to wallace. but response is two-sided. both democrat and republican go for wallace. for example, in the city of maywood, december 1966, there are over 4,000 democrats. nearly 2,000 republicans. by the end of the campaign democrats lose nearly 2,000 of the faithful while republicans lose nearly 1,000. the reasons to change appear

much alike. >> i hereby give my support to governor george c. wallace. i feel that governor wallace really means what he says when he says that he will keep government in the hands of the individual states, thereby helping each state decide for itself its role in local government. >> i am in favor of the nomination of george c. wallace for the presidential candidate in 1968 because i believe that he is the only man in the political arena today who will stand up for the men in vietnam to win the war by letting the joint chiefs of staff handle the situation there instead of the political intellectuals in washington. >> i'm from romania. i lost my country -- >> then the minority groups, from refugees to first and

second generations. >> the people to make troubles all over. and i support governor wallace because i think he's a good man to save this country from the communists. >> reregistration continues. strategy from the main office keeps the names coming in constantly. what the strategy boils down to is canvass an area, set up, get as many registrations as possible, then move to the next area. according to some workers, it is very close to trying to be in two places at the same time. there remains one basic problem. there is only one george wallace. and the physical problems of distance and traffic precludes fewer rallies than wallace wants. where wallace does appear returns