Washington's open-collared, arm-flailing Republican Senator Harry P. Cain is fighting desperately for his political life. Although endorsed outright by Eisenhower, Cain's contradictory and regressive voting record has made few of his constituants happy, while his opponent, Representative Henry M. Jackson, is making a successful appeal to liberal Republicans as well as to Democrats.

A member of the class of '46, Cain's actions in the Senate have been many times quite inexplicable. During last spring's foreign policy debate, Senator Robert Kerr described Cain's activities thus: "He has made the greatest single contribution to Republican collective confusion. He introduced two resolutions the same day. One was to declare war on China, the other to abandon the Korean War entirely. Thus while other Republicans were going in directions different from each other, Senator Cain was going in opposite directions at the same time." Or when asked by reporters what he would do about the situation in Korea, Cain replied: "I can only say first--and I'm not hedging your question--what I think in a word we should have done against which I would give my own conclusion of what our choices are or what perhaps we ought to do now. From my point of view, when you're going to have a cease fire, it means the firing is going to stop."

Cain has voted against such proposals as public power, housing, Federal dams in Washington, virtually everything endorsed by labor groups, a 70 group air force, European military assistance aid. He once boasted, "I have been said by many to be the number one real-estate lobbyist in America. I have never resented this title," and in 1949 stated, "I am strongly inclined to support the North Atlantic Treaty while reserving the right to be in complete opposition to its implementation." He later was.

The exact opposite of the tense, fiery Cain, Jackson is a diligent yet amiable campaigner, making the customary endless rounds to women's clubs, teas, rodcos, grange meetings, and labor groups. He eats many Norwegian pancakes every Sunday morning, which pleases Washington's sizable Scandanavian population. He has voted in favor of most of the Administration's foreign policy, has been on the liberal side on most domestic legislation.

In 1948, Truman carried the state of Washington by 87,000 votes, and two years before, Jackson was one of the few northwestern Democrats to hold his House seat. In the recent September primary elections, the battle appeared closer than it really is; Jackson, unopposed, received 316,000 votes, while Cain, with two opponents, got 250,000 votes. But the votes of his two opponents added to his would give Cain 335,000 votes. There were many explanations of Cain's heavy vote: with Jackson unopposed, many Democrats just didn't bother to vote, labor openly suggested that Democrats vote for one of Cain's Republican opponents, and some Democrats say they voted for Cain, believing him the easiest to beat in November.

Whatever the reason, both Cain and Jackson realize either could run away with the election, and despite the Eisenhower endorsement, Cain also knows he has been slowly losing strength. But Cain is not one to stop fighting. He has managed fairly effectively to rouse up the spectre of communism in the form of the Americans for Democratic Action. He accuses Jackson of being soft toward communism, a charge that has put Jackson on the defensive, and has caused him to issue circulars elaborating his votes for increased appropriations to the F.B.I.

Cain has shrewdly challenged Jackson to a public debate, and Jackson's advisers view the invitation with alarm, knowing that Cain is a highly effective and impressive platform player. They realize that Cain cannot explain or 'justify his Senate votes honestly. But the thing they are afraid of in debate and in November is Cain the person--the storming, snarling, collar-yanking individual. If Jackson wins in November, it will be only because the voters reject the person for the record.