-' RIPON Ripon Policy Proposal on the West Bank January 1, 1978 Vol. XIV, No.1 50 cents Washington Window ASSESSING CARTER'S START Slip slidin' away. That is the States or the Declaration of Inde­ most succinct away to sum up Jimmy pendence, or the Bill of Rights, or Carter's first year in office. He the Emancipation Proclamation, or came to office with a d~~p reservoir the Old Testament or the New Testa­ of public confidence. That reser­ ment do you find the words 'economy' voii has been thoughtlessly dissi­ or 'efficiency.' Not that these words pated as surely as have America's re­ are unimportant. But you dis cover serves of petroleum. The high point other words like honesty, integrity, of Carter's first year in office was fairness, liberty. just·ice, courage, his Inaugarat~on Day walk down Penn­ patriotism, compassion, 10ve---and sylvania Avenue. It's been all down many others which describe what a hu­ hill. man being ought to be. These are al­ so the same words which describe what The FORUM predicted as much in a government of human beings ought to its May 15, 1976 issue: be." Jimmy Carter is the pied piper These are stirring words. They're of American politics. His tune is disturbing ones for the same reasons. reassuring, the.peop1e follow, but Jimmy Carter should read two recent no one knows where he is going. It articles in the Vi·11age Voice by Phil is going to be a crushing psyCholog­ Tracy, in which he noted: "It is now a ical blow to the American electorate well-enshrined platitude that the Amer­ when it follows Carter trustingly ican people are disillusioned with down Pennsylvania Avenue and into their government in general and Wash­ the Potomac River. ington in particular. For some reason When John F. Kennedy was elected most people in Washington seem. to feel President in 1960, his rhetoric this is basically just a public re1a­ lifted national aspirations and ·tions problem. Every jackass politi­ hopes. It was inspiring rhetoric cian in town has stood up at one time which the record of his Administra­ or another and babbled, 'We have to re­ tion's accomplishments never quite store the people's faith in government. matched. The raised expectations But as far as I can see, this disillu­ of John Kennedy, however, may have sionment has very little to do with had an important impact on the sub­ PRo It has to do with reality." sequent disillusionment. alienation, and skepticism which infected and The problem with Jimmy Carter's sickened American political atti­ first year in office is that it often tudes in the late 1960s and early has far too much to do with PR and far 1970s.· When the Camelot sheen wore to little to do with reality. The re­ off politics, the pub1ie mood shifted sult has been predictable, if a poll rather abruptly in the opposite di-' released in December by Louis Harris rection. can be believed: Once again. Jimmy Carter is rais­ A striking 58 percent of Americans ing public aspirations. In one of feel disenchanted with the power struc­ his oft-quoted statements and in his ture of the nation. This is only one own quiet style, Carter says:"Nowhere percentage point less than last year, in the Constitution of the United when the Harris Index of Alienation reached its highest level since the to raise the roof on a shack, much less index was first recorded in 1966 ... a barn. "What is odd is that this most By 60 to 35 percent, a majority disciplined of men is somehow fai1inE feels that 'the people running the to impose a discipline on his government country don't really care what happens or to restrain his own habit of getting to you.' This is the highest figure lost in the details of his programs or ever recorded on this particular is- to convey a sense of competence and di­ sue ... rection---mastery in short---to the Amer­ By 61 to 33 percent, Americans ican public," wrote Newsweek columnist feel that 'what I think doesn't count Meg Greenfield after the trip. much anymore.' Eleven years ago, only 37 percent shared this feeling. TIME Magazine's Hugh Sidey has sug­ Evidently, Carter has not had much of an gested that the root of many of Carter's impact on either reality or the percep­ subsequent problems is his own mouth: tion of reality. Testing reality has "Much of his talk is tmnecessary, a lot become a favorite journalistic endeavor. of it ineffective, some of it trouble­ It consists of making lists of actions some." It is difficult to remember a taken to fulfill Carter's ~ampaign prom­ memorable Carter line. Only "Bert, I'm ises. A Washington Post survey found proud of you" stands out. And much of that about hal~of tne]promises surveyed what the President has said has later were kep.t, less than one-fifth were not, had to be revised by events which be­ and the rest were "in limbo." Progress trayed his tongue. toward many of the most important---1ike balancing the federal budget, reducing Carter's efforts to "depo1iticize" inflation to four percent, and simplify­ the Justice Department have made a mock­ ing the tax structure---fe11 into the ery of his campaign pledge. Deputy At­ latter category. torney General Peter Flaherty quickly abandoned his pledge to spend four years As egregious as these failures have in Washington when he saw.·an opportunity been, however, they are in a sense over­ to run for governor of Pennsylvania. shadowed by Carter's public relations Flaherty himself had been at odds with failures. New Times' Robert Shrum, who 4ttorney General Griffin Bell over the served briefly as a Carter speechwriter, choice of a ·U.S. Attorney for western has written, "Absorbed in administrative Pennsylvania. Their public disagreement detail, (Carter) has slighted the presi­ on his nomination was almost as embar­ dential power of public persuasion. Sel­ rassing as Carter's comment when asked dom has a President been so well posi­ about the political significance of Fla­ tioned to exploit that power. Carter's herty's departure:"I don't know. I was symbolism and his image as a forthright not involved in hiring him." It would nonpo1itician brought him fresh to the be hard for Carter to disassociate him­ center of the national stage. But he self from Bell's firing of outstanding has stood there nearly mute." Republican prosecutors like Detroit's Philip Van Dam and New Jersey's Jona­ Carter drew particularly heavy cri­ than Goldstein. For those dismissals ticism for his abysmal Election Day directly contradict Carter's campaign speech on energy. It was a speech that pledges. According to a November sur­ Carter allegedly wrote by himself, arid vey by TIME magazine, of 86 judges ·,arid it showed. Carter's disdain for speech­ U.S.attorneys appointed by Carter, only writers is apparently as great as Hamil­ one was a RepUblican. As the Detroit ton Jordan's disdain for neckwear. Col­ News editoria1ized,"Now go back and read umnist Nicholas von Hoffman, one of Jimmy Carter's promise again." many journalists who commented on Car­ ter's inability to enthuse the American Other unfulfilled Carter promises people, was prompted to write:"The talk have created real problems for him with around town is that President Carter is the constituencies which elected him going to be a one-term President, but President. There has been a persistent the question is when is he going to undercurrent of black criticism of the start serving it. His energy speech Administration as black teenage unem­ ... was so poor it had to have been made ployment has continued to rise and a by someone who hopes to be President meaningful urban policy remains unreal­ some day, not by one who is." ized. "We discover we1ve voted for a man who knew the words to our hymns but Carter's transcontinental barnstorm­ not the numbers on our paychecks," State ing tour last fall was similarly unin­ Sen. Julian Bond(D-Ga.) said recently. spiring. It was hardly stirring enough U.S.Rep. Charles B. Range1(D-N.Y.) has rdelivered a similar message, We will never be, as one Carter adviser I'Adult unemployment in my district is wrote of some other Democrats, among I 17 percent. It is 40 percent---and 'the easiest to dominate.' We do not we think actually 50 percent---among happen to have what that advisor called I black teenagers. It is very dangerous, 'a willingness to accept any status ~uo I very explosive. The President empha- that provides ... power and patronage.' sizes hope and encouragement but there One liberal group, the American Civil I is ... a failure to be plugged into any­ Liberties Union, issued a report about I thing. Our leaders have no relation the same time which was critical of I to the people who are swelling the the Carter Administration's stand on streets. abortion, secrecy, and wiretapping, I The Carter Administration seems to make and which concluded," ... the Carter Ad­ little attempt to get its message ministration has a poor civil liberties across. No high-.:'ranking White House of­ record. " I ficial showed up at the annual Congress lof Cities, for example. Moreover, the Administration has succeeded in alienating both pro-deregu­ Nor did Jimmy Carter show up at the lation and anti-deregulation forces in lannual convention of the AFL-CIO, break­ the natural gas debate. Carter's aban­ ing a long presidential tradition.