European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 29, 1977, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Assessing Carter he knows where he wants to go by Frank Cormier associated press president Carter a described As very much for months of heated congressional debate on Energy and other Vola tile issues because he is a political professional who knows How to get things this was the assessment of Bert director of the office of management and As the first major debate of the Carter presidency Over Energy policy was getting under and looking Back Over the first 100 Days of Tho Carter one of Carters longtime governmental partners and proteges in Washington and in was reminded of a Carter Campaign state ment that i want to be tested in the most severe lies very much Lance said in a Telephone he said Carter is particularly ready to be tested on Energy because he enters the debate with a deep sense of commitment that favourable action on his blueprint is there is near Universal agreement in Washington that the unveiling last week of Carters Many faceted Energy blueprint marked a turning Point for the new administration away from a honeymoon period and toward Long months of in Tensive jockeying Over the nuts and bolts of asked if he believes Carter is prepared for the Energy compromises that Many observers regard As Lance declined to embrace the premise that major compromises can be but he asserted first of the evidence Speaks for Hes an awfully Good he knows How to get things he might not Call himself a but he knows where he wants to go and How he intends to get Hamilton a key Carter assist acknowledges that with the end of the first 100 Days on april 29 there has been a turning Point in Carters relations with Congress and the brought about by the presidents Energy while he said there has been no change of attitude or mood at the White Carter aides were pleased that at a lot of plans Are ready to be translated into policy and Energy issues Are Only part of what promises to be a Marathon test of car ters ability to implement sweeping Campaign pledges to simplify the tax revise welfare programs and prune the Federal bureaucracy All questions that will be ready for con Gressional debate by the end of this Carter set out in his first 100 Days to gird himself for the Battles ahead by campaigning to ele vate his own popularity recorded at a lofty 72 per cent in the most recent Gallup in the he has come close to elevating political symbolism into an Art in Carters symbolism and sub stance Are with the latter flowing from the if wearing holding town meetings and Mot Balling chauffeured government limousines helped to make him popular and enhanced an image of Carter is convinced his opportunities for dealing successfully with Tough problems Are correspondingly in As he told some visiting journalists last month the authority and the Power and leadership capabilities of any president Are de Rived almost completely from the support that i have from the people of the coun Lance recalled that Carters efforts As governor to reorganize the Georgia bureaucracy were the biggest drag on his popularity in that asked if impending reorganization Bat Les in Washington were Likely to yield a similar Lance said he thought the opposite might although the budget chief said reorganization which will Start flowing from the White House in will mightily upset a wide Range of special interest he expressed the View that there is a Broad National demand for reorganize in that he Carter May actually enhance his National Carters constituency was lira indeed when he entered office he had collected a Bare is per cent of last no members from the in his inaugural the new presi Dent moved to Appeal for broader rap saying you have Given me a great responsibility to stay close to to be worthy of and to exemplify what you so he walked to his new Home from that rationed renditions of Hail to the avoided limousines that looked like held a fireside starred in his own radio Callin re Vived regular news conferences and enrolled daughter Amy in a Public Richard Harvard professor and author of presidential told the associated press in Early february that he was optimistic Carter could make a Success of such uses of Al though its going to be very hard to keep it from appearing congressional conflicts Donald Rothberg associated press Jimmy Carter came to washing ton As an in his dealings with he has been unwilling to conform to the traditional ways of winning Ca Pitol Hill support for White House pro Grams As a result Hes finding it difficult to keep his Campaign Promise to end the mood of confrontation that developed be tween the White House and the democratic Congress during the Brief presidency of Gerald after his first 100 Carter has a formidable list of legislation pending before and he has an equally impressive record of stepping on congressional a record that could Cost him crucial votes As he seeks approval of his proposals to Deal with the Economy and the Energy with Congress Many expected the first democratic president in eight years to win Quick approval for whatever programs he it Hast worked that when his economic stimulus program emerges from Congress far later than Carter had it will far different from what he the Energy proposals he outlined in his first address to a joint session of Congress face prob lems and Arent Likely to emerge the Carter style int the Only source of his congressional Many Mem Bers of Congress feel the legislative Branch of government surrendered much of its authority to Lyndon b Johnson and Richard recovering it Only after the watergate All the decisions  be made in the White said Alan Cranston of assistant democratic Leader of the Cranston has been one of Carters strongest supporters in non he said Congress has a constitutional responsibility to slow Down and rethink executive we certainly dont want Oneman we had a Drift in that direction for a Congress is now making certain that Drift Doest Start once again just because we have a democratic president for a Cranston Many congressional democrats didst know what to make of Carter after be came out of nowhere to win the party presidential but one thing they understood quite clearly he was a and Between november and Janu congressional elders marched to to gel to know the president elect and Trade ideas on How to what All agreed was a lagging they also got commitments from Carter that he would consult with Congress on foreign those Early meetings included such symbolic gestures of cooperation As giving members of the Senate foreign relations committee his unlisted Telephone number in Plains and promising hed always answer their the first sign that Carter  have it All his Way with Congress came even before he moved into the White i the president elect said he planned to name Theodore Sorensen director of the Central intelligence heavy opposition developed to the nomination and so Rensen asked Carter to withdraw his name from a similar Campaign followed the Choice of Paul Warnke As chief disarmament Wamke opponents argued that he would be too willing to conceded to the Sovi ets although Wamke was the margin was less than the two thirds Senate majority that would be needed to ratify any disarmament the music had hardly coded at the Carter inaugural balls when the new president got into hot water with democratic leaders in both Senate majority Leader Robert Byrd of West Virginia complained that he want being consulted and House speaker Thomas Oneill was enraged when the first two Massachusetts residents to receive presidential appointments were re Carter publicly acknowledged he had made some mistakes in dealing with con Gress and promised to do things went Well for a the new president got Quick congressional approval of emergency authority to alleviate the natural Gas he also got Power he wanted to reorganize government but then More problems he submitted his economic stimulus pro Gram to the House acted Quick m a c 5 w of a u d s c 5 by to approve the Public works jobs Bill and the tax including the then Congress Learned that the administration was reviewing a number of water projects and that Carter was inclined to cancel Money for most if not All of while opposed by environmentalists As economically or ecologically the projects were dear to the hearts of a lot of the list of endangered projects grew to eventually White House completed its review and announced that 15 projects would be the funds would be Cut for five while Carter was making enemies on Capitol Hill with his handling of the water his rebate plan was rapidly losing Russell chairman of the Senate finance suggested the president would have fared better with his tax Bill if he had waited a while before taking action against the water Page 14 the stars and stripes