European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 02, 1977, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 16 the stars and stripes monday May 2, 1977 James j. Kilpatrick first 100 Carter Days rated not Good not bad Immy Carter has wound up his first indeed or president but the Tillo still Jelfs inauguration on March 4, 1933. And Dies creating came the National ired Days. Under Section ii in of the Falls on the ear like an off key note. These we still Marvel at for s record with the Junira. ,. The banking Jimmy Carter has wound up his first Hundred Days. R Section 11 in of the regulations governing the practice of the Trade of punditry. It is required that every certified pundit deliver his appraisal of the period my own appraisal of or. Carter s beginning not Good not  is a Nice ambivalent Wishy Washy appraisal for you but the passing year persuade me that things arc Seldom All Black or All White a Hundred Days after he hit town. Or. Carter remains the new boy on the Block in fact and m Law. He is Index r president. T the title still fall have been a Hundred Days of Busy activity Days of symbols gestures and Cardigan gimmicks. In terms of Public relations the record is spectacular. In terms of political accomplishment the record is not much. Taymond Moley once speculated that the tradition of a Hundred Days goes Back to Napoleon in the Spring of 1815. Cov ering the Lime that elapsed after Elba and before Waterloo in our own political experience we look Back to Franklin Roost record. On March 5 came the Bank Holiday on March 9 the emergency banking Relief act on March 20 the Economy act cutting veterans pen Sions and reducing Federal salaries by 15 per cent. Then followed the Beer and wine act. The civilian conservation corps and the abandonment of the Gold  May Roosevelt signed acts providing emergency Relief establishing farm subs John p. Roche eyeball to eyeball May not work president Carter s handling of his Energy proposal is further evidence of his conviction that in politics a straight line is the shortest distance Between two  it is usually the quickest route to disaster. To say this is not to Dis Pute his Contention we face an Energy crisis nor to quibble with his specifics most of which i Don t understand. It i rather a critique of his whole approach to the political  As it May sound the Basic units in democratic politics Are selfish inter  indeed James Madison argued wit great persuasiveness that the survival of Republican government depended on poly Centric factionalism on the absence of any monolithic interest which could impose it swill on the Public. Thus the task of the statesman is to Weld a coalition of inter ests to convince enough of the components of society that a policy while it May have drawbacks is in their Long run selfish in  be very specific. I have a selfish in Terest in a solid. 8-Cylindcr car which by any standards is clearly a Gas  not because it s ritzy an unadorned 71 station Wagon ritzy but because an ear Lier similar Model probably saved my daughter and me from serious injury if no death an oncoming car skidded head on into us. And that blessed old tank took the Shock. If we had been in one of those 40 m p c aluminium foil imports. I doubt if you would be Reading this in if that Youngl adv would in preparing her Trousseau Otiis is a trivial example i . But broaden tin1  Vian i a  Unk train. . Trolleys i my from work in the City. When 1 go to Boston. I always take the train and have noted a fascinating thing aside fro women going shopping virtually All the passengers Are professionals doctors Bankers and lawyers in particular Why Don t the crazy proletarians take the train is it their love affair with the car bunk they have to drive because the factories Are scattered All around the lit toral of greater Boston. To tax their Gas is class legislation almost As regressive As the social Security tax. The exurban Ite with the $15,000 Mercedes that gets 34m.p.g. Can get a Good laugh in Short they have a selfish interest in cheap Gas As Faras that love affair goes car pooling in t All that easy i would be glad to drive to work with someone but there is no col league nearby on my  Point of this exegesis on selfishness is that throughout the country selfish groups Are scrutinizing or. Carters Energy package along the analytical lines just described. He has called on them Torise above self interest to protect our National future and they will respond if the Yare convinced the Carter View of the National interest at least overlaps with their picture of their personal  if our system put Carter on on on with individuals his various statements and exhortations might have considerable Impact. Almost everybody likes Jimmy. Bui alas the cold eyed founding fathers took a dim View of political magicians Tor charismatic leaders As we now cull them and put in a filler Congress h is the i a of both senators and representatives to work of an a  of int fists and give and another farm credit it legislative reality in the present context we Only have an Energy emergency if Congress agrees with or. Carter s assess ment. One than and god someone i Concord once observed constitute a majority but he is not a member of con Gres president Harry Truman was Able to persuade a Republican dominated con Gress that an emergency existed with the Truman doctrine and Marshall plan As the end products. He did not do this by holding secret meetings with aides and then throw ing a package Down Pennsylvania  worked closely Day in. Day out. With key figures on Capitol Hill to convince them and the american people that our Long run National interest required divert ing billions from Domestic to foreign policy. This was accompanied by an education Al Campaign among the electorate which was still in a withdrawal syndrome from world War ii in ims polls indicate three quarters of the population saw no imminent International problems. The two went hand in hand As congressional con Cern increased popular concern grew. And vice versa. It was a masterly Cas study in democratic politics at its Best. President Carter in contrast has chosen to go eyeball to eyeball with con Gress counting on his High standing with the people to intimidate the scions. But personal esteem As fur Learned the hard Way in his court packing debacle is nut transferable to policy support. The same n own who says Jimmy s great is  telling his senator. Kill that Damn  or. I. Fer nothing to compare with that impressive string of political fish but no other president sice hT8Thas approached that record. For had sings going for him that or. Carter has not by the time he look office Roosevelt had been in and out of Washington for m years he was intimately acquainted won the leaders of Congress he had won the election by a landslide he had a True National emergency on his hands and he handsome bold and Brilliant Fellows around . Carter s balance Sheet reflects none of these assets. The gentleman from geor Gia ran As the anti Washington candidate and he remains an alien presence. Much of Washington looks upon or. Carter As the japanese looked upon Macarthur. As proconsul governing by right of Conquest. Ours is a City of Good Ole boys of Back scratches Wheeler dealers Fellows you can have a drink with. Or. Carter is not Good old boy. There is no Small talk in him. He rarely kids  other contexts these May be Admira ble traits. In the Case of or. Carter the produce an Antiseptic chill. He seems to have no idea of How the Washington machinery works How it is oiled and greased How it is kept in tune. This inexperience is reflected in Large ways and in Small ways  a Large example or. Carter grievously offended a dozen big mules on Capi Tol Hill by his maladroit abandonment of the $50 tax rebate plan. In months to come he will need the enthusiastic support of such men As Russell Long in the Senate and Al l Lyman in the House. He will have a hard time getting them happily Back i harness now. For a Small example every president sends framed photographs to his party members on the Hill. Customarily these Are lavishly inscribed by presidential hand Lyndon Johnson s inscriptions were fulsome masterpieces of the. Lapidary Art. But or. Carter s portraits arrived the other Day immaculately untouched by per Sonal tribute it was non pro Little things As the song goes count a lot. Or Carter s Hundred Days have been devoted largely in cultivating popular sup in in the country this was a necessary task considering his narrow Victory last november and he deserves great creditor his Success in this Field. He also scores High Marks for his evident sincerity his firm sense of purpose and his sheer Indus try on the Job the gentleman  we perceive. I suppose and what contributes to an ambivalent View of his record is the absence of a presidential presence. Doubtless this will appear in time it has t appeared in the first Hun dred Davs thumbs Down