Nation: After a Big Win, Carey Speaks Up

Not about the Ford in his future—but in the country's

Cheered and confident after his re-election victory, New York Governor Hugh Carey jetted down to the Bahamas with his lady love, Anne Ford Uzielli. They stayed in the sumptuous house owned by her father, whom Carey likes to call "Henry the Deuce. " But Carey, 59, apparently has not yet won his campaign for Anne, 35. When they returned to New York last week, he asked reporters to stop asking about the subject. But he was more expansive when discussing politics and personalities in a series of candid interviews in both the Bahamas and New York with TIME Senior Editor Marshall Loeb. Excerpts:

Should President Carter make some changes now in the people around him?

Sure. He indicated that he would try everybody in the demonstration stage of his Administration, and then he'd move.

Should the President draw more business leaders into the Administration?

Absolutely. Roosevelt kept businessmen around him like Frank Knox and Jesse Jones. Truman followed the same model. Who would be like that on the scene today? I'll be very blunt: Henry Ford II. He knows how to handle labor.

He writes good wage pacts. He enjoys the respect and admiration of minority groups. He is gutsy, no doubt about that. A businessman, a czar, has to be in charge of the economy. Nothing is going to be accomplished until the people overseas see that somebody is in charge. Also, there are elements of leadership in the Ways and Means Committee, and they will listen to someone who speaks their language. Ford is the kind of man to do it.

Who else should the President bring into Government?

I'd also find a place for [former Defense Secretary] Mel Laird. Maybe as a troubleshooter, a coordinator, to work with Congress. I'd find a place for Nelson Rockefeller. If you have a fellow like Rockefeller in the country, you should never put him on the shelf. If the world sees that the country is going bipartisan to combat inflation, then the country will be in shape to go forward.

Who should be replaced in the Cabinet?

I don't see James Schlesinger as the answer as Energy Secretary. He just hasn't got the touch for Congress, and I think he has reached his limitation. Schlesinger has given us the cosmetics of an energy plan. Somebody has got to tell Schlesinger, "All right, you've got your 55-mile-an-hour speed limit, you've got your natural gas bill—that's about all you've got, but no production anywhere, no new resources that are coming in." You show me an energy czar who is not going to plan for production, and he's no czar.

What is the future for Treasury Secretary Michael Blumenthal?

I've got to be kind to Mike because he kept his word to New York in getting federal loan guarantees through. But he may have reached battle fatigue in the economy, which frankly is tumultuous. In that tumult I don't know if Mike is the tough manager that we need.

How good a job is Stuart Eizenstat doing as Carter's Domestic Affairs Adviser?

I've talked to Stu Eizenstat about the illegal-immigration problem, about the tax bill. I just can't seem to get our ideas communicated. I've yet to see an idea come out of Eizenstat's shop.