A Bold and Balky Congress

(10 of 10)

With Byrd's coaching. Carter and Congress seem headed toward mutual respect this session, though probably not affection. The man from Plains is not the kind of bourbon-sipping, backslapping politician who gets along easily with the good ole boys in Congress. But he intends to work harder at consulting and compromising with them, and in the face of the November elections, the Democrats seem more willing to make peace with their President. In his State of the Union message this week, Carter will outline his urgent goals for 1978: an energy bill, a tax cut, the passage of Panama Canal and SALT II treaties, and Middle East peace. If most of those goals are achieved, the President's standing in the polls will doubtless move up. Then, when the time for hard campaigning begins, his support would become a valuable asset to even the most independent members of the balky new Congress who are running for reelection.