The Congress: An Adequate Number of Democrats

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In 1946, as a newly released lieutenant colonel, Albert entered a five-man Democratic primary for Congress, eked out a 329-vote win out of more than 60,000 votes cast. Once elected, he immediately went to visit Sam Rayburn in Bonham, Texas, just across the Red River from Albert's home House district. Advised Rayburn: "Those who go along, get along." Answered Albert: "I'll be a good soldier."

Power Plays. During his first few years on Capitol Hill, Albert watched Mr. Sam and studied his colleagues to learn how they voted and why. Says Albert now: "You learn the procedure, you learn the rules by the empirical method. It's a good way. I also learned the issues. And I stayed with my party as much as I could. I have been, I think, a real regular Democrat." In 1955, when Tennessee Democrat James Percy Priest decided he didn't want to be party whip again, Rayburn and then Majority Leader John McCormack pored over a list of House Democrats for a replacement. When they hit Albert's name, both said: "That's it."

Albert approached the job with dogged persistence. His responsibility as whip was to keep track of every Democratic vote on every major issue. Recalled Albert: "When I was whip, I'd get the reports in from the assistant whips. I'd call every doubtful member. I then could go down the list and know where the trouble was—which we could count on, which were absolute losses. Then I'd go to work on the rest of them."

Albert's technique was low pressure and easygoing. "You get criticized for not cracking the whip," he says, "but it doesn't make sense, for example, to make enemies that will lose you the farm bill to get the poverty bill, when you can get both." When Rayburn died in 1961 and John McCormack became Speaker, Carl Albert easily won the majority leader's job.

"I'm sot in the ways of the House," he says. And he is so "sot" that he works as hard at it as if he were still the whip, making it his business to "learn every member." Though Albert seems unassuming and mild-tempered, he is capable of using cold power plays. Last year, when Johnson was pressing heavily to get his anti-poverty bill through the House, Albert found many members reluctant to vote for it. He found out which public works projects were pending in districts of some recalcitrant partymen, informed the two committee chairmen dealing with public works, and added pointedly: "I would appreciate it if you will go to these members and tell them we need the votes." The bill passed handily.

Albert has long been a favorite at the White House. John Kennedy was highly impressed with Albert's ability, and in the last session Johnson often phoned Albert two or three times a day. Last summer it was Carl Albert whom Lyndon picked for the thorny job of heading the 1964 Democratic Platform Committee. Albert is virtually certain to succeed McCormack as Speaker.