Election '82: Trimming the Sails

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When the 97th Congress convenes in three weeks for a lameduck session, there will be indications of what many of the lawmakers will do when they meet as the 98th. It is probable that the pending defense appropriations bill for this year will be trimmed more than Reagan would like. Democrats may also push for their $1 billion jobs program, which seeks to put the unemployed to work rebuilding the nation's highways, bridges and other elements of infrastructure. In order to avoid increasing the deficit, there may be an effort to fund the program with a new gas or energy tax.

If the economy revives, Reagan will have no trouble finding congressional crew members to sail the course with him. But if the recession lingers, the chance of bipartisan cooperation is, though more necessary, less likely. "I don't see a stalemate," says Political Consultant Stuart Spencer of his longtime friend and client. "In the end, Reagan works things out." If there was any mandate at all for Reagan in this election, it was to do just that. —By Walter Isaacson. Reported by Douglas Brew and Evan Thomas/Washington