New Tactics at Half Time

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Still, Reagan probably has bent enough to avoid a repetition of last year, when, as one of his subordinates puts it, his budget "got laughed out of town." The Republican Senate will be eager to find compromises that he might accept. The Democrats who control the House have enough leverage to force further adjustments, but not to enact an alternative program, even in the unlikely event that they could agree on one. The big question is whether the President's recommendations, and the modifications that Congress enacts, will in fact promote the recovery that Reagan belatedly recognizes is essential to his political survival and to the health of the nation. —By George J. Church. Reported by Lawrence I. Barrett and David Beckwith/Washington