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THE BERT LANCE AFFAIR BILL MOYERS: What have you learned about this town? THE PRESIDENT: There were two . . . unpleasant surprises. One was the inertia of Congress, the length of time it takes to get a complicated piece of legislation through, . . . and the other was the irresponsibility of the press. TELEVISION INTERVIEW, NOVEMBER 13, 1978 As I look back on our campaign, it would be difficult to list all the factors that gave us our victory in 1976 against such great initial odds. Careful planning, hard work, and unswerving determination, a willingness to go into all states and win every available delegate, solid support from key black leaders, loyalty of the Southern voters to me as one of their own, the very underestimation of us that expanded each small early victory into a great triumph, an almost unbelievable family effort that multiplied my own presence—these and more have been identified and analyzed by political pundits many times over. To me, however, the most significant factors were the disillusionment of the American people following the national defeat suffered in Vietnam, the Watergate scandals, and my success in convincing supporters that we should keep our faith in America and that I would never permit any repetition of such embarrassments. As a citizen and a governor, I had shared the people’s feelings of anger and frustration, but as a candidate I was surprised at the intensity of the pain I found among them, which had quickly become obvious from their bitter comments and probing questions. I tried in every possible way to reassure them, to convince them that our leaders did not have to be isolated, immune from accountability to the public, and devious in their actions and statements. Perhaps more than the other major candidates, 130 I saw the relationship between the people and their leaders as the most important issue. When I became President, I was quite aware of the legacy of the last ten years—how much doubt and suspicion there was about high public officials—but I was not concerned about my own administration. I was sure that our White House political team could deal with the news media on a different footing altogether. I did not have anything to conceal that might prove troubling, and I had complete confidence in those who served with me. I approached my new job with the certainty that we would never have to worry about investigations by Congress, any government agency, or the news media. Perhaps I should have known better. The day after my inauguration, a Washington Post reporter predicted, “Carter may have a honeymoon with Congress, but he’s not going to have one with us.” This was a less than enthusiastic welcome, but not entirely unexpected considering my background and that of my personal staff, as well as the kind of campaign I had run. Few of the nation’s editors or publishers really knew us, and most of them had naturally supported other presidential candidates with whom they were better acquainted. Also, we were somewhat ostentatious about setting a high moral standard for ourselves, and so my administration was not to be given any room for error by the press. When we moved into the White House, we had an important challenge which none of us adequately recognized—to learn about our influential Washington neighbors who did not serve in government, and to let them know us. However, having run deliberately and profitably as one who had never been part of the Washington scene, I was not particularly eager to change my attitude after becoming President. This proved to be a mistake. I would have many legislative battles to fight, and controversies were bound to arise that could adversely affect both myself and my administration. It was important that my attitudes and policies be clearly understood and explained to the public and that I communicate normally and frankly with those who were experienced and knowledgeable about the ways of our government. In times of trouble I would need all the help I could get, and when there were times of achievement they needed to be shared with the American public. I realized the potential benefit to be derived from solid relationships with the Washington leaders who helped to shape public attitudes, but I thought that doing the best job possible in the White House would be enough to gain their support. THE BERT LANCE AFFAIR 131 [18.223.171.12] Project MUSE (2024-04-25 18:12...

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