Viewpoint
The Battalion • Texas A&M University
Thursday •July 26, 1979
Time for Jordan to take stock
By DAVID BRODER
WASHINGTON — Hamilton Jordan is not the only relatively untested 34-
year-old man to be named to the powerful position of White House chief of staff.
His predecessor, Richard B. Cheney, was exactly the same age when he suc
ceeded Donald Rumsfeld in that job under Gerald Ford in November of 1975.
Cheney, like Jordon, was a relative unknown, taking command of the staff of a
politically beleaguered President facing a tough election campaign. And, like
Jordon, he came to power as part of a major Cabinet upheavel — the one in which
Rumsfeld moved to the Pentagon to replace James Schlesinger as Secretary of
Defense.
Give the parallels, it is not surprising that, despite their differences of party and
political philosophy, Cheney, now a freshman member of the House of Represen
tatives, speaks with a certain sympathy of the task now awaiting Jordan.
Sympathy, and a degree of skepticism, one must add.
During the transition period, after Carter’s victoiy over Ford, Cheney says he
and Jordon “talked a couple times about the job, because my assumption was that
he’d be the closest equivalent to what I was for Ford.”
He found the young Carter aide “a good listener,” but said his advice went for
naught, “because they were hung up on the spokes-of-the-wheel concept.”
That was the concept voiced by Carter during the 1976 campaign that, rather
than having a single powerful chief of staff, he would have seven or eight senior
aides, coordinating different areas of policy, each of whom would have direct
access to him at the hub of power — “just like spokes of a wheel. ”
The irony to Cheney was that the identical phrase had been used by his pre
decessor and mentor, Rumsfeld, during the first weeks of the Ford presidency —
and for the same reason.
Both Ford and Carter were anxious to avoid the pattern set in the Nixon White
House by H.R. “Bob” Haldeman, chief of staff who was central figure in the
Watergate scandal.
In Cheney’s view, the fear of repeating that pattern was a mistake — for both
Ford and Carter. “Both of them were spooked by the Nixon precedent,” he says.
“Watergate created the idea that there was some moral value in how you or
ganized the White House. There isn’t. Organization is neutral; it’s the people in it
who set the values.”
The practical matter, Cheney says, it that, “You can’t run a place with 1,500
employees (the Executive Office of the President) and have no one in charge
except the President. It won’t work, unless he spends all his time on it, and his
time is better spent on other things.”
By the time Cheney took over from Rumsfeld, Ford had discarded the spokes-
of-the-wheel idea. In fact, at a staff party for Cheney after the 1976 election, he
was given a plaque on which was mounted a horribly twisted bicycle wheel, with
all but a few spokes broken — the last vestige of the old concept.
Cheney, in turn, passed the trophy on to his successor, Jordan, with a note
reading: “Dear Ham: Beware the spokes of the wheel. Dick.” Today the trophy
lies behind a curtain on the floor of Jordan’s office.
As Cheney sees it, the job of the chief of staff is to “run a decision-making
process that has integrity,” by seeing that all relevant views are consulted before
the President sets a policy and that all affected people are notified what they are
expected to do to carry it out.
Jordan’s concept of the job is uncertain and undefined. He has spoken at times
of relieving the President of final decision-making on an unspecified range of
less-than-vital issues, and, at other times, of coordinating the staff and Cabinet,
withoug imposing himself as a barrier to their access to the Chief Executive.
Many outsiders assume that his real purpose is to see that policy decisions and
administration operations help the re-election effort of the man whose past cam
paigns he has run.
Cheney, who was supervisor of the Ford campaign from his White House post
sees nothing wrong if Jordan does the same for his boss, “as long as he doesn’t try
to be campaign manager. He won’t have time for that.
But like many others, he is waiting to see of Jordan’s interests extend beyond
politics to government itself. In the past — here and in Georgia — Jordan has
been abidingly interested in politics, only intermittently in government. Cheney’s
view, again widely shared, is that, “You can’t be an effective chief of staff unless
you’re really intrigued by the way the presidency functions in relation to the rest
of government. ”
His final thought is that it is important not to exaggerate the dimensions or
demands of the job. “A lot of it is quite pedestrian and not very creative,” he says.
“It’s the wrong place for an artist who wants to go off by himself and think deep
thoughts or write great memo.”
Thus, one 34-year-old chief of staff to another.
(c) 1979, The Washington Post Company
Ready to judge
new parliament
the
smal
society
by Brickman
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Vashmcton Star Syodkcata
Dow Jones should
he making skirts
By DICK WEST
United Press International
WASHINGTON — Hemlines, accord
ing to Wall Street folk lore, make fairly
reliable economic indicators.
Historically, skirt lengths have gone up
and down with the Dow Jones Average,
rising in boom times and dropping when
the economy was faltering.
These parallel fluctuations may have
been entirely coincidental, but assuming
there is something to the hemline theory,
what does one make of the current slit
skirt vogue?
The skirts themselves are long enough
to signal a hair-curling recession. Yet
enough leg is revealed to presage two
chickens in every pot.
I figured this apparent contradiction,
duality or ambiguity could best be ex
plained by a professional economist, so I
solicited an interpretation from Prof. John
Kenneth Turnipblood, author of “The
Pants Suit Syndrome” and other
textbooks.
“What you are seeing in slit skirts is
President Carter’s wage-price guidelines,”
he said.
“The low hemline corresponds to the
anti-inflationary aspects of his economy
policies. The open space up the side is
caused by the consumer price index and
recent union contracts.”
I said, “That seems a well thought out
analogy. What skirt style would be most
helpful for the economy at this time?”
“The president’s economic advisors
would like hemlines no higher than the
bottom of the knee and perhaps a bit be
low. But making that length fashionable is
nearly impossible.
“The teamster contract signed in the
spring took skirt slits almost to mid-thigh,
and the new rubber workers wage scale
may provide a glimpse of the area where
the thigh bone connect-a to the hip bone. ”
“Hoo boy!” I exclaimed. “Alfred Kahn is
going to lose his mind. What do you an
ticipate will emerge, fashionwise, from the
auto industry negotiations coming up later
this year?”
Turnipblood bared his teeth in a lustful
grin. “It is my best judgment that the
price of labor peace in the auto industry
will be a skirt that is slit to the waist.”
I gave a low whistle. “I never realized
economics was such a fascinating subject.
No wonder Treasury Secretary Blument-
hal always has a gleam in his eye. Drawing
on your great storehouse of expertise in
this field, could you possibly foretell the
impact of the next OPEC meeting?”
“Try to picture in your mind a tight-
fitting dress whose hemline falls almost to
the floor but which has a slit on one side
that runs all the way to the armpit,” Tur
nipblood replied. “That will give you some
idea of the upcoming oil price increase.
Although the economic outlook is highly
provocative, I’m not overly worried. Any
economy that was robust enough to with
stand the mini-skirt surely can survive the
Suzie Wong syndrome.
By BARRY JAMES
United Press International
STRASBOURG, France — It is some
times said that the European Economic
Community is a commercial giant and a
political pygmy.
The nine-nation Common Market —
scheduled to expand to 12 members in the
next few years — already is the world’s
' second largest economic force after the
United States.
But only last week in Strasbourg has the
Community started to acquire a political
presence independent of its member gov
ernments.
That presence now is provided by the
new European Parliament, the first in his
tory to be democratically elected across
national frontiers.
Its 410 members, ranging from former
prime ministers to bluff Yorkshire coal
miners, hardly have had time to adapt to
te plush building the French government
insists must remain the seat of their as
sembly.
So it is too early to judge whether the
parliament will emerge as the voice of the
European people and a major poitical
force in its own right, or whether power
will continue to reside with the national
governments and parliaments.
Still, the potential for a political flower
ing exists. Visiting Congressman Sam
Gibbons, a Florida Democrat, believes
the European Parliament is similar in na
ture to the Continental Congress that pre
ceded the present U.S. legislature.
The assembly did elect a president,
Simone Veil, a 52-year-old French grand
mother and survivor of the Nazi’s Au
schwitz death camp. But it has spent much
of its first days bogged down in maddening
points of procedure, made worse by an an
tiquated and time-wasting system of vot
ing.
The ideas have not yet started to flow.
Debate has yet to take over from inaugural
rhetoric. Many of the parliamentarians be
lieve the assembly will become an effec
tive force, and will manage to escape from
the constraints to its power imposed by
the national governments.
“You can’t mobilize 180 million voters
and then have such a parliament do no
thing, achieve nothing or prove that no
thing as changed,” said former Belgian
Premier Leo Tindemans.
Mrs. Louise Weiss, the oldest member
at 86 and president of honor on the first
day, said the parliament as the task of in
spiring a new breed of international men
and women like those who made Europe
great during the Middle Ages, the Renais
sance and the Age of Enlightenment.
“Our institutions have succeeded in pro
ducing European butter, cheese, wine,
calves, even European pigs. What they
have not succeeded in doing is making
Europeans,” Mrs. Weiss said.
To be truthful, the parliament has not
been very inspiring so far. To be fair, it is
too soon to judge whether it will be.
Letters to the Editor
In another man’s shoes...
Editor:
Hey Ags! There really are some good
people left in this world! As a result of my
letter to the Battalion (Battalion, July 11),
Mrs. Andrews, who owns Welch’s Clean
ers, called me. I just have to tell you about
her generosity. She told me that she had
seen my letter about having my gym
clothes and my shoes stolen, and she knew
just how I felt. Someone had stolen her
socks when she was in school, and al
though they only cost $3, at the time that
was a lot of money to her. Despite my
protests, Mrs. Andrews insisted that I go
over to the Athletic Attic and pick out a
new pair of shoes at her expense. She
and arranged all this
knows the owner
ahead of time.
Since I needed the shoes for PE this
session and I didn’t have the money, I just
didn’t have a choice. I didn’t like taking
charity, but sometimes you have to swal
low your pride.
Thank you Mrs. Andrews. You’ve re
stored my faith in human nature. I hope
that whoever stole my things will see this
and feel even more guilty. Then maybe
they’ll think twice before they steal from
someone else.
—Cheryl Richardson
rne. ueRAex A&e
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Dog days again
Editor:
You could do the community a favor by
reminding old-timers and pointing out to
newcomers that dogs are not allowed to
run free in College Station but must be
physically restrained at all times.
The Dexter Park/Jersey Lane area is
notorious. When the Humane Officer ap
pears, the dogs disappear momentarily.
After he departs, these dogs with collars
— but without owners in sight — again
wander about, defecating in anyone’s yard
but their own.
—R.E. Vrooman
Writing the editor
The Battalion welcomes letters to
the editor on any subject. However,
to be acceptable for publication these
letters must meet certain criteria.
They should:
V Not exceed 300 words or 1800
characters in length. .
V Be neatly typed whenever
possible. Hand-written letters are
acceptable.
V Include the author’s name, ad
dress and telephone number for
verification. '
Top of the News
STATE
Kid floored with husband"s sword
A teen-ager charged with the rape of a woman in San Antonio,
warned he would return the next night,arrived to find her husband
wielding a 3-foot-long samurai sword, fhe husband then held the
sword over the head of the terrified teen-ager until officers arrived
early Tuesday, police said. Danny Cortez, 19, was charged with ag
gravated rape and was jailed in lieu of $20,000 bond.
Stolen liquor found in San Antonio
The FBI said Wednesday it recovered a stolen shipment of Jack
Daniels assorted whiskeys and liquors, worth $70,000, originally
bound for California from Kentucky in San Antonio. Michael A.
Morrow, special agent in charge, said agents found the truck full of
whiskey at a truck stop on IH-35 southwest of San Antonio.
NATION
Illinois sues firm for $20 million
Illinois Attorney General William J. Scott has filed a $20 million
class action suit accusing a firm owned by the wealthy Hunt family of
Texas of conducting a massive and fraud scheme. "Over 3,500 Illinois
residents have lost anywhere from $2,000 to $20,000 each in pur
chasing land from Colorado City Development Co. Inc., Scott said at
a news conference after he filed the suit Tuesday in U.S. District
Court. The suit accuses the defendants — including the Hunt Inter
national Resources Corp. of Dallas — of misleading buyers into pur
chasing nearly worthless land. The suit asks that each purchaser be
allowed to recover his or her total damages and that all payments
currently being collected from purchasers be held in escrow until the
case is resolved.
Fire water better than Fire Chief
Farmer-engineer Ken Drayton, who used to make his own hootch,
says farmers should run their tractors on moonshine. He’s even de
signed his own still. Drayton, 48, who owns a 235-acre farm in Ovid
Township just north of the Indiana border, said farmers could cut fuel
bills by at least a third by using 140-proof ethyl alcohol instead of
diesel fuel or gasoline. “It could be the egg-money of the next dec
ade,” he said. Drayton ran his first still as an employee of an an
electronics firm that made seawater for testing sonar equipment. But
it was while he worked for Aramco in Saudi Arabia that he had his
first experience with moonshine. “Saudi Arabia is a dry country and
the Americans there wanted to drink, so the company helped us set
up stills,” he said. “You’d go around and see who could make the
best-tasting hootch. You just had to keep it from getting to the loc
als.”
Sirhans parole moved up to 1984
The state Community Release Board in Soledad, Calif, Tuesday
moved up the recommended parole date of Sirhan Sirhan, the assas
sin of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, to Nov. 1, 1984, after noting his good
behavior, college work and improved mental health. Sirhan, 35, es
caped the death penalty when the state Supreme Court ruled capital
punishment unconstitutional in 1972. He has been behind bars 11
years. He could be freed as early as July 1983 if he continues to
receive the usual four-month sentence reduction routinely awarded
inmates who stay out of trouble and who try to improve themselves
through courses and job training.
Co-ed “sues home for money
It’s Zimmerman vs. Zimmerman in state Supreme Court in Man
hattan. Adrienne Zimmerman, 21, of Great Neck, N.Y., is suing her
father Theodore, an attorney who reportedly earns more than
$100,000 a year, for failing to keep his promise to pay her college
fees. In the suit filed Tuesday, Miss Zimmerman said she was to have
entered her senior year at Adelphi University next fall, but was sus
pended June 12 because her father didn’t pay her fees for two years.
I’m doing this because I want to survive,” the coed told Justice
Thomas Hughes. “I want a career in life. I’m not going to let him stop
me.”
Five kids drown; none could swim
WORLD
Hijackers demand $1 million
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After eating watermelon at a family picnic beside a lake off the
Savannah River in Sylvania, Ga., Tuesday, Norman Scurry decided
to take his three children and two nieces for a joyride in an 18-foot
long aluminum boat. None of them knew how to swim. When the
overloaded craft capsized. Scurry was strong enough to make it to
shore despite the fact he couldn’t swim, but the children — four girls
and a boy, ranging in age from 15 to 6 — were helpless and drowned.
“It was something terrible seeing all my kids go down like that,
Scurry said.
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Three hijackers who commandeered a Bangladesh Biman
passanger plane in Calcutta, India, Wednesday and threatened to
blow it up unless they were paid $1 million surrendered to police, the
All India Radio said. The hijackers had taken over the aircraft with 43
passengers and crew aboard during the 80 mile flight from Jessoreto
Dacca in Bangladesh and ordered it to land at Calcutta’s Dum Dum
Airport.
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MEMBER
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Editor Karen Bo?
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Sports Editor Sean Pi 1
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