The Nation: Jimmy's Music to Govern By

If a movie is ever made about the Carter White House, it will not be hard to score the sound track. The sound of music fairly reverberates through the West Wing almost all day long—and often far into the night. Carter has explored the White House collection of 2,000 LPs—donated by a record-industry group when Richard Nixon was President—and selected a few dozen albums of classical music for his secretary, Susan Clough, to spin on the turntable near her desk. The music is channeled to stereo speakers in Carter's private study so that...