The Nation: Storm over The Canal

As Carter & Co. mount a hard sell, opposition also mounts

With a long-sought agreement on the future of the Panama Canal finally in hand, President Carter last week mounted a hard-sell campaign aimed at whipping the treaty through the Senate as quickly as possible. Administration emissaries fanned out to brief influential politicians, and Carter himself got on the phone to promote the pact. Yet winning approval by two-thirds of the Senate—where cries of "Giveaway!" are sure to echo and the filibuster remains a real threat—could prove a difficult, divisive and time-consuming task. Winning that approval before the end of the year...