The Nation: Some Stern Tests Ahead

Back to business, Congress—and Carter—face key decisions

"I am not the President's man," Senate I Majority Leader Robert Byrd keeps saying. "I am the Senate's man." As Congress reconvenes this week after a month's recess, President Carter may well wonder just who, if anybody, is the President's man. His friends are displaying a new balkiness, his enemies a new boldness. While mounting opposition to a President is predictable, Carter is especially dependent on a dexterous balancing of allies who have little, if anything, in common. These allies are bound to grow impatient with one another...