THE WHITE HOUSE: How Jimmy's Staff Operates

At first they seemed to be in over their heads—way over. Jimmy Carter's aides and assistants ignored the barons on Capitol Hill. They irked newsmen, bureaucrats and other supplicants by letting their phones jingle unanswered. Mail piled up. Key sub-Cabinet posts went unfilled for weeks, and ambassadorial appointments have only just begun to trickle out. Meanwhile, the White House staff that Carter had promised to slash by 30% has grown by nearly 30%, to 655 names.

But now, at least to hear Carter staffers tell it, the new team's teething days are...

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