Almost every politician in Washington last week qualified, in a strictly myopic sense, as "forward-looking." All eyes were fixed on the coming presidential campaign, to the neglect of a pile of pressing U.S. problems. In Congress, with two-thirds of the session already frittered away, Republicans and Democrats scarcely pretended to legislate, turned earnestly instead to making issues and polishing images for election-year politicking. After thrusting forward its hastily contrived, budget-busting alternative to the Democrats' plan for medical care of the aged, the Administration saw its compassion for ailing oldsters overshadowed by the Democratic Congress' sympathy for sick cities and counties.
In...