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So far, the least influential of the seven staffers who make up the Carter inner circle seems to be Midge Costanza, 44, the former vice mayor of Rochester. She is the group's only female, the only ethnic and the only non-Georgian. One White House watcher wisecracks: "They had hoped she might be handicapped too." Costanza's job: to deal, as she says, with "organized America," meaning special-interest groups such as senior citizens and gay organizations. Costanza is much more liberal than Carter on most issues, and thus far has not had much impact on policy.
Below the group of seven—and, of course, Vice President Walter Mondale, National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski, James Schlesinger and Budget Chief Bert Lance—is the "junior varsity." These are the dozen or so lesser aides who keep the White House whirring and the senior seven free to concentrate on their own functions.
On this level, the rising stars tend to be Jordan aides. His chief deputy, Landon Butler, 35, is a key operative for the Georgia cadre and is organized labor's West Wing contact. Another Jordan man is Richard Hutcheson, 25, a former campaign aide, who oversees the paper flow into Carter's In box. Senior staffers send their memos—held to two pages, when possible—to Hutcheson for delivery to Carter. But juniors with ideas they want Carter to consider must send their notes to their own senior staffer first; if he passes a memo, it then goes on to Hutcheson. If he deems it unworthy of a showing to Carter, Hutcheson may ask for a revision. While he claims to try hard not to do violence to other staffers' ideas, he has gained a reputation for abrasiveness. Lately, he has been holding regular discussions with eight to ten other j.v. staffers on the "longerrange picture." Says he: "People have to know what's coming up."
Fewer Knives. Some critics, observing the Georgians' fierce loyalty to their boss, have suggested that Carter could be creating his own imperial presidency; he is surrounded by a palace guard that, despite its relentless informality, is a palace guard nonetheless. That does not seem likely. Reports TIME Correspondent Bonnie Angelo: "There is within the Carter White House less jockeying and fewer glinting knives in the back than is usual in a place where power can be determined by how close you sit to the Oval Office. The Carter staff is more relaxed and more approachable than any other White House group in recent years. Their chief flaw is not some latent imperial instincts but their lack of Washington savvy. Their total experience in government lies in their years with Carter; they are not yes men by any means, but they bring no new insights, no sensitivities honed under different pressures."
Eventually, the President's aides will gain that missing Capitol experience. Along the way, of course, they could also succumb to a special Washington vice. Says Angelo: "Thus far, the Carter staff has not demonstrated a thirst for power —but power, after all, can be an acquired taste."