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Byrd will take the lead in trying to forge a compromise on the Panama Canal treaty. Last week, in a move that significantly improved the treaty's chances, he vigorously supported it for the first time. He said that because of widespread opposition to the pact, Senators who vote for it would get "no political credit, no political mileage." But he described the treaty as "the best means of assuring continued access to the use of the canal." Byrd and Senate Republican Leader Howard Baker will insist that reservations be attached to the treaty, clarifying and firming up U.S. rights to defend the canal and have its ships go to the head of the line in times of emergency.
For the most part, Byrd's colleagues welcome his nearly unerring sense of where the Senators collectively want to go. Even Republicans give him high marks, at least for technical skill. Says New York's Jacob Javits: "He moves heaven and earth to keep the Senate going. But Mike Mansfield and Bob Taft [Republican leader in 1953] did not have to be majority leaders to be great Senators. Byrd is an efficient person in charge of the Senate."
Increasingly, Byrd is taking on another role: friendly adviser to Jimmy Carter. At the beginning of the last session, Byrd was wary of the new President. The majority leader was unsure whether Carter would give him proper deference. He also resented Carter's campaign attacks on Congress. So when the President's nomination of former Kennedy Aide Theodore Sorensen as CIA director ran into trouble, Byrd sounded no warning. Says a junior Democratic Senator: "He just wanted to teach Carter a lesson." Sorensen withdrew under pressure. That lesson was followed by others, as Byrd repeatedly criticized Carter's legislative liaison staff as bumbling, finally declaring of the President last June: "He's in over his head."
The relationship thawed slowly. Carter began seeking out Byrd's advice, and Byrd, his ego satisfied, began giving it more freely. Real trust developed in September when Byrd advised Carter to let go of Bert Lance. Says Byrd: "Carter listened carefully, seemed impressed with what I said, and even asked me to come back later." Now Byrd is telling the President that his approach to Congress last year was too soft-sell. With party discipline weak, advises Byrd, Carter must create his own congressional majorities by force of argument, which he has so far not done. Quips Democratic Representative John Brademas of Indiana: "If Carter does that, he will truly have been born again politically."