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He leaned forward, elbows on the table, head thrust forward. "The attitude of labor is one that causes me the most concern. The relationship between even the most dedicated Democratic Presidents and organized labor leaders has always been a rather stormy one." At this point the presidential reasonableness rather than the new defiance began to show. Labor Chief George Meany had treated him brusquely at their last meeting, but Carter did not refer to it. Instead, the Administration plans to try to work around the imperious A.F.L.-C.I.O. leader. Said Carter: "We have gotten some good response from the leaders of international unions. The retail clerks, for instance, just recently endorsed the proposal of wage increases being less than the previous two years on the average. But working people have to see first that some restraints are going to be placed on professional fees, like dentists and doctors, and on prices charged, like GM and AT&T, before they are willing to sacrifice their wage demands. The test will come when we get down to the Post Office workers and perhaps the Teamsters next year."
Cutting Government spending is moving Carter toward a confrontation with the Congress, and he sounded ready for it. He carefully avoided such a fight last year, and on reflection, thinks he should not have. When House Speaker Tip O'Neill told him then how awful it would appear if a Democratic President vetoed Democratic legislation, the image-conscious Carter paid close attention. Now the President's timidity with Congress seemed ended. "I put the 1979 fiscal year budget to bed in December, had it printed up and sent to the Congress in January," he said. "I don't intend to see that budget spending level increased." Carter sounded stubborn, but businessmen as well as Congressmen say they have become accustomed to Carter talking tougher than he acts. Told that congressional leaders believe he will back down on his veto threats, the President arched forward and said with a rolling sonority: "Anyone who depends on the belief that I will not veto a spending bill that breached the integrity of my budget is laboring under a serious misapprehension. I will not hesitate one minute to veto the bill."
Then the President delivered a much broader warning: "I think this year is going to see a good many disputes resolved only through the veto process."
Speaker O'Neill contends that the President does not truly understand the independent mood of the present Congress. Carter insists he does. But the President says he is not going to stand for the traditional inclinations of Congress to juggle figures. Said Carter: "There is a new kind of political leader, not only in the White House but in the Congress itself. They do not depend on a Speaker, or the Democratic Party, or a presidential candidate to help put them in office. I think this is one reason we are much more likely to see success in November among Democratic members of Congress than we would ordinarily expect. Their dependence relates to their own direct trust with the voters."