(2 of 2)
Fumble or Fortify? Mansfield's settlement quickly generated Senate support. The new committee will be composed of eight Democrats and seven Republicans. Members would be limited to eight-year terms to prevent the growth of cozy relationships between the watchers and the watched. Among those legislators picked at week's end were Democratic liberals Birch Bayh, Adlai Stevenson, Gary Hart and Joseph Biden, and Republicans Clifford Case, Howard Baker, Mark Hatfield, Strom Thurmond and Goldwater. Though Church might be a natural candidate for chairmanship of the new committee, he ruled himself out. The expected choice is Democrat Daniel Inouye of Hawaii, a tough skeptic, who served on Sam Ervin's Watergate Committee. After Inouye, another possibility for the chairmanship is Democrat Walter Huddleston of Kentucky.
The Senate's resolution generally ensured a forceful watchdog committee. Still, the central question remains: would this intelligence panel fumble the oversight responsibility or fortify it?