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A. There's no doubt in my mind that Fritz Mondale will play a major role in governing. He'll be my chief staff person, and his office will be near mine in the White House. He ought to get the same CIA briefings, the same foreign affairs dispatches that I look at, and he'll be a constant adviser to me and constant partner with me in making decisions.
Q. Do you expect to ask the American people to make any sacrifices, given the economic and energy situations in the country now?
A. I hope to evolve, within the first 90 days of my Administration, an overall energy policy. This might very well have, as a major component, the conservation of energy. In economic matters as well as energy matters, on occasion, I would certainly feel free, without embarrassment, to call on the American people to make a sacrifice. I think they would respond well.
Q. What sort of energy program do you have in mind?
A. One person, Mr. Schlesinger, will be in charge of the whole energy field. He will be located in the White House, as an assistant to me. It's imperative that we should know what our goals are in conservation and in research and development priorities, and this will be the first major undertaking of the Administration. I hope, too, to establish a separate Department of Energy.
Q. Is your goal self-sufficiency for the U.S.?
A. No. I think that's something that we can't ever hope to achieve and I don't see any reason for it. We can't become self-sufficient in zinc, or molybdenum, or bauxite or oil. But we can have an adequate assured supply from overseas, and an adequate reserve supply in this country, an adequate conservation program so that we don't waste fuel any further. And we must make a shift toward coal, whose quantity is almost unlimited.
Q. Doesn't a conservation program suggest major changes in American life, like smaller cars and less travel and smaller houses?
A. I think it would encompass all those things, yes.
Q. Do you favor a federal job freeze?
A. That's certainly a possibility. In different departments, perhaps many departments, you can freeze the hiring. I don't intend to fire anyone because of reorganization. I don't think that's fair to the civil service employees. But I would reserve the right not to fill all vacancies as they occur, to reduce the total number of employees in certain areas of Government and to transfer people to more productive jobs with no loss in pay or seniority.
Q. In the economic area, will you give priority to tax cuts or to job-creation legislation?
A. My first preference would be to enhance job opportunities, preferably on a continuing basis—and not just a quick, temporary, or transient effort toward employment. There are several job programs already evolved by Commerce, and the Administration structures are in place. They would be immediately available for expansion. There's a limit on what we can do in the job-enhancement area. Whatever we can't do in stimulating jobs I would make up with some form of tax reduction. I don't know yet the full level of economic stimulus to recommend. Perhaps I'll decide before January 1.
Q. Which is the greater evil now, inflation or unemployment?