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Show THE NATIONAL ENTERPRISE, SEPTEMBER 7, 1977 26 r by Chuck Akerlow Open Account L One of the foundations of the Carter campaign was its insistence that all future government officials would need to be as clean as a hound's tooth." Indeed, the procedure by which the President selected many of his Cabinet rank officials was designed to insure that only the most solid, upright men and women of integrity and experience would be appointed. The President in his appointments of Bert Lance and Griffin Bell showed that even he was susceptible to "cronyism" in politics. Yet, knowing the standards he had set, it was assumed that if any of his appointees failed to measure up, he would take appropriate action. It is quite apparent the financial dealings of Bert Lance were not illegal nor, in most respects, out of line with the practices of some who have used borrowed money to purchase banks. Whether or not Lance is guilty of a wrongdoing is not the point. The issue really is what standards of integrity will the national administration impose upon itself. Most people were certain Carters approach would be to insist that all of his lieutenants were clearly above reproach and beyond the point where even the appearance of wrongdoing would be tolerated. appears Carter will yield to cronyism. His reported statements In the pinch it of outlandish support for Bert Lance, in my opinion, belie his campaign rhetoric. If the President is to practice what he preaches, now is the time to request Lance's resignation. Whether there has been any wrongdoing is beside the point. The appearance of wrongdoing is strongly held by the electorate. To continue Mr. Lance in office will render the budget-makinprocess a crippling blow since his effectiveness can only be diminished as a result of his recent problems. It would be good for the government and the country for Bert Lance to step down and return to Altanta to resolve his own personal problems. How Indispensable is Lance? hy Ralph de Toledano Copley News Sendee g THE NATIONAL WASHINGTON - There is bewilderment iErjferoir MfWMElSMZWitt. Hphapanicesim ANPTOMSfliWCM SS. MpMom Commentary NONEflnhJW cammed -- - a has begun to filter out to the countryside -- bewilderment that over President Carter's behavior in the case of Bert Lance. It runs counter to the popular assessment of Mr. Carter as a shrewd and cagey political operator. His rush to proclaim how "proud" he was of Lance, on the basis of a report which cited repeated noncriminal violations of the banking laws hardly an accolade his confusion at the latest press conference when asked questions he should have anticipated, his statement in lame explanation of why Lance and his family wrote out hundreds of thousands of dollars in rubber" checks that he too overdrew his bank account -these do not fit the Carter pattern. And particularly surprising after Mr. Carters stem moralizing on Watergate was his insistence that whatever Lance had done was simply what other bankers do. This "excuse" might be equally applied to Gov. Marvin Mandel and his friends, recently convicted of mail fraud and political racketeering, that they were doing what has always come naturally to Maryland politicians. In the face of these actions, so untypical of Mr. Carter and so politically damaging to someone who has gained a reputation of being a whiz at public relations, two theories have begun to circulate in Washington. The first is that Mr. Carter is attempting to block a thorough investigation of this Office of Management and Budget director because it would show embarrassing links to the Jimmy Carter. To bolster this theory, there is a report that: Mr. Carter used the Lance banks plane for political purposes, in violation of the election law, and that he journeyed to New York in 1975, as a potential presidential candidate, to add his presence in Lances successful negotiations for a $5.4 million - - Opinion and in this city pre-presiden-t- ial . NONE NONEOFMdO HAVE WILL FLUNK- - oFto loan. Will ID W&K HARK There is another theory as to why Mr. Carter is sticking out his neck for the second most powerful figure in the White House. It is said that Lance is the Presidents "indispensable man" the one person in the White House hierachy with whom he can let down his hair with complete trust in a - NdFB?W J - type of relationship. To thoughtful political observers, this explanation of Mr. Carter's retreat from his former puritanical position is far more disturbing. It demonstrates a weakness in the President and a vulnerability to psychological pressures which raise serious questions about the course the Carter administration will take. This theory makes more sense than the possibility of skeletons in Mr. Carters poliitical closet. The Oval Office is the loneliest place in America. Lance and Mr. Carter are political contemporaries with roots in the same Southern clay. It is understandable that the President should need company in his political bomb shelter. And, after all, President Truman had his cronies - men who were caught suspiciously close to the cookie jar. But it was Trumans cronies who needed him desperately, and not vice: versa. He stood by them, even though it singed his political hair. The Republicans in Congress have been relatively quiet about Lance first because they like him and secondly because they feel it is wiser to let the Democrats gore the presidency than to do it thdemselves. But their restraint does not answer the questions raised by the Carter-Lanc-e relationship. Nixon-Haldema- n -- - |