Letter from Washington

“Alan is my disciple philosophically but his career as an economic analyst is his own achievement.” So says Ayn Rand of Alan Greenspan, who will move in when Herbert Stein moves out as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. The Greenspan appointment is a kind of bitter-sweet development in the light of Watergate. There never has been and probably never again will be such a conservative man in this sensitive position. But the President who appointed him is fighting for his political life, and has little time for listening to much economic advice. The fine Greenspan hand was evident in Mr. Nixon’s nationally televised Los Angeles speech on the economy. In that speech Mr. Nixon noted, correctly, that federal spending is a major cause of inflation, and he noted, correctly, that Congress is the chief cause of excessive federal spending, and he vowed, commendably, to go to the mat with Congress by vetoing irresponsible appropriation bills. And half an hour after Mr. Nixon finished his speech, the House Judiciary Committee hearings came back on television. This timing underscored a fact that hardly needs underscoring: Mr. Nixon no longer has the strength to impose his will on Congress.

It was another piece of hideous bad luck for Mr. Nixon. The Washington grand jury returned its three-count indictment (bribery, perjury, obstruction of justice) against John Connally just minutes before the House Judiciary Committee began debating Article II of the impeachment bill—the article dealing with abuse of power. Connally is the fourth Nixon Cabinet member to be indicted. (The others: Commerce Secretary Maurice Stans, Attorney General John Mitchell, Attorney General Richard Kleindienst.) Until the indictment Connally was named by about 10 per cent of Republican and independent voters as their first choice for the 1976 GOP presidential nomination. Professionals will be watching to see which remaining candidate benefits from Connally’s being knocked out of the race.

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“Alan is my disciple philosophically but his career as an economic analyst is his own achievement.” So says Ayn Rand of Alan Greenspan, who will move in when Herbert Stein moves out as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. The Greenspan appointment is a kind of bitter-sweet development in the light of Watergate. There never has been and probably never again will be such a conservative man in this sensitive position. But the President who appointed him is fighting for his political life, and has little time for listening to much economic advice. The fine Greenspan hand was evident in Mr. Nixon’s nationally televised Los Angeles speech on the economy. In that speech Mr. Nixon noted, correctly, that federal spending is a major cause of inflation, and he noted, correctly, that Congress is the chief cause of excessive federal spending, and he vowed, commendably, to go to the mat with Congress by vetoing irresponsible appropriation bills. And half an hour after Mr. Nixon finished his speech, the House Judiciary Committee hearings came back on television. This timing underscored a fact that hardly needs underscoring: Mr. Nixon no longer has the strength to impose his will on Congress.

It was another piece of hideous bad luck for Mr. Nixon. The Washington grand jury returned its three-count indictment (bribery, perjury, obstruction of justice) against John Connally just minutes before the House Judiciary Committee began debating Article II of the impeachment bill—the article dealing with abuse of power. Connally is the fourth Nixon Cabinet member to be indicted. (The others: Commerce Secretary Maurice Stans, Attorney General John Mitchell, Attorney General Richard Kleindienst.) Until the indictment Connally was named by about 10 per cent of Republican and independent voters as their first choice for the 1976 GOP presidential nomination. Professionals will be watching to see which remaining candidate benefits from Connally’s being knocked out of the race.