Letter from Washington

During the last week of June, Washington was blanketed with its first soggy, smothering heat wave of the year, and the weather seemed to match the mood of the city’s Republicans. During the early primary months, the atmosphere was jittery, uncertain. But now a fatalistic feeling has settled in, with end-of-an-era symptoms apparent at all levels of government. At the highest levels, it’s every man for himself. Transportation Secretary William Coleman badmouths the Administration publicly. Mathews at HEW has given up all attempts to reform Medicare arid Medicaid and spends much of his time in Alabama, gearing up for his Senate race. Kleppe at Interior, perhaps the least respected of the Cabinet members, is reportedly negotiating for a lobbying job. Elliot Richardson, whose recently published book was originally intended to strengthen his credentials as a vice presidential choice, may soon announce that he has accepted an academic appointment. Treasury’s William Simon, also talked of as a likely vice presidential pick, is writing a book in which he discusses his experiences under Nixon-Ford and says goodbye to Washington.

The books by Simon and Richardson may be the last of the post-Watergate flood. Former Nixon and current Ford staffers, rushing to cash in on their experiences while there is still interest, report that contracts are increasingly hard to come by and the advances are shriveling. Publishers and agents who scour Washington for books are now turning off on the-way-it-was books in general, and are instead on the lookout for how-we-did-it books from Carter people.

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During the last week of June, Washington was blanketed with its first soggy, smothering heat wave of the year, and the weather seemed to match the mood of the city’s Republicans. During the early primary months, the atmosphere was jittery, uncertain. But now a fatalistic feeling has settled in, with end-of-an-era symptoms apparent at all levels of government. At the highest levels, it’s every man for himself. Transportation Secretary William Coleman badmouths the Administration publicly. Mathews at HEW has given up all attempts to reform Medicare arid Medicaid and spends much of his time in Alabama, gearing up for his Senate race. Kleppe at Interior, perhaps the least respected of the Cabinet members, is reportedly negotiating for a lobbying job. Elliot Richardson, whose recently published book was originally intended to strengthen his credentials as a vice presidential choice, may soon announce that he has accepted an academic appointment. Treasury’s William Simon, also talked of as a likely vice presidential pick, is writing a book in which he discusses his experiences under Nixon-Ford and says goodbye to Washington.

The books by Simon and Richardson may be the last of the post-Watergate flood. Former Nixon and current Ford staffers, rushing to cash in on their experiences while there is still interest, report that contracts are increasingly hard to come by and the advances are shriveling. Publishers and agents who scour Washington for books are now turning off on the-way-it-was books in general, and are instead on the lookout for how-we-did-it books from Carter people.