ABSTRACT
As long as rhetoric continues in the public policy arena, the disparity itself will constitute demands upon the political system. Public dissent became a more frequent characteristic of commission proceedings, and presidential response all but disappeared in the Nixon years. At the least, rhetorical policy survived the shutting down of the government during the Watergate crisis, and, apparently, in January 1977 the government returned to “business as usual.” On February 17, 1977, the president signed Executive Order No. 11973 and charged the commission “to review the mental health needs of the Nation and to make recommendations to the President as to how the Nation might best meet these needs.” The last official meeting of the commission was characterized by a cautious optimism. Robert L. Sutherland, recounting over forty years of experience as a member of various national commissions and as an observer of many more, noted that presidential advisory commissions serve a great number of purposes.
