ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses Jimmy Carter's Symbolic Activities, Carter's First Year Leadership, The Lance Affair and The First Year Retrospectives. The argument that Carter "failed" as a leader in working with Congress on the energy package reveals some important journalistic expectations of presidential leadership. Journalists assessed the "Lance affair" as the inevitable outcome of an inexperienced White House staffed by collegial and parochial individuals. They argued that an experienced staff with diverse backgrounds would have handled the Lance affair competently. Journalists discussed Carter's numerous symbolic gestures and attempted to develop from their observations some understanding of Carter's leadership approach. Some journalists favored Carter's unpretentious style while others complained of an administration that appeared to stress style over substance. Time magazine portrayed the withdrawal as a major rebuff of Carter's leadership of Congress and implied that the nomination would have succeeded had he consulted the party leadership.
