ABSTRACT
The responses of the public and Congress constitute the political environment within which Presidents must work to secure continuation of an acceptable foreign aid policy. Although this environment is frequently characterized by its hostility to foreign aid, its over-all influence is both complex and diverse. The challenge and response within the political system are producing a clearer vision of where we are going or, indeed, where we now stand with regard to foreign aid. Even President Johnson's widely advertised power to perform legislative miracles has had little impact in resolving doubts about the program. Clarification of these doubts is certainly not the responsibility of any one leader, any one part of the government, any one political party, any one faction of the American people. The material and philosophical demands upon society are too great, and the opportunities for accomplishment too broad, to permit a narrowly-based view of foreign aid.
