Thus did Jimmy Carter agree to run for reelection on a platform that asked for $12 billion in new spending, which he believed to be at direct cross-purposes with his fundamental economic goal—balancing the budget to fight inflation—which he had argued for as a national imperative in a speech six months earlier that announced $13 billion in new cuts. He had no choice, reflected DNC Chairman John White. “The mood of the house—well, it’s Kennedy’s night.”
