The Trustee Presidency: Jimmy Carter and the United States Congress.

• Author: Ornstein, Norman J.

The Trustee Presidency: Jimmy Carter and the United States Congress. Charles 0. Jones. Lnuisiana State University Press, $24.95. One of the most interesting developments at the Democratic convention in Atlanta in July was the focus it gave to Jimmy Carter. Many of the most significant events, formal and informal took place at the Carter Center and Carter Library, impressive facilities on an imposing site. Carter gave a primetime address and appeared at the podium with other dignitaries after Dukakis's acceptance speech.

Clearly, eight years have softened harsh judgments and provided some distance from the pain and immediacy of the Carter presidency. Almost inevitably, historians and political scientists, having had time and access to documents and interviews, are beginning to weigh in with more systematic and definitive analyses of the Carter years. We can hope that they will measure up to the standards set by Jones's study of Carter and his relationship with Congress. Relying heavily on a series of in-depth interviews with key personnel in the Carter administration done by the Miller Center at the University of Virginia, Jones lays out a model of the Carter presidency and systematically explores how it shaped Carter's approach to Congress and Washington.

To Jones, Jimmy Carter saw himself clearly...