After a Big Win, Carey Speaks Up

Not about the Ford in his future--but in the country's

Cheered and confident after his re-election victory, New York Governor Hugh Carey jetted down to the Bahamas with his lady love, Anne Ford Uzielli. They stayed in the sumptuous house owned by her father, whom Carey likes to call "Henry the Deuce. " But Carey, 59, apparently has not yet won his campaign for Anne, 35. When they returned to New York last week, he asked reporters to stop asking about the subject. But he was more expansive when discussing politics and personalities in a series of candid interviews in both the Bahamas and New York with TIME Senior Editor Marshall Loeb. Excerpts:

Should President Carter make some changes now in the people around him?

Sure. He indicated that he would try everybody in the demonstration stage of his Administration, and then he'd move.

Should the President draw more business leaders into the Administration?

Absolutely. Roosevelt kept businessmen around him like Frank Knox and Jesse Jones. Truman followed the same model. Who would be like that on the scene today? I'll be very blunt: Henry Ford II. He knows how to handle labor.

He writes good wage pacts. He enjoys the respect and admiration of minority groups. He is gutsy, no doubt about that. A businessman, a czar, has to be in charge of the economy. Nothing is going to be accomplished until the people overseas see that somebody is in charge. Also, there are elements of leadership in the Ways and Means Committee, and they will listen to someone who speaks their language. Ford is the kind of man to do it.

Who else should the President bring into Government?

I'd also find a place for [former Defense Secretary] Mel Laird. Maybe as a troubleshooter, a coordinator, to work with Congress. I'd find a place for Nelson Rockefeller. If you have a fellow like Rockefeller in the country, you should never put him on the shelf. If the world sees that the country is going bipartisan to combat inflation, then the country will be in shape to go forward.

Who should be replaced in the Cabinet?

I don't see James Schlesinger as the answer as Energy Secretary. He just hasn't got the touch for Congress, and I think he has reached his limitation. Schlesinger has given us the cosmetics of an energy plan. Somebody has got to tell Schlesinger, "All right, you've got your 55-mile-an-hour speed limit, you've got your natural gas bill--that's about all you've got, but no production anywhere, no new resources that are coming in." You show me an energy czar who is not going to plan for production, and he's no czar.

What is the future for Treasury Secretary Michael Blumenthal?

I've got to be kind to Mike because he kept his word to New York in getting federal loan guarantees through. But he may have reached battle fatigue in the economy, which frankly is tumultuous. In that tumult I don't know if Mike is the tough manager that we need.

How good a job is Stuart Eizenstat doing as Carter's Domestic Affairs Adviser?

I've talked to Stu Eizenstat about the illegal-immigration problem, about the tax bill. I just can't seem to get our ideas communicated. I've yet to see an idea come out of Eizenstat's shop.

What would happen if Teddy Kennedy challenged Carter for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1980?

Teddy has said that he won't challenge Carter, and I think he'd be wise not to. What would he get? A split party. The South would leave him because he took on a Southerner. And would women vote for him? I've done a little polling around, and I've found that when Jack Kennedy ran and Bobby Kennedy ran, well, everybody wanted to marry Jack and everybody wanted to adopt Bobby. I don't find that with Teddy. Teddy is a hard worker, but he is perceived otherwise, and that doesn't help with women.

What are Jerry Brown's chances in 1980?

Jerry Brown lost everything but himself in this month's elections. He didn't carry his ticket [in the California vote]. He caved in on Proposition 13.

Is Jacob Javits, the New York Republican Senator, vulnerable in 1980?

He's got [Congressman] Jack Kemp coming at him from the right. The moderate Republicanism of Nelson Rockefeller is gone in New York State. Javits always hooked up with Nelson, and Nelson was treated very badly by the Republican Party. So where's his [Javits'] base?

Well, who would win if Kemp runs against Henry Kissinger for the Republican Senate nomination? This year it would have been Kemp. But in 1980, Kissinger. That Senate seat is a Jewish seat. And it should be. Herbert Lehman held that seat, and Javits. Besides, we should always send to that seat somebody with mental capacity and depth. When you compare the mental capacity and depth of Kenip and Kissinger, there's no comparison. Kemp is not that smart.

But if Kissinger won the Republican nomination, we would beat him with Bess Meyerson. She beats anybody.

This year's elections were not very good for the Democrats, were they?

No. If you took New York out of the mix, it would have been a disaster.

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