Origins

As is well known, Jimmy Carter's domestic-policy agenda was much less well structured than either Johnson's or Nixon's. Johnson could exploit the Great Society slogan which served as a sort of rhetorical portmanteau for a wide range of policies. Nixon's agenda was shorter and in large part could be accommodated under the general heading of the ′New Federalism′. In his campaign speeches and statements, Carter promised a great deal, but there was little either ideologically or rhetorically to bind his commitments together. Given his general style (anti-Washington; populist; low key) and the changed nature of the times (low public expectations of the presidency; a growing federal deficit problem), it would have been difficult for Carter to have announced anything equivalent to the Great Society, but, as the first newly elected Democratic President since 1964, he was expected to be more innovative and reformist than Nixon or Ford.

His campaign pledges are easily summarized, because once elected he ordered adviser Stuart Eizenstat to compile every promise he made during the campaign. The list was not only long, it was also to become the basis of an ambitious domestic programme. The main promises were:

1. (a) To re-organize the federal bureaucracy, cut down on government regulations and generally simplify the way in which the government deals with the citizenry.

2. (b) To introduce zero-based budgeting or a requirement that every agency justify any increase in spending before approval is granted.

3. […]