Howard Baker's Vote
"Ritchie: Probably Carter's biggest success in the Senate was the Panama Canal treaties in '78, he spent months on that one issue alone. Howard Baker's support of that obviously had a lot to do with him getting those treaties ratified. Why did Baker support Carter on Panama?"
"Hildenbrand: Baker held off a long time before he made a decision as to what he was going to do. He went down to Panama. He hired two consultants. He had one, Edward Lutvak, and another on, I can't recall his name, who took both ends of the treaty, opposing it and supporting it. They were hired as consultants and were involved in everything that happened. When we went to Panama, they went along. We went down to see Torrijos. And I think that Baker was impressed by Torrijos, and in talking with the people down in Panama, seeing the thing."
Source: William F. Hildenbrand, Secretary of the Senate, 1981-1985, Oral History Interviews, Senate Historical Office, Washington, D.C.
"Hildenbrand: Baker held off a long time before he made a decision as to what he was going to do. He went down to Panama. He hired two consultants. He had one, Edward Lutvak, and another on, I can't recall his name, who took both ends of the treaty, opposing it and supporting it. They were hired as consultants and were involved in everything that happened. When we went to Panama, they went along. We went down to see Torrijos. And I think that Baker was impressed by Torrijos, and in talking with the people down in Panama, seeing the thing."
Source: William F. Hildenbrand, Secretary of the Senate, 1981-1985, Oral History Interviews, Senate Historical Office, Washington, D.C.
Click to go back to "Short Term"
