This Day In 1970's History: Tuesday January 23, 1979
- In a State of the Union address, President Carter soberly stressed efficient government rather than new programs and urged Congress to help build "a new foundation" for the future by controlling inflation and strengthening peace with a new accord with the Soviet Union to limit strategic arms. The President gave a mid-term report on his goals to Congress. [New York Times]
- The 1980 Republican National Convention will be held in Detroit. The party's national committee approved the site after opponents had contended that the city was depressing. But Bill Brock, the national chairman, wanted the convention to be held in Detroit to help dramatize the party's efforts to reach out to urban and black voters, and he won by a vote of 95 to 52. Detroit's struggle to rebound from more than two decades of economic decline was given a lift by the decision of Republican leaders to hold the party's 1980 convention there. [New York Times]
- Congressional outcries over budget cuts in social programs proposed by President Carter set a precedent, and perhaps a smokescreen, for special-interest efforts to retain $4.5 billion in programs marked for elimination, the White House suggested. Jody Powell, the White House press secretary, derided some programs that have historically been cut by Presidents and restored by Congress. [New York Times]
- Senator Herman Talmadge was hospitalized for alcohol abuse and exhaustion, his office announced. The Georgia Democrat is under investigation by the Senate Ethics Committee for alleged financial improprieties. [New York Times]
- Marriage between Jews and non-Jews has apparently become much more acceptable to Jewish groups than in the past, according to a study of Jewish attitudes that was made public by the American Jewish Committee. The study found that, in marriages where the non-Jewish spouse converted to Judaism, the couple was far likelier to affiliate with a synagogue and to provide their children with a religious education. [New York Times]
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