A Letter from the Publisher

There have been numerous occasions in TIME'S 55 years of publication when the editors wished that the magazine could have several covers. This was such a week. The Supreme Court's historic ruling on the Allan Bakke case was at the top of the news, but two other subjects provided the grist for major stories.

One was an interview with Jimmy Carter conducted by TIME Washington Bureau Chief Robert Ajemian. Moving casually from his Executive study to the high-hedged patio outside, Carter answered questions about the direction and depth of his leadership at a time when opinion polls reveal increasing public dissatisfaction. Says Ajemian: "Carter seemed very durable, never exasperated.

Even with long, detailed explanations, he speaks in perfect sentences. There is a precision to his talk that doesn't really hit you until you look back over a transcript of his conversation."

A second was the report on Cuba by TIME Diplomatic Correspondent Strobe Talbott, who spent eleven days on the island. Talbott gathered notes on the Soviet presence, spoke with Cubans about Africa, and met with Fidel Castro for 2 1/2 hours of freewheeling discussion. "Most heads of state I've encountered seem weighted down by their jobs," reports Talbott. "Not the Cuban Premier. He obviously has a lot of fun being Fidel Castro--and he does it well."

But the week's most important story originated with a 38-year-old white engineer's petition to enter a California medical school. For 18 months, TIME'S Hays Gorey, our principal Washington correspondent on the story, had collected information about Bakke's lawsuit. He also interviewed dozens of high-ranking officials involved with affirmative-action and other civil rights programs. When the Supreme Court's ruling came, it seemed more significant to Gorey for what it did not answer than for what it did. Reflects Gorey: "Before the Bakke ruling, the question was how America could remedy the effects of past discrimination without indulging in present and future discrimination. And that is still the question." This week's cover story, written by Edwin Warner and researched by Raissa Silverman, offers some answers in the new climate of the Bakke decision.

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