Are there any important facing the nation which are not being given sufficient consideration?

There are several crucial problems facing this nation which are not receiving the public attention they merit.

First, we have not yet adequately committed ourselves as a people to the issue of our cities. Suburbs are indiscriminately growing up around increasingly Negro core cities. Distrust between the races in our great metro-politan areas is heightened.

Second, we must learn more about the effects of automation on the American people--on their job security and their leisure. And we must plan--so that automation does not turn us into useless appendages of our technology.

Third, we must improve the quality of American life, as well as increasing its bounty. For too long Government has been responsive only to the wish for greated quantity. Yet now that we have affluence we know not how to handle it, to improve the quality of our lives.

Fourth, we are paying insufficient attention to the growing distrust between the races. We cannot live as a nation divided--and we must have the courage to tell the American people just that.

Do you see any of the machinery of the Government that is inefficient or outmoded and, if so, what changes would you like to see?

I am very concerned that the machinery of Government--local, state, and national--has become unresponsive to the needs of the people. This is reflected in the alienation of large segments of our population whose trust in our institutions has not been rewarded.

Government institutions--as private ones--must not become ends in themselves but must be means to an end--to help citizens lead more meaningful lives. We must be willing to "shake up the bureaucracy" to achieve an open society.

I have pledged myself to create an Open Presidency, which will inject flexibility, responsiveness, and vigor into our governmental institutions. To achieve the goal of a truly responsive Executive Branch, several steps will have to be taken:

First, we must act to establish Councils of Citizens in the Executive Office of the President and in various executive departments. These Councils, at both the national, regional, and local levels could be patterned after the Community Action Program Councils, by involving the beneficiaries of Government programs in the decision-making process.

Second, the President must encourage new combinations of individuals committed to the solution of our urgent domestic problems. These groups should cut across interest group lines to involve the broadest range of individuals in the community. They should serve as condults between the community and the Government.

Third, several steps should be taken to involve students in the decision-making process of their government. I have proposed creation of an Office of Youth Participation in the Executive Office of the President so that the ideas and talents of the young can be brought directly into the highest councils of government. In addition, a Youth Talent Bank must be established to recruit young people for public service and place them in positions early in their careers where they can affect government action.

Fourth, a National Domestic Policy Council is desperately needed to provide the same comprehensive analyses of domestic problems as the National Security Council provides for foreign affairs.

Fifth, we must encourage initiative at the local level by helping cities to assume greater responsibilities.

All of this will be meaningless if I