SLIM THOUGH the margin was, Jimmy Carter's victory last week represents a mandate for progressive change in American government. The coalition Carter forged to insure his triumph in the election included blacks--voting, and more importantly, voting Democratic, in historic numbers--and rural whites, particularly in the south; members of major industrial unions supported him nationally by a two to one margin, and in the end, all of the liberal and even the most marked left-wing elements in the Democratic party banded together behind his candidacy.

The positive response of this coalition to Carter was based on the issues he raised during the campaign, the positions he took on jobs, on welfare, on taxes, and on civil rights. The income gulf between the Ford and Carter voters is clear testimony to the fact that personality perception, contrary to what many would have us believe, was not the dominant factor informing the choice of candidate in this election.

The Carter victory will be a victory for America's economically and politically deprived who sent him to the White House if Carter adheres to the commitments he made during the race. His plans for a "people's inaugural," a ceremony and celebration which will be staged at very little cost to the taxpayer, is a promising sign. But more telling yet will be the appointments he makes to the cabinet and the White House staff in coming weeks, and it can only be hoped that Carter continues on the course which he and the American people together have charted.