situation" as American interests could be harmed in the event the treaty was defeated solely due to Soviet Armed Forces troops being in Cuba. In November, Byrd admitted to complaining to President Carter about Senate leadership receiving only occasional briefings about the Iranian hostage crisis and that Carter had agreed to daily consultations for Minority Leader Howard Baker, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee Frank Church, and ranking Republican member of the Foreign Relations Committee Jacob Javits. Byrd added that he did not disagree with the move by the Carter administration to admit Mohammad Reza Pahlavi for hospitalization and that the same action would extend to "Ayatollah Khomeini himself if he were needing medical treatment and had a terminal illness." On December 3, Byrd told reporters that the Iranian hostage crisis was making the Senate uninhabitable for a debate on the strategic arms treaty, noting that a discussion could still occur before the Senate adjourned on December 21 but that he did not believe he would call up the opportunity even if granted the chance. Days later, Byrd announced there was no chance that the Senate would take up debate on the strategic arms treaty that year while speaking to reporters, adding that he would see no harm in having the discussion on the treaty begin in January of the following year. 1980 Presidential election In July 1979, Senators Henry M. Jackson and George McGovern made comments expressing doubt on President Carter being assured as the Democratic nominee in the 1980 Presidential election. When asked about their comments by a reporter, Byrd referred to Jackson and McGovern as "two very strong voices and not at all to be considered men who have little background in politics" but stated it was too early to participate in "writing the political obituary of the President at this point." Byrd added that the powers of the presidency made it possible that Carter could have a comeback and cited the events in November and December as being telling of his prospects of achieving higher popularity. On May 10, 1980, Byrd called for President Carter to debate Senator Ted Kennedy, who he complimented as having done a service for the US by raising key issues in his presidential campaign. On August 2, Byrd advocated for an open Democratic National Convention where the delegates were not bound to a single candidate. The endorsement was seen as a