Transcripts

JIMMY CARTER: I'm a scientist and a businessman and a farmer and an engineer. And I think I have the capability of tough, confident, businesslike management of government. I've had experience as a governor for four years. I've had experience as a state senator. I know how to deliver services to people. I think it's an advantage in not being bogged down in the bureaucratic mess in Washington.

I have good experience in foreign affairs. I've traveled extensively all my life. I'm a graduate of Annapolis. I've done my graduate work in nuclear physics. I have excellent relationships with the civil rights leaders of this country. In fact, so far as I know, every civil rights leader who has expressed a preference at all, has already endorsed me for president. And this is a very good characteristic to have as a Southern governor, where people might be concerned about my stance on the race issue.

The other one, politically speaking, is being a full-time candidate. Every time one of the others puts in a day, a week, I will have already put in five and a half days that week. And then, the cumulative effect of that would be very profound.

And the last thing that I may mention is that I'm in the race to stay. I'm not going to withdraw. I am not interested in being vice president. I intend to be elected president, and that those who know me realize that that's a total commitment on my part, so they don't have any doubt that at the last minute, I'm going to say, I don't think I want to run anymore. I'll be running right on up through the end of the convention when I receive a nomination.

SPEAKER: I'm interested that you chose to run for the presidency after serving as governor of Georgia, rather than going through the more traditional route of being elected to higher and higher offices. Why did you choose to do that?

JIMMY CARTER: Well, I don't personally consider membership in the US Senate or the Congress to be a higher office than governor. My personal inclination is toward executive management and not debate. And it's obvious that as far as understanding the needs in domestic affairs, energy, transportation, health, welfare, environmental quality, and so forth, that a governor has a much better way to assess how to deliver proper services to the people in the state, much better than a US Senator or Congressman would have.

Another very important aspect of it is that I have a good knowledge of those areas in the federal government, which most governors would not have. I served in the Navy for 11 years. I'm a graduate of Annapolis. I worked on submarines. I have had a chance to serve under Admiral Rickover in the development of the first atomic-powered submarines. I've traveled all my adult life extensively in foreign countries. I'm familiar with the Far East, the Middle East, South and Central America, Europe. I've traveled in all those areas, for instance, the last two years.

So that combination makes it much better, I think, for me to run for president as a governor who's experienced in managing domestic affairs and also knowledgeable about foreign affairs, than if I went to the more highly publicized responsibilities in Washington, which primarily consist of debating.

SPEAKER: Now the inevitable question. I'm wondering where you stand vis-a-vis George Wallace. I've heard it said that you are appealing to his same constituency, and also have the advantage of endorsement by civil right leaders. There is some concern in Minnesota, I think, that he's going to split the Democratic Party. How do you react to all this?

JIMMY CARTER: Well, I don't have the slightest reluctance to run against Wallace in an open and completely aggressive way. The response that I have gotten in areas which have been extremely strong for Wallace in the past has been very encouraging to me. Wallace, as you may remember, in 1972, went from Florida to Michigan, where he got 51% of the votes in Michigan.

And throughout the entire campaign in 1972, Wallace got more votes than McGovern, or Senator Humphrey, or anyone else. He got the most votes of all. So I think it's very important that Wallace be faced head-on very early, preferably in the South, with a campaign that would reveal his performance in office, and his solutions to problems that he has raised for years as issues. And I feel quite confident that I'll come out well against him.

SPEAKER: Do you see any one candidate-- and I'm including President Ford here-- as a truly formidable opponent?

JIMMY CARTER: It would be a mistake to underestimate President Ford. The only candidate that I see who's had a substantial shift in support in the last six months has been Senator Jackson who, I think, to be perfectly frank, has dropped drastically from where he was last November. Wallace maintains about a 20% support, which he's had for the last 10 years.

The other candidates are not making any progress to amount to anything. Congressman Udall is concentrating on just a couple of parts of the country. And he's been to New Hampshire almost every week since last October. And he's been to Wisconsin, Minnesota, several times. But the rest of the country, he very seldom goes to.

Senator Bentsen apparently, hasn't made any move anywhere around the country, except just to raise money. And my name-recognition factor is now about three times what his is. So I'm not trying to knock the rest of the candidates, but I'm trying to give you a frank answer to your question.

I think Ford, President Ford, has built up his popularity recently. It's primarily because he's being compared only to the Congress. And that's not a fair contest because presidents always look better than the Congress looks. Even when President Nixon was at the bottom of his popularity in the midst of the Watergate tragedy, Congress always had a lower popularity rating with the public than did Nixon.

So President Ford is now being compared to the Congress. You can't expect the Congress to lead this nation or inspire the nation or to spell out definitive solutions to our problems. President Ford has shown no leadership at all. So I think in the long run, President Ford will have to be compared, not with the Congress, but with a specific opponent, namely myself. And he'll also have to answer for his total lack of leadership in solving the problems that face this nation in energy, environment, or housing, employment, and so forth, which he has shown no inclination to do.