Posted on 09/24/2004 10:00:04 AM PDT by TBarnett34
As former President Jimmy Carter walked into the Woodruff P.E. Center Wednesday evening, Emory students and faculty gave him a standing ovation.
Carter donned Emory colors for the occasion: a blue and gold tie, white striped shirt and blue suit. More than 1,200 students, faculty and staff filled the WoodPEC gym. James W. Dooley, the eternal spirit of Emory, arrived shortly after Carter, his wife Rosalynn, University President James W. Wagner, Vice President for Campus Life John Ford and Student Government Association President Jimin Kim.
During his speech, Carter called the war in Iraq one of the most “gross and damaging mistakes our nation ever made.”
Addressing students and faculty in the packed bleachers of the WoodPEC, the 39th president shared his concerns about President Bush’s foreign policy.
Carter said that if he could change one thing about America’s current foreign policy, “it would be to have someone in charge of it instead of George W. Bush.”
Carter, who turns 80 on Oct. 1, said he anticipates the Town Hall meetings at Emory with “a great deal of trepidation” since he has never disregarded or dismissed any question in the past.
The first question, posed by College freshman Brian Kushner, regarded Carter’s feelings about gay marriage.
In response, Carter made the distinction that while he does not “endorse” gay marriage, he feels a union between people of the same sex “ought to be blessed by governments and by the general society.”
Carter said he does not usually endorse any candidates from the Democratic Party before the conclusion of the primary elections but that he has always supported Democratic candidates in general elections. If his wife Rosalynn Carter were hypothetically to run for office on behalf of an independent human rights party, Carter said, he would vote for her.
If he were running for office this year, Carter said, his platform would be based on making the nation worthy of being titled a “superpower.”
It is important for Americans to realize that they live in the strongest and most powerful nation on earth, he said, adding that the United States should be looked upon as a champion of peace, freedom, democracy and a healthy environment.
“I would say [the characteristics] of a great nation are very similar to the characteristics of a great human being,” he said.
Carter also stressed that he would like the United States to be more generous to impoverished people around the world in order to “break down the enormous and growing barrier between rich people and poor people.”
“Justice, peace, freedom, democracy, human rights, environmental quality and the alleviation of suffering — that’s what I would propose that every American, and not just Democrats and not just Republicans, work to achieve as a well-deserved reputation for America,” he said.
Carter responded to personal question as well. He said his two favorite movies are “Casablanca” and “Fahrenheit 9/11.” He also agreed to a photo opportunity request from a member of the audience, despite saying that he dislikes such requests.
“Yes, yes and yes,” Carter said. “I get asked [to have my picture taken] a lot, it bothers me, and I will have one with you.”
Carter also promoted the mission of the Carter Center and its relationship with Emory.
He said the Center, which has developed programs in 65 nations, attempts to aid “the poorest, most destitute, forgotten and needy people in the world.”
“The Carter Center is a legally married partner with Emory University,” he said. “We are very close together, [and are] bound by an official contract.”
The most gross mistakes we ever made was having Carter as president.
Jimmy, you should have gone into business, marketing your peanuts with your brother, Billie...and NEVER gotten near the White House. When reviewing your disasterous presidency, it is difficult to see how you can criticize anyone in Washington FOR ANYTHING!!!
Look in the mirror Jimmy.
This really says it all. What a skunk.
MORE generous? We're practically giving away the store as it is.
Beat me to it- and you're right. Carter was a disaster whose destructive legacy we are paying for to this day.
“The Carter Center is a legally married partner with Emory University,” he said. “We are very close together, [and are] bound by an official contract.”
Wow!! They are in Massachusetts right? Is that even legal? /sarcasm
SHouldn't he be dusting his Arafat Altar at home?
Even the most distinguished elements of the American left have lost their f*cking minds.
Ok this is the Christian right?
Carter responded to personal question as well. He said his two favorite movies are “Casablanca” and “Fahrenheit 9/11.”
NO! Not a Bogart movie. How can he malign my President and my favorite actor in one sentence.
No Jimmah, your screwing over of the Shah of Iran 30 odd years ago WAS the worst mistake an American president has EVER made, and it's why we're now in the mess we're in.
Damn I wish someone in the media had the sack to tell the truth regarding Carter.
F911 in the top 2 best films of all time? Senile old coot.
Anyone care to speculate what Carter's state funeral will look like compared to Reagan's? I think we will need shorthand for "barf alert".
But they would, wouldn't they?
This selfless, devoted patriot son of America, builder of tar-paper shack communties for poor Americans, this wrinkled, prune-faced imbecile.
The DemocRAT Party is angry with ol' Jimmy. He has refused to help them with their plans to stage a state funeral for a fallen DemocRAT ex-president before the election.
He did think, however, that the coffin on the caisson and the riderless horse trailing was a beautiful touch. He wasn't crazy about Hitlery leading the horse.
“The Carter Center is a legally married partner with Emory University,” he said. “We are very close together, [and are] bound by an official contract.”
SOund more like BUTT BUDDIES to me.
He is a man of seemingly boundless incompetence.
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