Brian Williams: But President Carter, Sir. If you'll forgive me. Some have suggested that, at least early on, the Obama presidency seems to be almost mirroring yours in some important ways. Would you agree? And, if so, obviously, you're not black, Mr. President. Yet, unfortunately, and if you'll forgive me, Sir. The American people did also reject you after four years. How would you explain that, if you don't mind my asking, Sir? And doesn't that at least suggest that the American people are capable of rejecting a president for reasons other than race?
Former President Carter: Well, well, yes, Brian, you do raise a valid point, I suppose. But, but things are very different today. Very different in my view, Brian, if you'll permit me to explain. Back then, you see, well, I was simply an incompetent, ineffective, self-righteous dick who crashed a helicopter in the desert killing several men, while clinging to my Mother, Miss Lillian, God rest her cranky soul. And I, ... I also had a drunken little brother who kept pissing all over the White House lawn when he ran the dogs while Americans remained hostage overseas in Iran and I didn't have a clue what to do about it. Who wouldn't reject that? It did work out pretty well for Ted Koppel, though. So I know at least one guy in America was thrilled to have me there.
Brian Williams: Thank you, Mr. President. You do raise some interesting points.
Ten days ago, I had planned to speak to you again about a very important subject -- energy. For the fifth time I would have described the urgency of the problem and laid out a series of legislative recommendations to the Congress. But as I was preparing to speak, I began to ask myself the same question that I now know has been troubling many of you: Why have we not been able to get together as a nation to resolve our serious energy problem?
It’s clear that the true problems of our nation are much deeper -- deeper than gasoline lines or energy shortages, deeper even than inflation or recession. And I realize more than ever that as President I need your help. So, I decided to reach out and to listen to the voices of America.
I invited to Camp David people from almost every segment of our society -- business and labor, teachers and preachers, governors, mayors, and private citizens. And then I left Camp David to listen to other Americans, men and women like you. It has been an extraordinary ten days, and I want to share with you what I’ve heard.
First of all, I got a lot of personal advice. Let me quote a few of the typical comments that I wrote down.
This from a southern governor: “Mr. President, you are not leading this nation -- you’re just managing the government.”
“You don’t see the people enough anymore.”
“Some of your Cabinet members don’t seem loyal. There is not enough discipline among your disciples.”
“Don’t talk to us about politics or the mechanics of government, but about an understanding of our common good.”
“Mr. President, we’re in trouble. Talk to us about blood and sweat and tears.”
“If you lead, Mr. President, we will follow.”
Many people talked about themselves and about the condition of our nation. This from a young woman in Pennsylvania: “I feel so far from government. I feel like ordinary people are excluded from political power.”
And this from a young Chicano: “Some of us have suffered from recession all our lives.”
“Some people have wasted energy, but others haven’t had anything to waste.”
And this from a religious leader: “No material shortage can touch the important things like God’s love for us or our love for one another.”
And I like this one particularly from a black woman who happens to be the mayor of a small Mississippi town: “The big shots are not the only ones who are important. Remember, you can’t sell anything on Wall Street unless someone digs it up somewhere else first.”
This kind of summarized a lot of other statements: “Mr. President, we are confronted with a moral and a spiritual crisis.”
Several of our discussions were on energy, and I have a notebook full of comments and advice. I’ll read just a few.
“We can’t go on consuming forty percent more energy then we produce. When we import oil we are also importing inflation plus unemployment.”
“We’ve got to use what we have. The Middle East has only five percent of the world’s energy, but the United States has twenty-four percent.”
And this is one of the most vivid statements: “Our neck is stretched over the fence and OPEC has a knife.”
“There will be other cartels and other shortages. American wisdom and courage right now can set a path to follow in the future.”
This was a good one: “Be bold, Mr. President. We may make mistakes, but we are ready to experiment.”
And this one from a labor leader got to the heart of it: “The real issue is freedom. We must deal with the energy problem on a war footing.”
And the last that I’ll read: “When we enter the moral equivalent of war, Mr. President, don’t issue us BB guns.”
These ten days confirmed my belief in the decency and the strength and the wisdom of the American people, but it also bore out some of my longstanding concerns about our nation’s underlying problems.
I know, of course, being President, that government actions and legislation can be very important. That’s why I’ve worked hard to put my campaign promises into law, and I have to admit, with just mixed success. But after listening to the American people, I have been reminded again that all the legislation in the world can’t fix what’s wrong with America. So, I want to speak to you first tonight about a subject even more serious than energy or inflation. I want to talk to you right now about a fundamental threat to American democracy.
I do not mean our political and civil liberties. They will endure. And I do not refer to the outward strength of America, a nation that is at peace tonight everywhere in the world, with unmatched economic power and military might.
The threat is nearly invisible in ordinary ways.
It is a crisis of confidence.
It is a crisis that strikes at the very heart and soul and spirit of our national will. We can see this crisis in the growing doubt about the meaning of our own lives and in the loss of a unity of purpose for our nation.
The erosion of our confidence in the future is threatening to destroy the social and the political fabric of America.
