Famous Jimmy Carter Quotations

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"I think it's going to be very close. This is one of these elections that there will not be a breakaway winner. Probably in this state we're in for a Gerald Ford-Jimmy Carter race where it may be one vote a precinct. Ohio's going to determine the next president."
by Brian Hicks
"[Gore] received the most votes nationwide, and in my opinion, he also received the most votes in Florida, ... And the decision was made as you know by a 5-4 vote on a highly partisan basis by the U.S. Supreme Court, so I would say in 2000, there was a failure."
by Jimmy Carter
"Aggression unopposed becomes a contagious disease."
by James Earl Jimmy Carter, Jr.
"Aggression unopposed becomes a contagious disease"
by Jimmy Carter
"Also in 2004, there was a substantial aversion of the Democratic leaders to demonstrate - maybe failure is a better word than aversion - to demonstrate a compatibility with the deeply religious people in this country. I think that absence hurt a lot."
by Jimmy Carter
"America did not invent human rights. In a very real sense ... human rights invented America."
by James Earl Jimmy Carter, Jr.
"America did not invent human rights. In a very real sense...human rights invented America"
by Jimmy Carter
"An act of terrorism totally outside the bounds of international law and diplomatic tradition. ... a crisis that calls for firmness and restraint."
by James Earl Jimmy Carter, Jr.
"For the first time in the history of our country the majority of our people believe that the next five years will be worse than the past five years."
by James Earl Jimmy Carter, Jr.
"For this generation, ours, life is nuclear survival, liberty is human rights, the pursuit of happiness is a planet whose resources are devoted to the physical and spiritual nourishment of its inhabitants."
by James Earl Jimmy Carter, Jr.
"Human rights is the soul of our foreign policy, because human rights is the very soul of our sense of nationhood."
by James Earl Jimmy Carter, Jr.
"I don't have any doubt that he is very sincere about his Christian faith, ... There are some differences in interpretation. ... I have a commitment to worship the Prince of Peace, not the prince of pre-emptive war. I believe that Christ taught us to give special attention to the plight of the poor."
by Jimmy Carter
"I don't think there's any doubt that some of the factors in his pardon was attributable to large gifts, some of which he gave to Israel, other benefactors and the influence of his former wife, so I think that was, in my opinion, disgraceful, ... brought discredit to the White House because of it."
by Jimmy Carter
"I had a dream the other night. I dreamed that Jimmy Carter came to me and asked why I wanted his job. I told him I didn't want his job. I want to be President"
by Ronald Reagan
"I hate to see complacency prevail in our lives when it's so directly contrary to the teaching of Christ."
by Jimmy Carter
"I just hope we can avoid a policy of the United States that would bring more suffering and devastation on the people of Iraq, ... They have already suffered under a dictator."
by Jimmy Carter
"I personally think that he did violate the law, that he committed impeachable offenses. But I don't think that he thinks he did."
by James Earl Jimmy Carter, Jr.
"I want to choose the strongest Democratic candidate."
by Jimmy Carter
"If you fear making anyone mad, then you ultimately probe for the lowest common denominator of human achievement."
by James Earl Jimmy Carter, Jr.
"In the face of intense monitoring and overwhelming American military superiority, any belligerent move by Hussein against a neighbor, even the smallest nuclear test (necessary before weapons construction), a tangible threat to use a weapon of mass destruction, or sharing this technology with terrorist organizations would be suicidal, ... But it is quite possible that such weapons would be used against Israel or our forces in response to an American attack."
by Jimmy Carter
"It is good to realize that if love and peace can prevail on earth, and if we can teach our children to honor nature's gifts, the joys and beauties of the outdoors will be here forever."
by James Earl Jimmy Carter, Jr.
"Just when you think there's nothing to write about, Nixon says, 'I am not a crook.' Jimmy Carter says, 'I have lusted after women in my heart.' President Reagan says, 'I have just taken a urinalysis test, and I am not on dope.'"
by Art Buchwald
"Just two candidates have asked my opinion about whether they should run for president or not, and I've advised both of them to become candidates, and he's one of them,"
by Jimmy Carter
"Obviously, I'm very grateful to the Nobel committee for choosing me. I think they've announced very clearly that the work of the Carter Center has been a wonderful contribution to the world for the last 20 years."
by Jimmy Carter
"One of the most basic principles for making and keeping peace within and between nations. . . is that in political, military, moral, and spiritual confrontations, there should be an honest attempt at the reconciliation of differences before resorting to combat."
by Jimmy Carter
"Our American values are not luxuries but necessities, not the salt in our bread, but the bread itself. Our common vision of a free and just society is our greatest source of cohesion at home and strength abroad, greater than the bounty of our material blessings."
by Jimmy Carter
"Our Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis"
by Jimmy Carter
"President Reagan was a formidable political campaigner, who provided an inspirational voice to America when our people were searching for a clear message of hope and confidence,"
by Jimmy Carter
"Reagan won because he ran against Jimmy Carter. Had he run unopposed he would have lost."
by Mort Sahl
"Recession is when your neighbor loses his job. Depression is when you lose yours. And recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his."
by Ronald Reagan
"Short-circuiting the long-established principles of patient negotiation leads to war, not peace"
by Jimmy Carter
"The American people are losing confidence in the system, and they want electoral reform,"
by Jimmy Carter
"The claim that a metropolitan location would improve corporate management is fallacious, ... Personally, if it comes down to a choice among several potential Habitat executives to be employed in the future, I would choose one who preferred life in South Georgia to those who might insist on an urban existence."
by Jimmy Carter
"The experience of democracy is like the experience of life itself-always changing, infinite in its variety, sometimes turbulent and all the more valuable for having been tested by adversity."
by James Earl Jimmy Carter, Jr.
"The existing and long-standing use of the word 'evolution' in our state's textbooks has not adversely affected Georgians' belief in the omnipotence of God as creator of the universe,"
by Jimmy Carter
"The law is not the private property of lawyers, nor is justice the exclusive province of judges and juries. In the final analysis, true justice is not a matter of courts and law books, but of a commitment in each of us to liberty and mutual respect."
by Jimmy Carter
"the major credit ... to the Mexican people, who showed a sense of maturity and a deep commitment to freedom and democracy that was really extraordinary."
by Jimmy Carter
"The measure of a society is found in how they treat their weakest and most helpless citizens. As Americans, we are blessed with circumstances that protect our human rights and our religious freedom, but for many people around the world, deprivation and persecution have become a way of life."
by Jimmy Carter
"The United States has alienated its allies, dismayed its friends, and inadvertently gratified its enemies by proclaiming a confused and disturbing strategy of pre-emptive war."
by Jimmy Carter
"There was no doubt that we could prevail militarily, but I think that the vice president and secretary of defense and others said that we were going to be treated with euphoria, crowds who would welcome us there, and the problems of administration of Iraq's economic and political affairs was going to be an easy job,"
by Jimmy Carter
"There's a fairly painful procedure of plucking out all the child's eyelashes...and treatment beyond that to prevent a recurrence of the illness,"
by Jimmy Carter
"This is a great example of international teamwork focused on extending the protection provided by the Aegis BMD Weapon System."
by Jimmy Carter
"War may sometimes be a necessary evil. But no matter how necessary, it is always an evil, never a good. We will not learn how to live together in peace by killing each other's children."
by Jimmy Carter
"We cannot be both the worldÆs leading champion of peace and the worldÆs leading supplier of arms"
by Jimmy Carter
"We live in a time of transition, an uneasy era which is likely to endure for the rest of this century. During the period we may be tempted to abandon some of the time-honored principles and commitments which have been proven during the difficult times of past generations. We must never yield to this temptation. Our American values are not luxuries, but necessities - not the salt in our bread, but the bread itself."
by Jimmy Carter
"We must adjust to changing times and still hold to unchanging principles."
by James Earl Jimmy Carter, Jr.
"with a serious handicap as they enter college or private life where freedom of speech will be permitted."
by Jimmy Carter
"You can't divorce religious belief and public service ... I've never detected any conflict between God's will and my political duty. If you violate one, you violate the other."
by James Earl Jimmy Carter, Jr.
"You can not divorce religious belief and public service. I've never detected any conflict between God's will and my political duty. If you violate one, you violate the other."
by Jimmy Carter
"You have given me a great responsibility to stay close to you, to be worthy of you and to exemplify what you are."
by James Earl Jimmy Carter, Jr.
"I've looked on a lot of women with lust. I've committed adultery in my heart many times."
by Jimmy Carter
"You can do what you have to do, and sometimes you can do it even better than you think you can."
by Jimmy Carter
"You make your own dream. That's the Beatles' story, isn't it? That's Yoko's story. That's what I'm saying now. Produce your own dream. If you want to save Peru, go save Peru. It's quite possible to do anything, but not to put it on the leaders and the parking meters. Don't expect Jimmy Carter or Ronald Reagan or John Lennon or Yoko Ono or Bob Dylan or Jesus Christ to come and do it for you. You have to do it yourself. That's what the great masters and mistresses have been saying ever since time began. They can point the way, leave signposts and little instructions in various books that are now called holy and worshipped for the cover of the book and not for what it says, but the instructions are all there for all to see, have always been and always will be. There's nothing new under the sun. All the roads lead to Rome. And people cannot provide it for you. I can't wake you up. You can wake you up. I can't cure you. You can cure you."
by John Lennon
"America did not invent human rights. In a very real sense... human rights invented America."
by Jimmy Carter
"We become not a melting pot but a beautiful mosaic. Different people, different beliefs, different yearnings, different hopes, different dreams."
by Jimmy Carter
"A strong nation, like a strong person, can afford to be gentle, firm, thoughtful, and restrained. It can afford to extend a helping hand to others. It's a weak nation, like a weak person, that must behave with bluster and boasting and rashness and other signs of insecurity."
by Jimmy Carter
"Reagan won because he ran against Jimmy Carter. If he ran unopposed he would have lost."
by Mort Sahl
"All of us recognize the great benefits to our own nation and to the world of a strong and progressive Iran. Your support of the Camp David acc..."
by Jimmy Carter
"As we meet here at Camp David we ask people of all faiths to pray with us that peace and justice may result from these deliberations."
by Jimmy Carter
"I just look at death as not a threat. It's inevitable, and I have an assurance of eternal life."
by Jimmy Carter
"I think my wife ... is sure of my loyalty.... She knows how hard I work. She knows how tired I am every night. She knows I have fifty or sixty..."
by Jimmy Carter
"It is difficult for the common good to prevail against the intense concentration of those who have a special interest, especially if the decis..."
by Jimmy Carter
"It would be naive to think that peace and justice can be achieved easily. No set of rules or study of history will automatically resolve the p..."
by Jimmy Carter
"One alone in a Chinese square confronted tanks, while others fled...."
by Jimmy Carter
"Ours was a highly activist administration, with a lot of controversy involved ... but I'm not sure that it would be inconsistent with my own p..."
by Jimmy Carter
"Sadat was a great and good man, and ... his most bitter and dangerous enemies were people who were obsessed with hatred for his peaceful goals..."
by Jimmy Carter
"Rosalynn said, 'Jimmy, if we could only get Prime Minister Begin and President Sadat up here on this mountain for a few days, I believe they m..."
by Jimmy Carter
"Quite often ... these little guys, who might be making atomic weapons or who might be guilty of some human rights violation ... are looking fo..."
by Jimmy Carter
"Reinhold Niebuhr observes that the sad duty of politics is to establish justice in a sinful world."
by Jimmy Carter
"The awareness that health is dependent upon habits that we control makes us the first generation in history that to a large extent determines ..."
by Jimmy Carter
"The respect for human rights is one of the most significant advantages of a free and democratic nation in the peaceful struggle for influence,..."
by Jimmy Carter
"They were more than hostile. In the first place, I was a south Georgian and I was looked upon as a fiscal conservative, and the Atlanta newspa..."
by Jimmy Carter
"We in the South were ready for reconciliation, to be accepted as equals, to rejoin the mainstream of American political life. This yearning fo..."
by Jimmy Carter
"We should live our lives as though Christ were coming this afternoon."
by Jimmy Carter


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