"Our
credibility has been shattered"
2004 Democratic National Convention Speech
By President Jimmy Carter
My name is Jimmy Carter, and I'm not running for president.
But here's what I will be doing: everything I can to
put John Kerry in the White House with John Edwards right
there beside him.
Twenty-eight years ago I was running for president,
and I said then, "I want a government as good and as
honest and as decent and as competent and as compassionate
as are the American people." I say this again tonight,
and that is exactly what we will have next January with
John Kerry as president of the United States.
As many of you know, my first chosen career was in the
United States Navy, where I served as a submarine officer.
At that time, my shipmates and I were ready for combat
and prepared to give our lives to defend our nation and
its principles.
At the same time, we always prayed that our readiness
would preserve the peace. I served under two presidents,
Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower, men who represented
different political parties. Both of whom had faced their
active military responsibilities with honor.
They knew the horrors of war, and later, as commanders-in-chief,
they exercised restraint and judgment and had a clear
sense of mission. We had confidence that our leaders,
military and civilian, would not put our soldiers and
sailors in harm's way by initiating "wars of choice" unless
America's vital interests were endangered.
We also were sure that these presidents would not mislead
us when it came to issues involving our nation's security.
Today, our Democratic party is led by another former
naval officer-one who volunteered for military service.
He showed up when assigned to duty, and he served with
honor and distinction.
He also knows the horrors of war and the responsibilities
of leadership, and I am confident that next January he
will restore the judgment and maturity to our government
that is sorely lacking today. I am proud to call Lieutenant
John Kerry my shipmate, and I am ready to follow him
to victory in November.
As you know, our country faces many challenges at home
involving energy, taxation, the environment, education,
and health. To meet these challenges, we need new leaders
in Washington whose policies are shaped by working American
families instead of the super-rich and their armies of
lobbyists. But the biggest reason to make John Kerry
president is even more important. It is to safeguard
the security of our nation.
Today, our dominant international challenge is to restore
the greatness of America-based on telling the truth,
a commitment to peace, and respect for civil liberties
at home and basic human rights around the world. Truth
is the foundation of our global leadership, but our credibility
has been shattered and we are left increasingly isolated
and vulnerable in a hostile world. Without truth-without trust-America
cannot flourish. Trust is at the very heart of our democracy,
the sacred covenant between the president and the people.
When that trust is violated, the bonds that hold our
republic together begin to weaken. After 9/11, America
stood proud, wounded but determined and united. A cowardly
attack on innocent civilians brought us an unprecedented
level of cooperation and understanding around the world.
But in just 34 months, we have watched with deep concern
as all this goodwill has been squandered by a virtually
unbroken series of mistakes and miscalculations. Unilateral
acts and demands have isolated the United States from
the very nations we need to join us in combating terrorism.
Let us not forget that the Soviets lost the Cold War
because the American people combined the exercise of
power with adherence to basic principles, based on sustained
bipartisan support. We understood the positive link between
the defense of our own freedom and the promotion of human
rights. Recent policies have cost our nation its reputation
as the world's most admired champion of freedom and justice.
What a difference these few months of extremism have
made!
The United States has alienated its allies, dismayed
its friends, and inadvertently gratified its enemies
by proclaiming a confused and disturbing strategy of "preemptive" war.
With our allies disunited, the world resenting us, and
the Middle East ablaze, we need John Kerry to restore
life to the global war against terrorism.
In the meantime, the Middle East peace process has come
to a screeching halt for the first time since Israel
became a nation. All former presidents, Democratic and
Republican, have attempted to secure a comprehensive
peace for Israel with hope and justice for the Palestinians.
The achievements of Camp David a quarter century ago
and the more recent progress made by President Bill Clinton
are now in peril.
Instead, violence has gripped the Holy Land, with the
region increasingly swept by anti-American passions.
Elsewhere, North Korea's nuclear menace-a threat far
more real and immediate than any posed by Saddam Hussein-has
been allowed to advance unheeded, with potentially ominous
consequences for peace and stability in Northeast Asia.
These are some of the prices of our government's radical
departure from the basic American principles and values
espoused by John Kerry!
In repudiating extremism we need to recommit ourselves
to a few common-sense principles that should transcend
partisan differences. First, we cannot enhance our own
security if we place in jeopardy what is most precious
to us, namely, the centrality of human rights in our
daily lives and in global affairs. Second, we cannot
maintain our historic self-confidence as a people if
we generate public panic. Third, we cannot do our duty
as citizens and patriots if we pursue an agenda that
polarizes and divides our country. Next, we cannot be
true to ourselves if we mistreat others. And finally,
in the world at large we cannot lead if our leaders mislead.
You can't be a war president one day and claim to be
a peace president the next, depending on the latest political
polls. When our national security requires military action,
John Kerry has already proven in Vietnam that he will
not hesitate to act. And as a proven defender of our
national security, John Kerry will strengthen the global
alliance against terrorism while avoiding unnecessary
wars.
Ultimately, the issue is whether America will provide
global leadership that springs from the unity and integrity
of the American people or whether extremist doctrines
and the manipulation of truth will define America's role
in the world.
At stake is nothing less than our nation's soul. In
a few months, I will, God willing, enter my 81st year
of my life, and in many ways the last few months have
been some of the most disturbing of all. But I am not
discouraged. I do not despair for our country. I believe
tonight, as I always have, that the essential decency,
compassion and common sense of the American people will
prevail.
And so I say to you and to others around the world,
whether they wish us well or ill: do not underestimate
us Americans. We lack neither strength nor wisdom. There
is a road that leads to a bright and hopeful future.
What America needs is leadership. Our job, my fellow
Americans, is to ensure that the leaders of this great
country will be John Kerry and John Edwards. Thank you
and God bless America!
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