Dec 29, 2024, at 10:30 PM on ABC7NY, Governor David Paterson shared remarks on the life and passing of President Jimmy Carter.
Transcript
[00:00:00.000] – ABC Host
Our tributes to Mr. Carter continue to pour in. We are joined now by someone who has met the former President and whose father worked closely with him, former New York Governor David Paterson, joins us now. Governor Paterson, welcome. Thanks so much for being with us. Can you detail your exact connection to Jimmy Carter through your father?
[00:00:19.660] – Governor Paterson
Other than the fact that my father introduced me to him and he shook my hand, I didn’t have any real interaction with him. But he did make my father the first vice chair of National Democratic Party, which opened the door for a lot of African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans and others that hadn’t had that opportunity. But what I think about Jimmy Carter is that he had to be the most honest, humane, and self-executive famineing President we ever had, if not American that we’ve ever known. This man, in 1976, in the middle of his presidential campaign, gives an interview to a magazine and talks about his shortfalls, his attractions to the opposite sex, and how he’s conducted himself, but at the same time sticking to his commitment to his marriage and his commitment to God. He was just Belly hood for making these statements, but he won the election. I always thought the reason he won the election is that he told the truth. We all have different ways that we feel that we don’t share, but here he is running for the highest position in the land and shares it and then on to eradicate the stagflation that had haunted the Ford and Nixon administrations.
[00:01:36.580] – ABC Host
Right. I’m glad that you brought up his character because so many people talk the talk, but Jimmy Carter really walked the walk. A lot of people point out that he was a deeply religious man. Some are even saying it’s fitting that he died on a Sunday. I want to ask you what you make of the fact that he really was a president that used his religious convictions in a lot of ways. The Middle East Treaty, the David Accords that he was able to forge. He really sat down and spoke with the leaders of Israel, Egypt. He really spoke about the Bible, about religion. That’s how he got them to get together on the same page. What did you make of the way Jimmy Carter seemed to be guided by his religion?
[00:02:20.830] – Governor Paterson
Well, remember, the leader of Egypt, and was Sadat, didn’t even want to come to the Camp David Accords because he said there was no way that Monakam Bagan, who at that time was the Prime Minister of Israel, would agree to any conditions. It turned out that when they got there, a lot of their conversation and interaction with each other was religiously inspired It was inspired by President Carter’s belief that you don’t mix church and state, but you can mix religion with integrity when you’re negotiating. And that’s how they reached that great agreement. And then he went on to He could really do a lot of other things that were great, but he ran into a problem that I think wasn’t necessarily his fault. It was the 440-day siege where hostages were held in Iran Even though he had an aborted attempt to try to free them, I think it really put him in the position of losing his office. But he never lost his integrity.
[00:03:25.620] – ABC Host
Sure. I’m glad that you brought that up because obviously, he did leave office. He was a one-term President, 39th President, one term. He did leave office, an extremely unpopular President, losing to Ronald Reagan in a landslide. However, there’s been a turnaround. Since he left office, since he left the White House, he has become incredibly popular. So what do you make of his legacy, both in the White House and after the White House?
[00:03:52.080] – Governor Paterson
Well, he left office, and the first thing he does is he establishes Habitat for Humanities, which has to be the greatest independent not-for-profit housing development organization this country has ever seen. And then, his continuing to talk with foreign leaders and bringing them together, even when he wasn’t present anymore, won him the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. Now, I don’t know how many presidents we have that ever won the Nobel Peace Prize. I think he’s the only one. But it just showed how much he cared about people, how he listened to people, and I think how, most of all, he was able to mix his commitment it spiritually to his professionalism as an elected official, and very few people that have ever held office in this country have done that.
[00:04:40.620] – ABC Host
Yeah, no, it’s true. I like the way you make the point that he mixed religion with integrity, but not church and state. It was an interesting time when you think about his presidency after the Vietnam War and that he pardoned all the draft Dodgers. Tell us a little bit about that particular moment in time and why Jimmy Carter was the President who the country may have needed at that moment?
[00:05:06.080] – Governor Paterson
Well, it was President Ford who actually pardoned the draft dodgers, and at the same time, to balance it, he was going to pardon President Nixon as well. He did it in two different ways. But President Carter stood behind that and communicated with President Ford when he came into office to make sure that this would be a smooth transition possession of power, and also that he would not interfere with something that was very important for President Ford to do that. It showed that he was a great President, but he also was a gentleman, and everyone ever met him would come away saying that.
[00:05:45.590] – ABC Host
Another thing that’s coming up now as history is cyclical, we hear incoming President-elect Donald Trump talking about the Panama Canal again. It’s worth mentioning that Jimmy Carter was crucial in establishing the Panama Canal in what we have now. It’s interesting how so many issues come back around, Governor Paterson.
[00:06:05.790] – Governor Paterson
Well, they’re coming back around, and President Trump is right to mention them because the Panama Canal is basically run by China now. It’s a very It’s very difficult for us to push supplies through the canal if China didn’t like it. When you think of the major ports all around the globe, you think of the Panama Canal, the Suez Canal, and Those are the major ways that we move supplies. If we don’t do something about it soon, we could really be boxing ourselves not only in terms of commerce, but also in terms of our freedom that we might not be able to move troops if we had to. I’m really glad that President Trump is listening to what Jimmy Carter was able to establish previously.
[00:06:55.480] – ABC Host
It’s a crucial waterway, that’s for sure. Well, it is one thing that is for sure. Jimmy Carter’s legacy of humanitarianism will certainly carry on. I mentioned earlier, I was lucky enough to interview him about his work at Habitat for Humanity, and you can tell that work gave him so much joy, probably as much joy as being President, honestly. It was wonderful to talk to him about that work. Governor David Paterson, thank you so much for joining us this evening. We truly appreciate you sharing all of that insight with us this evening.
[00:07:25.610] – Governor Paterson
Thank you so much.
[00:07:26.810] – ABC Host
Our coverage will continue on Eyewitness News at 6:00, and we want you that tonight there will be a special edition of 2020 Jimmy Carter: A Full Life. That begins at 10:00 PM right here on channel 7..