Jimmy Carter Quotes & Sayings

Any system of economics is bankrupt if it sees either value or virtue in unemployment. — Jimmy Carter

Our Center would be nonpartisan; we would be as innovative as possible, not duplicating or competing with other organizations that were addressing issues successfully; we would not be afraid of possible failure if our goals were worthwhile; and we would operate always with a balanced budget. The — Jimmy Carter

I'm concerned about the negative aspect of political campaigning in american nation, which is a new phenomenon. When I ran for president against Gerald Ford and later against Ronald Reagan we never referred to each other except as 'my distinguished opponent'. And had we criticised personally our opponent it would have been political suicide, we would have been castigated and condemned for it. — Jimmy Carter

We believe in separation of church and state, that there should be no unwarranted influence on the church or religion by the state, and vice versa. — Jimmy Carter

Every day in the United States, seventeen children are killed by gunfire. That's about 6,000 children each year who are killed by guns, as compared, for example, with about 3,000 a year who died at the height of the polio epidemic of the 1950s. We rose up as a society to fight against polio. Why do we not act more forcefully to halt today's even greater scourge? — Jimmy Carter

Before I became President, in the aftermath of the Vietnam War, there had been fairly dramatic, and I think excessive, reductions in the capability of our military forces, and as a former military man myself - I was a professional naval officer, a submarine officer - I thought it was better, on a step-by-step, very carefully planned way, to increase the technical, or technological, capability of our weapons systems. — Jimmy Carter

I see a lot of parallels between my candidacy and the Tea Party. I would not have been elected had there not been a tremendous amount of dissatisfaction and discouragement and disgust with what was going on in Washington. — Jimmy Carter

I don't laugh at people any more when they say they've seen UFOs. I've seen one myself! — Jimmy Carter

The love of liberty is a common blood that flows in our American veins. — Jimmy Carter

I think politicians really go with the tide. — Jimmy Carter

A lot of the things that we passed in the energy policy were embedded in law, and they resulted in tremendous reductions in waste of energy in all kinds of things. — Jimmy Carter

When your troops go to war, the prime minister or the president change overnight from an administrator, dealing with taxation and welfare and health and deteriorating roads, into the commander-in-chief. And it's just become almost unpatriotic to describe Bush's fallacious and ill-advised and mistaken and sometimes misleading actions. — 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 newspapers quite erroneously, because they didn't know anything about me or my background here in Plains, decided that I was also a racial conservative. — 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. — Jimmy Carter

One of the surprising things that Brezhnev said when we were in our talks, was - when I proposed that we make these changes in nuclear weaponry, he said, "God will never forgive us if we don't succeed." And, you know, coming from the leader of an atheistic communist country, this surprised everyone. — Jimmy Carter

I have nothing against a community that is made up of people who are Polish, or who are Czechoslovakians, or who are French Canadians or who are blacks trying to maintain the ethnic purity of their neighborhoods. This is a natural inclination. [..] Government should not break up a neighborhood on a numerical basis. As soon as the Government does, the white folks flee. — Jimmy Carter

America has always been a country of innovation and dynamism, entrepreneurship. And I think that one of the things that has made our country great too is its heterogeneous population where people come here from all over the world. — Jimmy Carter

My faith has helped me to adjust to life whether I was a small farm boy, a submarine officer, governor, president or an ex-president. I've tried to remember the teaching that we have to accommodate change we can't control in our lives, whether it's disappointment, sorrow, loss or failure, while simultaneously clinging to principles that never change. — Jimmy Carter

I have experienced the intensity of patriotism as a submarine officer, the ambitions of a competitive businessman, and the intensity of political debate. I have been sorely tempted to launch a military attack on foreigners, and have felt the frustration of having to negotiate with allies or even former enemies to reach a consensus instead of taking more decisive unilateral action. — Jimmy Carter

We've got to stop crying and start sweating, stop talking and start walking, stop cursing and start praying. The strength we need will not come from the White House, but from every house in America. — Jimmy Carter

The Carter Center has a policy of doing what others do not want to do. We do not compete with the World Health Organization, the United Nations or the US government. — Jimmy Carter

I've never won an argument with my wife; and the only time I thought I had I found out the argument wasn't over yet. — Jimmy Carter

I obviously hoped that everything that I found would make a difference, ... It ended up being way behind my wildest dreams. — Jimmy Carter

You can do what you have to do, and sometimes you can do it even better than you think you can. — Jimmy Carter

I don't believe that China, in my lifetime or maybe my children's lifetime, be equal to the United States militarily speaking, but they are very careful to avoid any engagement in war, they are basically a peaceful country, which gives them another advantage over the United States when we are much more inclined to go to war for various reasons. — Jimmy Carter

What has happened at Guantanamo Bay ... does not represent the will of the American people. I'm embarrassed about it, I think its wrong. I think it does give terrorists an unwarranted excuse to use the despicable means to hurt innocent people. — Jimmy Carter

On balance, my life has been a constant stream of blessings rather than disappointments and failures and tragedies. I wish I had been re-elected. I think I could have kept our country at peace. I think I could have consolidated what we achieved at Camp David with a treaty between Israel and the Palestinians. — Jimmy Carter

I have one life and one chance to make it count for something ... My faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I am, whenever I can, for as long as I can with whatever I have to try to make a difference. — Jimmy Carter

Put on a sweater. — Jimmy Carter

It's clear that the true problems of our Nation are much deeper - deeper than gasoline lines of 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 listen to the voices of America. — Jimmy Carter

Life is just too short to go quail hunting with the wrong people. — Jimmy Carter

I think as far as the adverse impact on the nation around
the world, this administration has been the worst in history ...
The overt reversal of America's basic values as expressed by
previous administrations, including those of George H.W. Bush
and Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon and others, has been the
most disturbing to me. — Jimmy Carter

I remember the last three days that I was president, I never went to bed at all. I never went to bed until we had negotiated the final release of the hostages. — Jimmy Carter

I've just finished my 20th book this past year and I'm working on my 21st book about the Middle East right now that I'll finish this year. And I get up early in the morning and when I get tired of the computer and tired of doing research, I walk 20 steps out to my woodshop and I either build furniture or paint paintings. I'm an artist too. — Jimmy Carter

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. — Jimmy Carter

In the United States, you might say every county has got its own separate system. There's not even one kind of ballot that you use all over the United States. We require that in a foreign country. — Jimmy Carter

Since I was 18 years old, I have taught the Bible. For the last 15 or 20 years, I have taught every Sunday when I was home or near my own house, so that would be 35 or 40 times per year. Half of those Sundays, the text comes from the Hebrew Bible. I have had a deep personal interest in the Holy Land and in the teachings of the Hebrew people. God has a special position for the Jewish people, the Hebrews, or whatever. I know the difference between ancient Israel and Judaea, and I know the history. I don't have any problem with the Jewish people. — Jimmy Carter

For me personally and for most other Americans, this commitment to peace and diplomacy does not imply a blind or total pacifism. There are times when war is justified, and for many centuries the moral criteria for violence have been carefully delineated. — Jimmy Carter

As President, I was able to save with the stroke of the pen a hundred million acres of wilderness area in Alaska. This is the kind of thing that is is gratifying to a President, but to be on a solitary stream with good friends, with a fly rod in your hand, and to have a successfull or even an unsuccessful day-they're all successful-is an even greater delight. — 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. — Jimmy Carter

Our decision about energy will test the character of the American people and the ability of the President and the Congress to govern this Nation. This difficult effort will be the moral equivalent of war, except that we will be uniting our efforts to build and not to destroy. — Jimmy Carter

Billy Graham is one of my great lifetime heroes. I think he epitomizes the essence of what a Christian leader should be. I have participated in some of his crusades a couple of times in Atlanta. I've seen the profound impact he's had on me personally, and on other people who were not Christians and accepted Christ as Savior. — Jimmy Carter

When I was elected President nobody asked me to negotiate between Israel and Egypt. It was not even a question raised in my campaign. But I felt that one of the reasons that I was elected President was to try to bring peace to the Holy Land. — Jimmy Carter

We have a special relationship with Israel. It's absolutely crucial that no one in our country or around the world ever doubt that our number one committment in the Middle East is to protect the right of Israel to exist, to exist permanently, and to exist in peace. It's a special relationship. — Jimmy Carter

We will have an unchallenged, open, panoramic opportunity on a global scale to demonstrate the finest aspects of what we know in this country: peace, freedom, democracy, human rights, benevolent sharing, love, the easing of human suffering.
Is that going to be our list of priorities or not? — Jimmy Carter

The life of every human being on earth can depend on the experience, judgment, and vigilance of the person in the Oval Office. — Jimmy Carter

I think an overwhelming portion of the intensely demonstrated animosity toward President Barack Obama is based on the fact that he is a black man, that he's African American. — Jimmy Carter

We have the deepest respect and reverence for Islam and all who share the faith of Islam. — Jimmy Carter

My - both my sisters died with pancreatic cancer. My brother died with pancreatic cancer. My daddy died of pancreatic cancer. My mother died with breast cancer. — Jimmy Carter

If one of our fellow citizens can be executed with so much doubt surrounding his guilt, then the death penalty system in our country is unjust and outdated. — Jimmy Carter

The importation and sale of marijuana is condemned and punished as a serious crime, but we accept as legitimate the manufacture and sale of an infinitely more addictive and deadly drug: the nicotine in cigarettes that cost the lives of 390,000 American citizens last year. — Jimmy Carter

Ours was the first nation to be founded on the idea that all are created equal and all deserve equal treatment under the law. Despite our missteps and shortcomings, these ideals still inspire hope among the oppressed and give us pride in being Americans. — Jimmy Carter

If you fear making anyone mad, then you ultimately probe for the lowest common denominator of human achievement. — Jimmy Carter

I guess my biggest failure was not getting reelected. [The loss taught me] not to ever let American hostages be held for 444 days in a foreign country without extracting them. I did the best I could, but I failed. — Jimmy Carter

The world is safer without Saddam [Hussein]. Certainly the people of Iraq are better without Saddam. — Jimmy Carter

I would describe fundamentalism as, first of all, a movement led almost invariably by authoritarian males who consider themselves to be superior to others and who have an overwhelming commitment to subjugate women and to dominate their fellow believers. — Jimmy Carter

America has had the best university system in the world for a long time. And so we have been innovators, not only in the discoveries as proven by Nobel Prizes in chemistry and physics and that sort of thing, but we've been able to put that into practical application with new gadgets that people admire. — Jimmy Carter

There's no doubt that usually a president's public image is enhanced by going to war. That never did appeal to me. — Jimmy Carter

I don't claim to be knowledgeable about theology. Most of my knowledge comes out of my experience and the lessons in the Bible. Every Sunday I'm home I teach 45 minutes and we boiled them down to one page for the new book, 'Through the Year with Jimmy Carter.' — Jimmy Carter

I have never been disappointed when I asked in a humble and sincere way for God's help. I pray often. I think I pray more often since January 12th. — Jimmy Carter

We consider these settlements to be contrary to the Geneva Convention, that occupied territory should not be changed by establishment of permanent settlements by the occupying power. — Jimmy Carter

There is no other even moderately equal abuse than the murder of little baby girls - nothing else compares with that, in horror. — Jimmy Carter

We cannot speak of human rights in other countries unless we are going to do our utmost to protect the rights of our own people here at home. — Jimmy Carter

There is a strong religious commitment to the sanctity of human life, but, paradoxically, some of the most fervent protectors of microscopic stem cells are the most ardent proponents of the death penalty. — Jimmy Carter

In a nuclear age, each of us is threatened when peace is not secured everywhere. — Jimmy Carter

Because we are now running out of gas and oil, we must prepare quickly for a third change, to strict conservation and to the use of ... permanent renewable energy sources, like solar power. — Jimmy Carter

I think all Americans believe in human rights. And health is an often overlooked aspect of basic human rights. And it's one that's easily corrected. The reason I say that is that many of the diseases that we treat around the world, I knew when I was a child. My mother was a registered nurse. And they no longer exist in our country. — Jimmy Carter

God wisely designed the human body so that we can neither pat our own backs nor kick ourselves too easily. — Jimmy Carter

In the life of the human spirit, words are action, much more so than many of us realize who live in countries where freedom of expression is taken for granted. The leaders of totalitarian nations understand this very well. The proof is that words are precisely the action for which dissidents in those countries are being persecuted. — Jimmy Carter

We must make it clear that a platform of 'I hate gay men and women' is not a way to become president of the United States. — Jimmy Carter

People in the United States, including me, are naturally inclined to support Israel. I'm an evangelical Christian who teaches the Bible every Sunday at my church. I teach half the Old Testament and half the New Testament. We Americans identify the Hebrews, the Israelites, with ourselves. — Jimmy Carter

My great-grandfather and his two brothers fought at Gettysburg. They were in artillery, and they survived the war, thank goodness. So I revere what they did. I think their motivations were honorable when they undertook the war and participated in it along with other Southerners. — Jimmy Carter

Globalization, as defined by rich people like us, is a very nice thing ... you are talking about the Internet, you are talking about cell phones, you are talking about computers. This doesn't affect two-thirds of the people of the world. — Jimmy Carter

If you're totally illiterate and living on one dollar a day, the benefits of globalization never come to you. — Jimmy Carter

My esteem in this country has gone up substantially. It is very nice now when people wave at me, they use all their fingers. — Jimmy Carter

Because we are free, we can never be indifferent to the fate of freedom elsewhere. — Jimmy Carter

If I go to Italy, I will certainly request to meet with Pope Francis, whom I admire very much. — Jimmy Carter

We have been involved in more wars, on a bilateral basis, since the United Nations was formed than any other country by far. — Jimmy Carter

I have come to realize that in every person there is something fine and pure and noble, along with a desire for self-fulfillment. — 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 to live together in peace by killing each other's children. — Jimmy Carter

I think that, regardless of our culture, age, or even personal handicaps, we can still strive for something exceptional. Why not expand our sights instead of restricting our lives and accepting the lowest common denominator of a dormant existence? Faith ... will permit us to take a chance on a new path, perhaps different from the one we now follow. It may be surprising where it leads. — Jimmy Carter

We know that a peaceful world cannot long exist, one-third rich and two-thirds hungry. — Jimmy Carter

I was totally dominated and revered my father. I admired everything he did. He was a great sports person. He loved me. I was his only boy at that time, before my brother Billy came along. — Jimmy Carter

It's not necessary to fear the prospect of failure but to be determined not to fail. — Jimmy Carter

Each of us has been made "a little lower than the angels." What an incomprehensible compliment! But it's not only a compliment; it's also a responsibility, for our special status equalizes us with other people in the eyes of God. The Lord has exalted not only me or some special group; God has exalted everyone. It's the people of Burkina Faso and Niger and Guyana and Haiti. It's people who never learned to read and write or who live on fifty cents a day. All human beings have been made a little lower than the angels, and we have a responsibility to treat them accordingly. — Jimmy Carter

There was never any question about the morality of hunting, but neither was there any acceptance of killing for the sake of a trophy. — Jimmy Carter

We are a purely idealistic Nation but let no one confuse our idealism with weakness — Jimmy Carter

Building confidence and constructive relations between Sudan and South Sudan is urgent — Jimmy Carter

The government and the church are two different realms of service, and those in political office have to face a subtle but important difference between the implementation of the high ideals of religious faith and public duty. — Jimmy Carter

A country will have authority and influence because of moral factors, not its military strength; because it can be humble and not blatant and arrogant; because our people want to serve others and not dominate others. And a nation without morality will soon lose its influence around the world. — Jimmy Carter

I began to expand my personal service in the church, and to search more diligently for a closer relationship with God among my different business, professional and political interests. — Jimmy Carter

Many of the most highly publicized events of my presidency are not nearly as memorable or significant in my life as fishing with my daddy. — Jimmy Carter

If you have a task to perform and are vitally interested in it, excited and challenged by it, and then you will exert maximum energy.
But in the excitement, the pain of fatigue dissipates, and the exuberance of what you hope to achieve overcomes the weariness. — Jimmy Carter

When you single out any particular group of people for secondary citizenship status, that's a violation of basic human rights. — Jimmy Carter

I've been an evangelistic Baptist all my life and still am to some degree. — Jimmy Carter

In religious and in secular affairs, the more fervent beliefs attract followers. If you are a moderate in any respect - if you're a moderate on abortion, if you're a moderate on gun control, or if you're a moderate in your religious faith - it doesn't evolve into a crusade where you're either right or wrong, good or bad, with us or against us. — Jimmy Carter

But love must be aggressively translated into simple justice. — Jimmy Carter

Throughout my life, I've seen the difference that volunteering efforts can make in people's lives. I know the personal value of service as a local volunteer. — Jimmy Carter

God always answers prayer, sometimes with a yes, sometimes with a no and sometimes with a 'You've got to be kidding!' — Jimmy Carter

I can get up at 8am and be rested ... or I can get up at 5am and be President. — Jimmy Carter