1980 Presidential Candidate Debate: Governor Ronald Reagan and President Jimmy Carter - 10/28/80

good evening I'm Ruth Heiner Feld of the League of Women Voters education fund next Tuesday is election day before going to the polls voters want to understand the issues and know the candidates positions tonight voters will have an opportunity to see and hear the major party candidates for the presidency state their views on issues that affect us all the League of Women Voters is proud to present this presidential debate our moderator is Howard K Smith Thank You mrs. Heine Feld the League of Women Voters is pleased to welcome to the Cleveland Ohio Convention Center Music Hall President Jimmy Carter the Democratic Party's candidate for re-election to the presidency and governor Ronald Reagan of California the Republican Party's candidate for the presidency the candidates will debate questions on domestic economic foreign policy and national security issues the questions are going to be posed by a panel of distinguished journalists who here with me they are Marvin stone the editor of US News and World Report Harry Ellis national correspondent of the Christian Science Monitor William Hilliard assistant managing editor of the Portland Oregonian Barbara Walters correspondent ABC News the ground rules for this is agreed by you gentlemen for these each panelists down here will ask a question the same question to each of the two candidates after the two candidates have answered a panelist will ask follow-up questions to try to sharpen the answers the candidates will then have an opportunity each to to make a rebuttal that will constitute the first half of the debate and I will state the rules for the second half later on some other rules the candidates are not permitted to bring prepared notes to the podium but are permitted to make notes during the debate if the candidates exceed the allotted time agreed on I will reluctantly but certainly interrupts we asked the Convention Center audience here to abide by one ground rule please do not applaud or express approval or disapproval during the debate now based on a toss of the coin governor Reagan will respond to the first question from Marvin stone governor as you're well aware the question of war and peace has emerged as a central issue in this campaign and the give-and-take of recent weeks President Carter's been criticized for responding late to agressive Soviet impulses for insufficient buildup of our armed forces and a paralysis in dealing with Afghanistan and Iran you have been criticized for being all too quick to advocate the use of lots of muscle military action to deal with foreign crises specifically what are the differences between the two of you on the uses of American military power I don't know what the differences might be because I don't know what mr. Carter's policies are I do know what he has said about mine and I'm only here to tell you that I believe with all my heart that our first priority must be world peace and that use of force is always and only a last resort when everything else has failed and then only with regard to our national security now I believe also that this meeting this mission is responsibility for preserving the peace which I believe is a responsibility peculiar to our country that we cannot shirk our responsibility as the leader of the free world because we're the only one that can do it and therefore the burden of maintaining the peace falls on us and to maintain that peace requires strength America has never gotten in a war because we were too strong we can get into a war by letting events get out of hand as they have in the last three and a half years under the foreign policies of this administration of mr. Carter's until we're faced each time with a crisis and good management in preserving the peace requires that we control the events and try to intercept before they become a crisis but I have seen four wars in my lifetime I'm a father of sons I have a grandson I don't ever want to see another generation of young Americans bleed their lives into Sandy Beach heads in the Pacific or rice paddies and jungles in the in Asia or the muddy blood of bloody fields of battlefields of Europe mr. stone do you have a follow-up question for the governor yes governor we've been hearing that the defense build-up that you would associate yourself with would cost tens of billions of dollars more than is now contemplated and assuming that the American people are ready to bear this cost they nevertheless keep asking the following question how do you reconcile huge increases in military outlays with your promise of substantial tax cuts and of balancing the budget which in this fiscal year when the just ended ran more than sixty billion dollars in the red mr. stone I have submitted an economic plan that I've worked out in concert with a number of fine economists in this country all of whom approve it and believe that over a five-year projection this plan can permit the extra spending for needed refurbishing of our defensive posture that it can provide for a balanced budget by 1983 if not earlier and that we can't afford along with the cuts that I have proposed in government spending we can't afford the tax cuts I have proposed and probably mainly because mr. Carter's economic policy has built into the next five years and on beyond that a tax increase that would be taking 86 billion dollars more next year out of the people's pockets than was taken this year and my tax cut does not come close to eliminating that 86 billion dollar increase I'm only reducing the amount of the increase in other words what I'm talking about is not putting government back to getting less money than governments been getting but simply cutting the increase the in in spending the same question now goes to President Carter President Carter would you like to have the question repeated yes President Carter the question of war and peace a central issue in this campaign you've been criticized for in the give-and-take for responding late to agressive Soviet impulses for an insufficient buildup of armed forces and a paralysis in dealing with Afghanistan and Iran Governor Reagan on the other hand has been criticized for being all too quick to advocate the use of lots of muscle military action to deal with foreign crises such as I mentioned specifically what are the differences between the two of you on the uses of American military power mr. stone have had to make thousands of decisions since I've been president serving in the Oval Office and with each one of those decisions that affect the future of my country I have learned in the process I think I'm a much wiser and more experienced man than I was when I debated for years ago against President Ford I've also learned that they are no simple answers to complicated questions HL Mencken said that for every problem there's a simple answer it would be neat and plausible and wrong the fact is that this nation in the eight years before I became president had its own military strength decrease seven out of eight years the budget commitments for defense went down 37 percent in all since I've been in office we've had a steady carefully planned methodical but very effective increase in our commitment for defense but what we've done is to use that enormous power and and prestige and military strength of the United States to preserve the peace we've not only kept peace for our own country but we've been able to extend the benefits of peace to others in the Middle East we've worked for a peace treaty between Israel and Egypt successfully and have tied ourselves together with Israel and Egypt in a common defense capability this is a very good step forward for our nation security and we will continue to do as we've done in the past I might also add that there are decisions that are made in the Oval Office by every president which are profound in nature there are always trouble spots in the world and how those troubled areas are addressed by president alone in that Oval Office affects our nation directly the involvement of the United States and also our American interests that is a basic decision that has to be made so frequently by every president who serves that's what I try to do successfully by keeping our country at peace mr. stone do you have a follow-up yes I would like to be a little more specific on the use military power and let's talk about one area for a moment under what circumstances would you use military forces to deal with for example a shut off of Persian oil Gulf if that should occur or to counter a Russian expansion beyond Afghanistan into either Iran or Pakistan I asked this question and view of charges that we are woefully unprepared to project sustained and I emphasize the word sustained power in that part of the world missed out in my State of the Union address earlier this year I pointed out that any threat to the stability of security of the Persian Gulf would be a threat to the security of our own country in the past we've not had an adequate military presence in that region now we have two major carrier task forces we have access to facilities in five different areas of that region and we've made it clear that working with our allies and others that we are prepared to address any foreseeable eventualities which by interrupts commerce with that crucial area of the world but in doing this we have made sure that we address this question peacefully not injecting American military forces in the combat but letting the strength of our nation be felt in a beneficial way this I believe has assured that our interest will be protected in the Persian Gulf region as we've done in the Middle East and throughout the world Governor Reagan you have a minute to comment or rebut well yes I questioned the figure about the decline in defense spending out of the two previous administrations in the preceding eight years to this administration I would call to your attention that we were in a war that wound down during those eight years which of course made a change in military spending because of turning from war to peace I also would like to point out the Republican presidents in those years faced with a Democratic majority in both houses of the Congress found that their requests for defense budgets were very often cut now Gerald Ford left a five-year projected plan for a military buildup to restore our defenses and President Carter's administration reduced that by 38 percent cut 60 ships out of the Navy building program that had been proposed and stopped the b1 delayed the cruise missiles stopped the production line for the Minuteman missiles stopped the Trident sir delayed the Trident submarine and now is planning a mobile military force that can be delivered to various spots in the world which does make me question his assaults on whether I am the one that is quick to look for use of force President Carter you have the last word on this question well there are various elements of Defense um one is to control nuclear weapons which I hope we'll get to later on because that's the most important single issue in this campaign another one is how to address troubled areas of the world I think habitually governor Reagan has advocated the injection of military forces into troubled areas when I and my predecessors both Democrats and Republicans have advocated resolving those troubles and those difficult areas of the world peacefully diplomatically and through negotiation the addition of that the buildup of military forces is good for our country because we've got to have military strength in order to preserve the peace but I'll always remember that the best weapons are the ones that are never fired in combat and the best soldier is one who never has to lay his life down on the field of battle strength is imperative for peace but the two must go hand in hand thank you gentlemen the next question is from Harry Ellis to President Carter mr. president when you were elected in 1976 the consumer price index stood at 4.8% it now stands at more than 12% perhaps more significantly the nation's broader underlying inflation rate has gone up from seven to nine percent now a part of that was due to external factors beyond US control notably the more than doubling of oil prices by OPEC last year because the United States remains vulnerable to such external shocks can inflation in fact be controlled if so what measures would you pursue in a second term again it's important to put the situation into perspective in 1974 we had a so-called oil shock wherein the price of OPEC oil was raised to an extraordinary degree we had an even worse old shock in 1979 in 1974 we had the worst recession the deepest and most penetrating recession since the Second World War the recession that resulted this time was a briefest we've had since the Second World War in addition we've brought down inflation early this year the first quarter we did have a very severe inflation pressure brought about by the OPEC price increase Everage to about 18% the first quarter this year the second quarter we had dropped it down to about 13 percent the most recent figures the last three months of the third quarter of this year the inflation rate is seven percent still too high but it illustrates very vividly that in addition to providing an enormous number of 9 million new jobs in the last three and a half years that the inflationary threat is still urgent on us I noticed that Governor Reagan recently mentioned the Reagan Kemp Roth proposal which his own running mate George Bush described as boudu economics and said that it would result in a 30% inflation rate and Businessweek which is not a democratic publication said that this Reagan contra proposal and I quote them I think was completely irresponsible and would result in inflationary pressures which would destroy this nation so our proposals are very sound and very carefully considered to stimulate jobs to improve the industrial complex of this country to create tools for American workers and at the same time would be anti-inflationary in nature so to add 9 million new jobs to control inflation and to plan for the future was a energy policy now intact as a foundation is our plan for the years ahead mr. Ellis do you have a follow-up question from mr. Carter yes mr. president you have mentioned the creation of 9 million new jobs at the same time the unemployment rate still hangs high as does the inflation rate now I wonder can you tell us what additional policies you would pursue in a second administration in order to try to bring down that inflation rate and would it be an act of leadership to tell the American people they're going to have to sacrifice to adopt a leaner lifestyle for some time to come yes we have demanded that the American people sacrifice and they've done very well as a matter of fact we're importing today about one-third less oil from overseas than we did just a year ago we've had a 25% reduction since the first year I was in office at the same time as I said earlier we have added about 9 million net new jobs in that period of time a record never before achieved also the new energy policy has been predicated on two factors one conservation which requires sacrifice and the other one increase in production of American energy which is going along very well more coal this year than ever before in history more oil and gas wells drilled this year than ever before in history a new economic revitalization program that we have in mind which will be implemented next year would result in tax credits which would let business invest in new tools and new factories to create even more new jobs about a million in the next two years and we also have planned a Youth Employment Program which would encompass 600,000 jobs for young people this has already passed the House now has an excellent prospect to pass the Senate now the same question goes to governor Reagan governor Reagan would you like to have the question repeated governor Reagan during the past four years the Consumer Price Index has risen from 4.8% to currently over 12% and perhaps more significantly the nation's broader underlying rate of inflation has gone up from 7 to 9 percent now a part of that has been due to external factors beyond US control and notably the more than doubling of OPEC oil prices last year which leads me to ask you whether since the United States remains vulnerable to such external shocks can inflation in fact be controlled if so specifically what measures would you pursue mr. Ellis I think this idea that has been spawned here in our country that inflation somehow came upon us like a plague and therefore it's uncontrollable and no one can do anything about it is entirely spurious and it's dangerous to say this to the people when mister Carter became president inflation was 4.8% as you said it had been cut in two by President Gerald Ford it is now running at twelve point seven percent President Carter also has spoken of the new jobs created what we always with the normal growth in our country an increase in population increase the number of jobs but that can't hide the fact that there are 8 million men and women out of work in America today and 2 million of those lost their jobs in just the last few months mr. Carter had also promised that he would not use unemployment as a tool to fight against inflation and yet his 1980 economic message stated that we would reduce productivity and gross national product and increase unemployment in order to get a handle on inflation because of in January at the beginning of the year it was more than 18% since then he has blamed to the people for inflation OPEC he's blamed the Federal Reserve System he has brained the lack of productivity the American people he has then accused the people of living too well and that we must share in scarcity we must sacrifice and get used to doing with less we don't have inflation because the people are living too well we have inflation because the government is living too well and the last statement just a few days ago was a speech to the effect that we have inflation because government revenues have not kept pace with government spending I see my time is running out here I'll have to get this down very fast yes you can lick inflation by increasing productivity and by decreasing the cost of government to the place that we have balanced budgets and are no longer running grinding out printing press money flooding the market with it because the government is spending more than it takes in and my economic plan calls for that the president's economic plan calls for increasing the taxes to the point that we finally take so much money away from the people that we can balance the budget in that way but we'll have a very poor nation and a very unsound economy if we follow that path follow-up mr. Ellis yes you have centered on cutting government spending in what you have just said about your own policies you have also said that you would increase defense spending specifically where would you cut government spending if you were to increase defense spending and also cut taxes so that presumably federal revenues would shrink well most people when they think about cutting government spending they think in terms of eliminating necessary programs or wiping out something some service that government is supposed to perform I believe that there is enough extravagance in fact in government as a matter of fact one of the secretaries of hgw under mr. Carter testified that he thought there was 7 billion dollars worth of fraud and waste in welfare and in the medical programs associated with it we've had the General Accounting Office estimate that there is probably tens of billions of dollars that is lost in fraud alone and they have added that waste adds even more to that we have a program for a gradual reduction of government spending based on these theories and I have a task force now that has been working on where those cuts could be made I'm confident that it can be done and that it will reduce inflation because I did it in California and inflation went down below the national average in California when we returned money to the people and reduced government spending President Carter Governor Reagan's proposal the Riggin Kim Roth proposal is one of the most highly inflationary ideas it ever has been presented to the American public he would actually have to cut government spending by at least a hundred and thirty billion dollars in order to balance of budget under this ridiculous proposal I noticed that his task force is working for his future plans had some of their ideas revealed in the Wall Street Journal this week one of those ideas was to repeal the minimum wage and several times this year governor Reagan has said that the major cause of unemployment is the minimum wage this is a heartless kind of approach to the working families of our country which is typical of many Republican leaders in the past but I think has been accentuated under governor Reagan in California I'm surprised governor Reagan brought this up he had the three largest tax increases in the history of that state under his administration he more than doubled state spending while he was governor 122 percent increase and had between a twenty and thirty percent increase in the number of employees sarahdan in California - thank you sir it's governor Reagan has the last word on this question yes the figures that the president has just used about California is a distortion of the situation there because while I was governor of California our spending in California increased less per capita than the spending in Georgia while mr. Carter was governor of Georgia in the same four years the size of government increased only one-sixth in California of what it increased in proportion to population in Georgia and the idea that my tax cut proposal is inflationary I would like to ask the president why is it inflationary to let the people keep more of their money and spend it the way they'd like and it isn't inflationary to let him take that money and spend it the way he wants I wish that question need not be rhetorical but it must be because we run out of time on that now the the third question to Governor Reagan from William Hilliard yes governor Reagan the decline of of our cities has been hastened by the continual rise in crime strange race relations to fall in the quality of public education the persistence of abnormal poverty in a rich nation and a decline in the services to the public the signs seem to point toward a deterioration that could lead to the establishment of a permanent underclass in the cities what specifically would you do in the next four years to reverse this trend I have been talking to a number of congressmen who have much the same idea that I have and that is that in the inner city areas that in cooperation with local government and with national government and using tax incentives and wouldn't Kapil cooperation with the private sector but we have development zones let the local entity the city declare this particular area based on the standards of the percentage of people on welfare unemployed and so forth in that area and then through tax incentives induce the creation of businesses providing jobs and so forth in those areas the elements of government through these tax incentives for example a business that would not have for a period of time an increase in the property tax reflecting its development of the unused property that it was making wouldn't be any loss to the city because the city isn't getting any tax that now and it would simply be a delay and on the other hand many of the people that would then be given jobs are presently Ward's of the government and it wouldn't hurt to give them a tax incentive because they that wouldn't be costing government anything either I think there are things to do in this regard I stood in the South Bronx on the exact spot the President Carter stood on in 1977 you have to see it to believe it it looks like a bombed out city great gaunt skeletons of buildings windows smashed out painted on one of them unkept promises on another despair and this was the spot at which President Carter had promised that he was going to bring in a vast program to rebuild this department there are hope for this area there are whole blocks of land that are left bare just bulldoze down flat and nothing has been done and they are now charging to take tourists through there to see this terrible desolation I talked to a man just briefly there who asked me one simple question do I have reason to hope that I can someday take care of my family again nothing has been done follow-up mr. Hilliard yes governor Reagan blacks and other non-whites are increasing in numbers in our cities many of them feel that they are facing a hostility from whites that prevents them from joining the economic mainstream of our society there is racial confrontation in the schools on jobs and in housing is non-white seek to reap the benefits of a free society what do you think is the nation's future as a multiracial society I believe in it I am eternally optimistic and I happen to believe that we've made great progress from the days when I was young and when this country didn't even know it had a racial problem I know those things can grow out of despair in an inner city when there's hopelessness at at home lack of work and so forth but I believe that all of us together and I believe the presidency is what Teddy Roosevelt said it was it's a bully pulpit and I think that something can be done from there because the goal for all of us should be that one day things will be done neither because of nor in spite of any of the differences between us ethnic differences or racial justice differences whatever they may be that we will have total equal opportunity for all people and I would do everything I could in my power to bring that about mr. Hilliard would you repeat your question for President Carter President Carter the decline of our cities has been hastened by the continual rise in crime strained race relations the fall in the quality of public education the persistence of abnormal poverty in a rich nation and a decline in services to the public the signs seem to point toward a deterioration that could lead to the establishment of a permanent underclass in the cities what specifically would you do in the next four years to reverse this trend Thank You mr. Yeo when I was campaigning in 1976 everywhere I went the mayors and local officials were in despair about the rapidly deteriorating central cities of our nation we initiated a very fine urban renewal program working with the mayors the governors and other interested officials this has been a very successful effort that's one of the main reasons that we've had such an increase in a number of people employed other nine million people put to work in new jobs since I've been in office 1.3 million of those has been among black Americans and another million among those who speak Spanish we're now planning to continue the revitalization program with increased commitments of Rapid Transit mass transit under the windfall profits tax we expect to spend about forty three billion dollars in the next ten years to rebuild a transportation systems of our country we also are pursuing the housing programs we've had a 73% increase and the allotment of federal funds for improved education these are the kinds of efforts worked on a joint basis with community leaders particularly in a minority areas of essential cities that had been deteriorating so in the past it's very important to us that this be done with the full involvement of minority citizens I brought into that level top levels of government into the white house into administrative offices of the executive branch in it into the judicial system highly qualified black and Spanish citizens and women who in the past had been excluded I noticed that governor Reagan said it when he was a young a man that there was no knowledge of a racial problem in this country those who suffered from discrimination because of race or sex certainly knew we had a racial problem we have gone a long way toward correcting these problems but we still have a long way to go the follow-up question this President Carter liked me see repeat the same follow-up to you blacks and other non-whites are increasing in numbers in our cities many of them feel that they are facing a hostility from whites that prevents them from joining the economic mainstream of our society there is racial confrontation in the schools on jobs and in housing is non-white seek to reap the benefits of a free society what is your assessment of the nation's as a future in multiracial society ours is a nation of refugees a nation of immigrants almost all of our citizens came here from other lands and now have hopes which are being realized for a better life preserving their ethnic commitments they are family structures their religious beliefs preserving their relationships with their relatives in foreign countries but still filming themselves together in a very coherent society which gives our nation and strength in the past those minority groups have often been excluded from participation in the affairs of government since I've been president I've appointed for instance more than twice as many black federal judges as all previous presidents in the history of this country I've done the same thing in the appointment of women's and also spanish-speaking Americans to involve them in administration of government and a feeling that they belong to this sanal structure that makes decisions in the judiciary and an executive branch is a very important commitment which I am trying to realize and continue to do so in the future governor Reagan you have a minute for rebuttal yes the president talks of government programs and they have their place but as governor when I was at that end of the line in receiving some of these grants for government programs I saw that so many of them were dead end they were public employment for these people who really want to get out into the private job market where there are jobs with a future now the president spoke a moment ago about that I was against the minimum wage I wish he could have been with me when I sat with a group of teenagers who were black and who were telling me about their unemployment problems and that it was the minimum wage that had done away with the jobs that they once could get and indeed every time it is increased you will find that there was an increase in minority unemployment among young people and therefore I have been in favor of a separate minimum for them with regard to the great progress that has been made with his government spending the rate of black unemployment in Detroit Michigan is 56 percent President Carter you have the last word on this question well it's obviously we still have a long way to go in fully incorporating the minority groups into the mainstream of American life we have made good progress and there's no doubt in my mind that the commitment to unemployment compensation the minimum wage welfare national health insurance those kinds of commitments that have typify the Democratic Party since ancient history in this country's political life are a very important element of the future in all those elements Governor Reagan has repeatedly spoken out against them which to me shows a very great insensitivity to giving deprive families a better chance in life this to me is a very important difference between him and me in this election and I believe the American people will judge accordingly there is no doubt in my mind that in the downtown central cities with the with the new commit on an energy policy with a chance to revitalize homes and to make them more fuel efficient with a chance for synthetic synthetic fuels program solar power this will give us an additional opportunity for jobs which will pay rich dividends thank you gentlemen now for the fourth question to President Carter from Barbara Walters mr. president the eyes of the country tonight are on the hostages in Iran I realize this is a sensitive area but the question of how we respond to acts of terrorism goes beyond this current crisis other countries have policies that determine how they will respond Israel for example considers hostages like soldiers and will not negotiate with terrorists for the future mr. president the country has the right to know do you have a policy for dealing with terrorism wherever it might happen and what have we learned from this experience in Iran that might cause us to do things differently if this was something similar happens again probably one of the blights on this world is a threat and the activities of terrorists at one of the recent economic summit conferences between myself and the other leaders of the Western world we committed ourselves to take strong action against terrorism airplane hijacking was one of the elements of that commitment there is no doubt that we have seen in recent years in recent months additional acts of violence against Jews in France and of course against those who live in Israel by the PLO and other terrorist organizations ultimately the most serious terrorist threat is if one of those radical nations who believe in terrorism in a policy should have atomic weapons both I and all my predecessors have had a deep commitment to controlling the proliferation of nuclear weapons in countries like Libya or Iraq we have even a donated some of our closest trade partners because we have insisted upon the control of the spread of nuclear weapons to those potentially terrorist countries when Governor Reagan has been asking then he makes a very disturbing comment that non-proliferation or the control of the spread of nuclear weapons is none of our business and when he was asked specifically recently about Iraq he said there's nothing we can do about it this ultimate terrorist threat is the most fearsome of all and it's part of a pattern where our country must stand firm to control terrorism of all kinds ms walters follow-up yes while we are discussing policy header an not taken American hostages I assume that in order to preserve our neutrality we would have stopped the flow of spare parts and vital war materials once war broke out between Iraq and Iran now we are free to lift the ban on such Goods if they let our people come home doesn't this reward tourism compromise our neutrality and possibly antagonize nations now friendly to us in the Middle East we will maintain our position of neutrality in the Iran and Iraq war we have no plans to sell additional material or goods to Iran that might be of a warlike nature when I made my decision to stop all trade with Iran as a result of a taking of our hostages I then and have consistently maintained since then that if the hostages are released safely that we would make delivery on those items which Iran owns which they have bought and paid for also that the frozen Iranian assets would be released that's been a consistent policy one I intend to carry out but you repeat the question now for governor Reagan please miss Walters yes governor the eyes of the country tonight remain on the hostages in Iran but the question of how we respond to acts of terrorism goes beyond this current crisis there are other countries that have policies that determine how they will respond Israel for example considers hostages like soldiers and will not negotiate with terrorists for the future the country has the right to know do you have a policy for dealing with terrorism wherever it might happen and what have we learned from this experience in Iran that might cause us to do things differently if this was something similar should happen again Barbara you there's that question twice I think you ought to have at least one answer to it I am I have been accused of lately of having a secret plan with regard to the hostages now this comes from an answer that I've made at least 50 times during this campaign to the press which is that the question would be have you any ideas of what you would do if you were there and I said well yes and I think that anyone that's seeking this position as well as other people probably have thought to themselves what about this what about that these are just ideas of what I would think of if I were in that position and had access to the information in which I would know all the options that were open to me I have never answered the question however second the one that says well tell me what are some of those ideas first of all I would be fearful that I might say something that was presently under way or in negotiations and thus expose it and endanger the hostages and sometimes I think some of my ideas might involve quiet diplomacy where you don't say in advance or say to anyone what it is you're thinking of doing your question is difficult to answer because in the situation right now no one wants to say anything that would inadvertently delay in any way the return of those hostages if they're if there is a chance of their coming home soon or that might cause them harm what I do think should be done once they are safely here with their families and that tragedy is over and we've endured this humiliation for just lacking one week of a year now then I think it is time for us to have a complete investigation as to the diplomatic efforts that were made in the beginning why they have been there so long and when they come home what did we have to do in order to bring that about what arrangements were made and I would suggest that Congress should hold such an investigation in the meantime I'm going to continue praying they'll come home follow-up question I would like to say that neither candidate answered specifically the question of a specific policy for dealing with terrorism but I will ask governor Reagan a different to follow-up question you've had suggested that there would be no Iranian crisis had you been president because we would have given firmer support to the Shah but around is a country of 37 million people who are resisting a government they regarded as dictatorial my question is not whether the Shahs regime was preferable to the ayatollahs but whether the United States has the power or the right to try to determine what form of government any country will have and do we back unpopular regimes whose major merit is that they are friendly to the United States the degree of unpopularity of a regime when the choice is total authoritarianism totalitarianism I should say in the alternative government makes one wonder whether you are being helpful to the people and we've been guilty of that because someone didn't meet exactly our standards of human rights even though they were an ally of ours instead of trying patiently to persuade them to change their ways we have in a number of instances aided a revolutionary overthrow which results in complete totalitarianism instead for those people and I think that this is a kind of a hypocritical policy when at the same time we are maintaining a date on with the one nation in the world where there are no human rights at all the Soviet Union now there was a second phase in the Iranian affair in which we had something to do with that and that was we had adequate warning that there was a threat to our embassy and we could have done what other embassies did either strengthen our security there or remove our personnel before the kidnap and the takeover took place the other one I'm sorry I must interrupt President Carter you have a minute for rebuttal I didn't hear any comment from governor Reagan about what he would do to stop or to reduce terrorism in the future what the Western Allies did decide to do is to stop all air flights commercial air flights to any nation involved in terrorism or the hijacking of airplanes of the harboring of high jackers secondly we all committed ourselves as have all my predecessors in the Oval Office not to permit the spread of nuclear weapons to a terrorist nation or to any other nation that does not presently have those weapons or capabilities for explosives third not to make any sales of material or weapons to a nation which is involved in terrorist activities and lastly not to deal with the PLO until and unless the PLO recognizes Israel's right to exist and recognizes UN resolution 242 as a basis for Middle East peace these are a few of the things to which our nation is committed and we will continue with these commitments Governor Reagan you have the last word on that question yes I have no quarrel whatsoever with the things that have been done because I believe it is high time that the civilized countries of the world made it plain that there is no room worldwide for terrorism there will be no negotiation with terrorists of any kind and while I have a last word here I would like to correct a misstatement of fact by the president's I have never made the statement that he suggested about nuclear proliferation and nuclear proliferation or the trying to halt it would be a major part of a foreign policy of mine thank you gentlemen that is the first half of the debate now the rules for the second half quite simple they're only complicated when I explain them the second half the panel is with me we'll have no follow-up questions instead after the panelists have asked a question the candidates have answered each of the candidates will have two opportunities to follow up to question to rebut or just a comment on his opponent statement governor Reagan will respond in this section to the first question from Marvin stone governor Reagan arms control the president said it was the single most important issue both of you who have expressed the desire to end the nuclear arms race with Russia but by methods that are vastly different you suggest that we scrap the salt 2 treaty already negotiated and intensify the build-up of American power in to induce the Soviets to sign a new treaty one more favorable to us yes President Carter on the other hand says he will again a try to convince a reluctant Congress to ratify the present treaty and the grounds it's the best we can hope to get now both of you cannot be right will you tell us why you think you are yes I think I'm right because I believe that we must have a consistent foreign policy a strong America and a strong economy and then as we build up our national security to restore our margin of safety we at the same time try to restrain the Soviet buildup which has been going forward a rapid pace and for quite some time the salt 2 treaty was the result of negotiations and mr. Carter's team entered into after he had asked the Soviet Union for a discussion of actual reduction of nuclear strategic weapons and his emissary I think came home in 12 hours with having heard a very definite net but taking that one no from the Soviet Union we then went back into negotiations on their terms because mister Carter had canceled the b-1 bomber delayed the MX delayed the Trident submarine delayed the cruise missile shut down the missile man the three the Minuteman missile production line and whatever other things that might have been done the Soviet Union sat at the table knowing that we had gone forward with unilateral considerate concessions without any reciprocation from them whatsoever now I have not blocked the salt ii treaty as carter mr. Mondale suggests that I have it has been blocked by a Senate in which there is a Democratic majority indeed the Senate Armed Services Committee voted 10 to 0 with 7 abstentions against the salt 2 treaty and declared that it was not in the national security interests of the United States besides which it is illegal because the law of the land passed by Congress says we cannot accept a treaty in which we are not equal and we're not equal in this treaty for one reason alone our b-52 bombers are considered to be strategic weapons their backfire bombers are not the governor I have to interrupt you at that point the time's up for that but the same question now to President Carter yes President Carter both of you have expressed the desire to end the nuclear arms wave race with Russia but through vastly different methods the governor suggests we scrap the salt 2 treaty which you negotiated in Vienna are signed in Vienna and intensify the build-up of American power to induce the Soviets to sign a new treaty one more favorable to us you on the other hand say you will again try to convince a reluctant Congress to ratify the present treaty on the grounds it is the best we can hope to get from the Russians you cannot both be right will you tell us why you think you are yes I'd be glad to inflation unemployment the cities all very important issues but they pale into insignificance in the life and duties of a president when compared with the control of nuclear weapons every president who has served in the Oval Office since Harry Truman has been dedicated to the proposition of controlling nuclear weapons to negotiate with the Soviet Union balanced controlled observable and then reducing levels of atomic weaponry there is a disturbing pattern in the attitude of Governor Reagan he has never supported any of those arms control agreements the limited test ban salt one nor that the the anti-ballistic missile treaty nor the Vladivostok treaty negotiated with the Soviet Union by President Ford and now he wants to throw into the wastebasket a treaty to control nuclear weapons on a balanced and equal basis between ourselves and the Soviet Union over a seven-year period by myself and my two Republican predecessors the Senate has not voted yet on the strategic arms limitation treaty there have been preliminary skirmishing x' in the Committees of the Senate but the treaty has never come to the floor of the Senate for either a debate or a vote it's understandable that a senator in the preliminary debate can make an irresponsible statement or maybe an ill-advised statement you've got 99 other senators to correct that mistake if it is a mistake but when a man who hopes to be president says take this treaty discard it do not vote do not debate do not explore the issues do not finally capitalize on this law negotiation that is a very dangerous and disturbing thing governor Reagan you have an opportunity to rebut that yes I'd like to respond very much first of all the Soviet Union if I have been critical of some of the previous agreements is because we've been out negotiated for quite a long time and they have managed in spite of all of our attempts at arms limitation to to go forward with the biggest military buildup in the history of man now to suggest that because two Republican presidents tried to pass the sole Trudy treaty that puts them on its side I would like to say a president Ford who was within 90 percent of an a tree of treaty that we could be in agreement with when he left office is emphatically against this salt treaty I would like to point out also that senators like Henry Jackson and Hollings of South Carolina they are taking the lead in the fight against this particular treaty I am NOT talking of scrapping I am talking of taking the treaty back and going back into negotiations and I would say to the Soviet Union we will sit and negotiate with you as long as it takes to have not only legitimate arms limitation but to have a reduction of these nuclear weapons to the point that neither one of us represents a threat to the other that is hardly throwing away a treaty and being opposed to arms limitation President Carter yes governor Reagan is making some very misleading and disturbing statements he not only advocates the scrapping of his treaty and I don't know that these men as he quotes or against the treaty in his final form but he also advocates the possibility he said it's been a missing element of playing a trump card against the Soviet Union of a nuclear arms race and insisting upon nuclear superiority by our own nation as a predication for negotiation in the future with the Soviet Union if president Brezhnev said we will scrap this treaty negotiated under three American presidents over a seven-year period of time we insist upon nuclear superiority as a basis for future negotiations and we believe that the launching of a nuclear arms race is a good basis for future negotiations it's obvious that I as president and all Americans would reject such a proposition this would mean the resumption of a very dangerous nuclear arms race it would be very disturbing to American people it would change the basic tone and commitment that our nation has experienced ever since the Second World War with all presidents Democratic and Republican and would also be very disturbing to our allies all of whom support this nuclear arms treaty in addition of that the adversarial relationship between ourselves in the Soviet Union would undoubtedly terior eight very rapidly this attitude is extremely dangerous and belligerent in his tone although it's said with a quiet voice Governor Reagan I know the president's supposed to be replying to me but sometimes I have a hard time in connecting what he's saying with what I have said or what my positions are sometimes think it's like the witch doctor that gets mad when a good doctor comes along with a cure little work the my point I have made already mr. president with regard to negotiating it does not call for nuclear superiority on the part of the United States it is calls for a mutual reduction of these weapons as I say to the point that neither of us can represent a threat to the other and to suggest that the salt to treaty that your negotiators negotiated was just a continuation and based on all of the preceding efforts by two previous presidents is just not true it was a new negotiation because as I say President Ford was within about 10% of having a solution that could be acceptable and I think our allies would be very happy to go along with a fair and verifiable salt agreement President Carter you have the last word on this question I think to close out this discussion it would be better to put into perspective what we're talking about I had a discussion with my daughter Amy the other day before I came here to ask you what the most important issue was she said she thought nuclear weaponry city and the control of nuclear arms this is a formidable force some of these weapons have 10 megatons of explosion if you put 50 tons of TNT in each one of railroad cars you would have a car load of TNT a trainload of TNT stretching across this nation that's one major war explosion in a warhead we have thousands equivalent of Megaton or million tons of TNT warheads the control of these weapons is the single major responsibility of a president and to cast down this commitment of all presidents because of some slight technicalities it can be corrected is a very dangerous approach we have to go to another question now from Harry Ellis to President Carter mr. president as you have said Americans through conservation are importing much less oil today than we were even a year ago yet u.s. dependence on Arab oil as a percentage of total imports is today much higher than it at the time of the 1973 Arab oil embargo and for some time to come the loss of substantial amounts of Arab oil could plunge the u.s. into depression now this means that a bridge must be built out of this dependence can the United States develop synthetic fuels and other alternative energy sources without damage to the environment and will this process mean steadily higher fuel bills for American families I don't think is it in doubt that in the future the cost of oil is going to go up what I've had is a basic commitment since I've been as president is to reduce our dependence on foreign oil it can only be done in two ways one to conserve energy to stop the waste of energy and secondly to produce more American energy we've been very successful in both cases we've now reduced the importing of foreign oil in the last year alone by one-third we imported today 2 million barrels of oil less than we did the same day just a year ago this commitment has been opening up a very bright Vista for our nation in the future because with the windfall profits tax as a base we now have an opportunity to use American technology an American ability an American natural resources to expand rapidly the production of synthetic fuels yes to expand rapidly the production of solar energy yes and also to produce a conventional kinds of American energy we will drill more oil and gas wells this year than any year in history will produce more coal this year than any year in history we are exporting more coal this year than any year in history and we have an opportunity now with improved transportation systems improved loading facilities in our ports to see a very good opportunity on a world international market to replace OPEC oil with American coal as a basic energy source this exciting future will not only give us more energy security but will also open up vast opportunities for Americans to live a better life and to have Milly of new jobs associated with this new and very dynamic industry now in prospect because of the new energy policy that we put into effect would you repeat the question now for governor Reagan governor Reagan Americans through conservation are importing much less oil today than we were even a year ago and yet us reliance on Arab oil as a percentage of total imports is much higher today than it was during the 1973 Arab oil embargo and the substantial loss of Arab oil could plunge the United States into depression the question is whether the development of alternative energy sources in order to reduce this dependence can be done without damaging the environment and will it mean for American families steadily higher fuel bills I'm not so sure that it means steadily higher fuel costs but I do believe that this nation has been portrayed for too long a time to the people as being energy poor when it is energy rich the coal that the president mentioned yes we have it and yet one-eighth of our total coal resources is not being utilized at all right now the mines are closed down there are 22,000 miners out of work most of this is due to regulations which either interfere with the mining of it or prevent the burning of it with our modern technology yes we can burn our coal within the limits of the Clean Air Act I think as technology improves we'll be able to do even better with that the other thing is that we have only leased out and begun to explore 2% of our outer continental shelf for oil where it is believed by everyone familiar with that fuel and that source of energy that there are vast supplies yet to be found our government has in the last year or so taken out of multiple use millions of acres of public lands that once were while there were public lands subject to multiple use exploration for minerals and so forth it is believed that probably percent of the potential oil in the United States is probably hidden in those lands and no one is allowed to even go and explore to find out of it is there this is particularly true of the recent efforts to shut down part of Alaska nuclear power there were 36 power plants planned in this country and let me add the word safety it must be done with the utmost of safety but 32 of those have given up and canceled their plans to build and again because government regulations and permits and so forth take make it take more than twice as long to build a nuclear plant in the United States as it does to build one in Japan or in Western Europe we have the sources here we are energy rich and coal is one of the great potentials we have President Carter your comment yes sir to repeat myself we have this year the opportunity which will realize to produce 800 million tons of coal an unequaled record in the history of our country governor Reagan says that this is not a good achievement and he blames restraints on coal production on regulations regulations that affect the life and the health and safety of miners and also regulations that protect the purity of our air and the quality of our water and our land we cannot cast aside those regulations we have a chance in the next 15 years insisting upon the health and safety of workers in the mines and also preserving the same high air and water pollution standards to triple the amount of coal we produce Governor Reagan's approach to our energy policy which is already proven its effectiveness is to repeal or to change substantially the windfall profits tax to return a major portion of 227 billion dollars back to the oil companies to do away with the Department of Energy to short-circuit our synthetic fuels program to put a minimal mm emphasis on solar power to emphasize strongly nuclear power plants as a major source of energy in the future he wants to put all our eggs in one basket and give that basket to the major oil companies governor Reagan that is a misstatement of course of my position I just happen to believe that free enterprise can do a better job producing the things that people need then government can the Department of Energy has a multi-billion dollar budget in excess of ten billion dollars it hasn't produced a quart of oil or a lump of coal or anything else in the line of energy and for the mr. Carter to suggest that I want to do away with the safety laws and with the laws that pertain to clean water and clean air and so forth as governor of California I took charge of passing the strictest air pollution laws in the United States the strictest air quality law that has ever been adopted in the United States and we created an OSHA an occupational safety and health agency for the protection of employees before the federal government had one in place and to this day not one of its decisions or rulings has ever been challenged so I think some of those charges are missing the point I am suggesting that there are literally thousands of unnecessary regulations that invade every facet of business and indeed very much of our personal lives that are unnecessary that government can do without that it added 130 billion dollars to the cost of production in this country and that are contributing their part to inflation and I would like to see us a little more free as we once were President Carter another crack at that sure as a matter of fact the air pollution standard laws that were passed in California were passed over the objections of Governor Reagan and this is a very well-known fact also recently when someone suggested that the Occupational Safety and Health Act should be abolished governor Reagan responded amen the offshore drilling rights is a question that governor Reagan raises often as a matter of fact in the proposal for the Alaska lands legislation a hundred percent of all the offshore lands would be open for exploration and ninety-five percent of all the Alaska lands where it is suspected or believe that mineral minerals might exist we have with our five-year plan for the leasing of offshore lands proposed more land to be drilled than has been opened up for drilling since this program first started in 1954 so we are not putting restraints on American exploration we're encouraging it in every way we can governor Reagan you have the last word on this question yes if it is a well-known fact that I opposed air pollution laws in California the only thing I can possibly think of is that the President must be suggesting the law that the federal government tried to impose on the state of California not a law regulations that would have made it impossible to drive an automobile within the city limits of any California city or have a place to put it if you did drive it against their regulations it would have destroyed the economy of California and I must say we had the support of Congress when we pointed out how ridiculous this attempt was by the Environmental Protection Agency we still have the strictest air control or air pollution laws in the country as for offshore oil only 2% now is so leased and is producing oil the the rest as to whether the open the lands are going to be opened in the next five years or so we're already five years behind in what we should be doing there is more oil now in the wells that have been drilled than has been taken out in 120 years one years that they've been drilled Thank You governor Thank You mr. president the next question goes to governor Reagan from William Hilliard governor Reagan wage earners in this country especially the young are supporting a social security system that continues to affect their income drastically the system is fostering a struggle between the young and the oil and is drifting the country toward a polarization of these two groups how much longer can the young wage-earner expect to bear the ever-increasing burden of the Social Security system the Social Security system was based on a false premise with regard to how fast the number of workers would increase and how fast the number of retirees would increase it is actually out of balance and this first became evident about 16 years ago and some of us were voicing warnings then now it is trillions of dollars out of balance and the only answer that has come so far is the biggest single tax increase in our nation's history the payroll tax increase for Social Security which will only put a bandaid on this and postpone the day of reckoning by a few years at most what is needed is a study that I have proposed by a task force to look of experts to look into this entire problem as to how it can be reformed and made actuarially sound but with the premise that no one presently depended on Social Security is going to have the rug pulled out from under them and not get their check we cannot frighten as we have with the threats and the campaign rhetoric that is going on in this campaign our senior citizens leave them thinking that in some way they're endangered and they would have no place to turn they must continue to get those checks and I believe that the system can be put on a sound actuarial basis but it's going to take some study and some work and not just passing a tax increase to let the load or the roof fall in on the next administration would you repeat that question for President Carter yes President Carter wage earners in this country especially the young are supporting a Social Security system that continues to affect their income drastically the system is fostering a struggle between young and old and is drifting the country toward a polarization of these two groups how much longer can the young wage earner expect to bear the ever-increasing burden of the Social Security system as long as as a Democratic president in the White House we will have a strong and viable Social Security system free of the threat of bankruptcy although governor Reagan has changed his position lately on four different occasions he has advocated making Social Security a voluntary system which would in effect very quickly bankrupt it I noticed also in the Wall Street Journal earlier this week that a preliminary report of his task force advocates making Social Security more sound by reducing the adjustments in Social Security for the retired people to compensate for the impact of inflation these kinds of approaches are very dangerous to the security and the well-being and a peace of mind of the retired people of this country and those approaching retirement age but no matter what it takes in the future to keep Social Security sound it must be kept that way and although there was a serious threat to the Social Security system and its integrity during the 1976 campaign and when I became president the action of the Democratic Congress working with me has been to put Social Security back on a sound financial basis that's a way it will stay and Governor Reagan well that just isn't true it is I said delayed the actuarial imbalance falling on us for just a few years with that increase in taxes and I don't believe we can go on increasing the tax because the problem for the young people today is that they're paying in far more than they can ever expect to get out now again this statement that somehow I wanted to destroy it and I just changed my tune that I was for voluntary Social Security which would mean the ruin of it mr. president the voluntary thing that I suggested many years ago was that a young man orphaned and raised by an aunt who died his aunt was ineligible for Social Security insurance because she was not his mother and I suggested that if this is an insurance program certainly the person who's paying in should be able to name his own beneficiaries and that's the closest I've ever come do anything voluntary with Social Security I to and pledged to a Social Security program that will reassure these senior citizens of ours they're going to continue to get their money there are some changes I'd like to make I would like to make a change that discriminates in the regulations against a wife who works and finds that she then is faced with a choice between her father or her husband's benefits if he dies first or what she is paid in but it does not recognize that she has also been paying in herself and she is entitled to more and she presently can get I'd like to change that President Carter's rebuttal now right these constant suggestions that the basic Social Security system should be changed does cause concern and consternation among the agent of our country it's obvious that we should have a commitment to them that Social Security benefits should not be taxed and that that would be no peremptory change in the standards by which Social Security payments are made to the retired people we also need to continue to index the Social Security payments so that if inflation Rises the Social Security payments would rise Documentary degree to let the buying power of the Social Security check continue intact in the past the relationship between Social Security and Medicare has been very important to provide some modicum of aid for senior citizens in the retention of health benefits Governor Reagan as a matter of fact began his political career campaigning around this nation against Medicare now we have an opportunity to move toward national health insurance with an emphasis on the prevention of disease an emphasis on outpatient care not inpatient care an emphasis on Hospital cost containment to hold down the cost of hospital care for those who are ill and emphasis own catastrophic health insurance so that if a family is threatened with being wiped out economically because the very of a very high medical bill then the insurance would help pay for it these are the kind of of a national health insurance important to the American people governor Reagan again typically is against such a proposal governor now you go again when I opposed Medicare there was another piece of legislation meaning the same problem before the Congress I happen to favor the other piece of legislation and thought that it would be better for the senior citizens and provide better care than the one that was finally passed I was not opposing the principle of providing care for them I was opposing one piece of legislation as versus another there is something else about Social Security course that doesn't come out of the payroll tax it comes out of the general fund that something should be done about I think it's disgraceful that the disability insurance fund in Social Security finds checks going every month to tens of thousands of people who are locked up in our institutions for crime or from mental illness and they are receiving disability checks from Social Security every month while a state institution provides for all of their needs in their care President Carter you have the last word on this question I think there's debate on Social Security Medicare national health insurance typifies as vividly as any other subject tonight the basic historical differences between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party the allusions to basic changes in the minimum wage is another and the deleterious comments that the governor Reagan has made about unemployment compensation these commitments that the Democratic Party has historically made to the working families of this nation have been extremely important to the growth in their stature and in a better quality of life for them I noticed recently that Governor Reagan frequently quotes Democratic presidents in his acceptance address in other words I have never heard a candidate for president who is a Republican quote a Republican president but when they get in office they try to govern like Republicans so it's good for the American people to remember that is a sharp basic historical difference between governor Reagan and me on these crucial issues also between the two parties that we represent Thank You mr. president governor Reagan we now go to another question question to President Carter by Barbara Walters thank you you have addressed some of the major issues tonight but the biggest issue in the minds of American voters is yourselves your ability to lead this country when many voters go into that booth just a week from today they will be voting their gut instinct about you men you've already given us your reasons why people should vote for you now would you please tell us for this your final question why they should not vote for your opponent why his presidency could be harmful to the nation and have been examined both your opponent's record and the man himself tell us his greatest weakness Robert reluctant as i understanding critical about governor Reagan I'll try to answer your question first of all is the historical perspective that I've just described this is a contest between a Democrat in the mainstream of my party as exemplified by the actions that have taken in the Oval Office the last four years as contrasted with Governor Reagan who in most cases does typify his Prada but in some cases there is a radical departure by him from the heritage of Eisenhower and others the most important crucial difference in this election campaign in my judgment is the approach to the control of nuclear weaponry and the inclination to control or not to control the spread of atomic weapons to other nations that don't presently have it predicted the terrorist Nations the inclination the Governor Reagan has exemplified in many troubled times since he's been running for presidents I think since 1968 to inject American military forces in places like North Korea to put a blockade around Cuba this year or in some instances to project American forces into a fishing dispute against the small nation of Ecuador on the west coast of South America this is typical of his long-standing inclination on the use of American power not to resolve disputes diplomatically and peacefully but to show that the exercise of military power is best proven by the actual use of it obviously no president wants war and I certainly did not believe the Governor Reagan if he were president would want war but a president in the Oval Office has to make a judgment on almost a daily basis about how to exercise the enormous power of our country for peace through diplomacy or in a careless way in a belligerent attitude which has exemplified his attitudes in the past Barbara would you repeat the question for Governor Reagan thank you realizing that you may be equally reluctant to speak ill of your opponent may I ask why people should not vote for your opponent why his presidency could be harmful to the nation and having examined both your opponent's record and the man himself could you tell us his greatest weakness Oh Barbara I believe that there is a fundamental difference and I think it has been evident and most of the answers that mr. Carter's given tonight that he seeks the solution to anything as another opportunity for a federal government program I happen to believe that the federal government has usurped powers and autonomy autonomy and authority that belongs back at the state and local level it has imposed on the individual freedoms of the people and that there are more of these things that could be solved by the people themselves if they were given a chance or by the levels of government that were closer to them now as to why I should be and he shouldn't be when he was a candidate in 1976 President Carter invented a thing he called the misery index he added the rate of unemployment and the rate of inflation and it came at that time to 12.5 under President Ford and he said that no man with that size misery index had a right to seek re-election to the presidency today by his own decision leave misery index is an excess of 20% and I think this must suggest something but when I have quoted a Democrat president as the president says I was a Democrat I said many foolish things back in those days but the president that I quoted had made a promise a Democrat promised and I quoted him because it was never kept and today you would find that that promise is at the very heart of what republicanism represents in this country today and that's why I believe they're going to be millions of Democrats that are going to vote with us this time around because they too want that promise kept it was a promise for less government and less taxes and more freedom for the people President Carter yes I mentioned the radical departure of governor Reagan from the principles or ideals or historical perspective of his own party I don't think this can be better Illustrated than in the case with guaranteeing women equal rights under the Constitution of our nation for 40 years the Republican Party platforms call for guaranteeing women equal rights with a constitutional amendment six predecessors of mine who served in Oval Office call for this guarantee of women's rights governor Reagan and the new Republican Party has departed from this commitment a very severe blow to the opportunity for women finally to correct discrimination under which they have suffered when a man and a woman do the same amount of work a man gets paid a dollar a woman only gets paid 59 cents and the Equal Rights Amendment only says that equality of rights shall not be abridged for women by the federal government or by the state government that's all it says a simple guarantee of equality of opportunity which typifies the Democratic Party and which is a very important commitment of mind as contrasted with Governor Reagan's radical departure from the long-standing policies of his own party Governor Reagan yes mr. president once again I happen to be against the amendment because I think the amendment will take this problem out of the hands of elected legislators and put it in the hands of unelected judges I am for equal rights and while you have been in office for four years and not one single state and most of them have a majority of Democratic legislators has added to the ratification or voted to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment while I was governor more than eight years ago I found 14 separate instances where women were discriminated against in the body of California law and I had passed and signed into law 14 statutes that eliminated those discriminations including the economic ones that you have just mentioned equal pay and so forth I believe that if in all these years that we've spent trying to get the amendment that we'd spent as much time correcting these laws as we did in California and we were the first to do it if I were president I would also now take a look at the hundreds of federal regulations which discriminate against women and which go right on while everyone is looking for an amendment I would have someone ride herd in those regulations and we'd start eliminating those discriminations in the federal government against women president correa yes Howard I'm a southerner and I share the basic beliefs of my region about an excessive government intrusion into the private affairs of American citizens and also into the private affairs of the free enterprise system one of the commitments that I made was to deregulate the major industries of this country we've been remarkably successful with the help of the Democratic Congress we deregulated the air industry the rail industry the trucking industry financial institutions now working on the communications industry in addition to that I believe this element of discrimination is something that the South has seen so vividly as a blight on our region of the country which has now been corrected not only racial discrimination but discrimination against people that have to work for a living because we have been trying to pick ourselves up by our bootstraps since the long Depression years and lead a full and useful life in the affairs of this country we've made remarkable success it's part of my consciousness and my commitment to continue this progress so my heritage as a southerner my experience in the Oval Office convinces me that what I've just described is a proper course for the future governor Reagan yours is the last word well my last word is again to say that this we were talking about this very simple amendment and women's rights and I make it a plain again I am for women's rights but I would like to call the attention of the people of the fact that that's so-called simple amendment could be used by mischievous men to destroy discriminations that properly belong by law to women respecting the physical differences between the two sexes labor laws that protect them against doing things that would be physically harmful to them those would all could all be challenged by men and the same would be true with regard to combat service in the military and so forth I thought there was a subject we were supposed to be on but if we're talking about how much we think about the working people and so forth I'm the only fella that ever ran for this job who was six times president of his own Union and still has a lifetime membership in that Union gentlemen each of you now have three minutes for a closing statement President Carter you'll first first of all I'd like to thank illegal League of Women Voters for making this debate possible I think it's been a very constructive debate and I hope it's helped to acquaint the American people with the sharp differences between myself and governor Reagan also I want to thank the people of Cleveland and Ohio for being such hospitable hosts during this last few hours in my life I've been present now for almost four years I've had to make thousands of decisions and each one of those decisions has been a learning process I've seen the strength of my nation and I've seen the crises that it approached in a tentative way and I've had to deal with those crises as best I could as I've studied the record between myself and governor Reagan I've been impressed with the stark differences that exist between us I think the result of this debate indicate that that fact is true I consider myself in the mainstream of my party I consider myself in the means mainstream even of the bipartisan list of presidents who served before me the United States must be a nation strong the United States must be a nation secure we must have a society that's just and fair and we must extend the benefits of our own commitment to peace to create a peaceful world I believe that since I've been in office there have been six or eight areas of combat Evolved in other parts of the world in each case I alone have had to determine the interest of my country and the degree of involvement of my country I've done that with moderation with care with thoughtfulness sometimes consulting experts but I've learned in this last three-and-a-half years that when an issue is extremely difficult when the call is very close the chances are the experts will be divided almost 50/50 and the final judgement about the future of a nation war peace involvement reticence thoughtfulness care consideration concern has to be made by the men in the Oval Office it's a lonely job but with the involvement of the American people in the process with an open government the job is a very gratifying one the American people now facing next Tuesday a lonely decision those listening to my voice will have to make a judgment about the future of this country and I think they ought to remember that one vote can make a lot of difference if one vote per precinct had changed in 1960 John Kennedy would never have been president of his nation and if a few more people had gone to the polls and voted in 1968 Hubert Humphrey would have been press richard nixon would not there is a partnership involved and our nation to stay strong to stay at peace to raise how the banner of human rights to set an example for the rest of the world to let our deep beliefs in commitments be felt by others in all the nations is my plan for the future I ask the American people to join me in this partnership Governor Reagan because I would like to add my words of thanks too to the ladies of the of the League of Women Voters for making these debates possible I'm sorry that we couldn't persuade the bringing in of the third candidate so that he could have been seen also in these debates but still it's good that at least once all three of us were heard by the people of this country next Tuesday is election day next Tuesday all of you will go to the polls who stand there in the polling place and make a decision I think when you make that decision it might be well if you would ask yourself are you better off than you were four years ago is it easier for you to go and buy things in the stores than it was four years ago is there more or less unemployment in the country than there was four years ago is America as respected throughout the world as it was do you feel that our security is as safe that we're as strong as we were four years ago and if you answer all of those questions yes why then I think your choice is very obvious so who you'll vote for if you don't agree if you don't think that this course that we've been on for the last four years is what you would like to see us follow over the next four then I could suggest another choice that you have this country doesn't have to be in the shape that it is in we do not have to go down go on sharing and scarcity with the country getting worse off with unemployment growing we talk about the unemployment lines if all of the unemployed today were in a single line allowing two feet for each one of them that line would reach from New York City to Los Angeles California all of this can be cured and all of it can be solved I have not had the experience that the president has had in holding that office but I think in being governor of California the most populous state in the Union if it were a nation it would be the seventh ranking economic power in the world I too had some lonely moments and decisions to make I know that the economic program that I have proposed for this nation in the next few years can resolve many of the problems that trouble us today I know because we did it there we cut the cost the increased cost of government the increase in half over the eight years we returned 5.7 billion dollars in tax rebates credits and cuts to our people we as I said earlier fell below the national average in inflation when we did that and I know that we did give back authority and autonomy to the people I would like to have a crusade today and I would like to lead that crusade with your help and it would be one to take government off the backs of the great people of this country and turn you loose again to do those things that I know you can do so well because you did them and made this country great thank you gentlemen ladies and gentlemen for 60 years the League of Women Voters has been committed to citizen education and effective participation of Americans and governmental and political affairs the most critical element of all in that process is an informed citizen who goes to the polls and who votes on behalf of the League of Women Voters now I would like to thank President Carter and governor Reagan you

Channel: ReaganFoundation

Views: 2,239,372

Rating: 4.7438288 out of 5

Keywords: presidential candidate debates, reagan-carter debates

Id: _8YxFc_1b_0

Length: 94min 51sec (5691 seconds)

Published: Thu Apr 23 2009

Reddit Comments

[u/zubie_wanders]

https://youtu.be/_8YxFc_1b_0?t=57m40s

Some things never change. Similar question asked in last night's debate.

[u/Shhhteppe]

Interesting. Already were talking about sustainable energy! That hasn't even come up in the current presidential debates as of yet