As part of her summer series. Tonight you will hear from five of the last six men who have sat in the oval office. Now the practice of president s books, began with Thomas Jeffersons memoir in 1821. Eighteen president s since have written books prior to the 20th century, president ial memoirs were rare and Ulysses S Grant and mark was an exception since then, it is taken off since the 1950s. First of this evening, is one of our most prolific residents turned author. Jimmy carter. He is the author of 25 books including publicpolicy books, Foreign Policy books, a novel, and he is also written a Childrens Book which was illustrated by his daughter amy. In 2010, president carter appeared on book tv afterwards program where he discussed his white house diaries that he kept while he was in office from 1977 1981. Heres president carter being interviewed by president ial historian. Welcome to washington dc. It is wonderful to see you. I was wondering you fly in here, and you go over all of these monuments we go to the atomic river, what you think when youre flying into this town. I always like to see the white house that is still there and i think about the wonderful times that we have. And i like flying over the canal. And as you know, douglas, great duchesses of the Supreme Court. I was running then about 40 miles a week which is a lot. In washington and around here in camp david of the weekend this. So i just think about the good times that we had. And also when i fly over the capital, i think about congress and how think oyamel that had the superb bipartisan support. That existed back then in the 70s. And it doesnt exist anymore so i think about this similarities and also the differences. s are in congress and the senate that you really personally learned to enjoy working with that you became friends with. The minority leader in charge of the republican side. And he was a great personal friend of mine and still is. And i got wonderful cooperation from the republican side. In the course michael in the house, minority leader in the house of representatives and also was a great supporter of mine. Jimmy carter said during the last couple of years that i was in the white house, the running against me, took away a lot of the very liberal democrats to support him. And they didnt much want me to succeed in some of the issues. So to the modern conservative democrats and the republicans. That is how we were able to have such a good batting average in congress. Host how important has he been in your life. Jimmy carter he was a young senator then, sam. And he was kind of my four leader and some of the key issues like the nuclear power. He was very knowledgeable about it and he was working his way up to be the chairman later on. The Defense Committee and the senate. For sam, being a friend in the legislature when i was governor and georgia. I worked very closely with him. It and then the senior senator from georgia than, made it very difficult choice to vote for the panama canal treaties which was the most courageous vote i believe the u. S. Senate has cast. There were 20 senators who voted for the panama canal treaty and 78. And we are up for reelection that year. And out of the 20, almost seven them to back to the senate the following january. And salmon they were two who were with me. Herman, although he was very popular at the time, was defeated in his next election. I would say one of the main reasons was because he voted for the panama canal which was a very right to vote. But also very unpopular at the time. It. Host Walter Mondale had to be the deciding vote right. Jimmy carter we actually got 68 votes and how to get 67. So that is what took so much. I had to get a large number of republicans to vote for it. In spite of the fact that at that time Ronald Reagan was making the nation wide crusade against the panama canal treaties. Enough republicans did vote for it. Host what you feel that reagan and john wayne in some of the conservative leaders work so we him and delete opposed. Jimmy carter john wayne, wasnt part of this panama treaties. One of the reasons was because he just liked reagan very much. John wayne did. Another thing, he had been to panama city times and he knew the leader of panama at the time. John wayne let me know quarterly they would be in favor of the panama canal treaty. He wrote me a letter accordingly which i used with maximum advantage against the opposition of Ronald Reagan. Host i was spoke in georgia felt the canal treaty print him out. Which is what you said. Do you feel that you push the canal issue too quickly. Jimmy carter no. Host too quickly. Jimmy carter even during the late stages of Dwight Eisenhowers term, there had been come in increasingly against the unfair treaty when formulated back in the early 19 hundreds. And then when johnson was in office, lyndon johnson, they had a big altercation there and a group of people killed. And panama broke the diplomatic relations with United States and venezuela and other leaders organize a third world power and so all of the world, there was opposition to the United States because we were violating panamas human rights. As you may or may not remember, panama canal treaty was signed in the middle of the night. I think john hay was a secretary of state in washington. In that time, it was negotiated by freshman who hadnt been to panama for 18 years. So it was an unfair treaty from the very beginning. Almost everybody recognized it. Two thirds were signing it. Host when you went back to panama, you went to monitor the election there. And he called noriega out essentially fraudulent. Do you think the fact that you were the architect of the panama canal treaty give you a credibility in panama and the rest of central america, left america that otherwise would not have been there. It. Jimmy carter theres no doubt about that. As i left office, one of our first very important election that was monitored was in penalties. And the head of the socalled military, the National Guard was a cook. And he tried to steal the election and stuff the ballot box. Such they were monitoring that election and i knew the ballot box was stuffed, i publicly announced that the whole election was fraudulent. We just did narrowly escape. A lot were called by the National Guardsmen orders. And although the stuffed ballot box, they never took office. And eventually of course he was arrested and put into prison for a long time. And next election was held, the countess again and monitor the election and it was an honest and fair election. Now panama is one of the sterling democracies this hemisphere. It. Host to feel he should still be in prison. Jimmy carter he service term. He was a senate for 40 years. I think it was qualified but he has been rearrested as you may know. Because of some abuses that he had against senators. So he was expedited to france to be tried on another. After he was found or serve his term here. Host did he ever reach out to you in anyway. Jimmy carter no, he is not my friend. He was one of those that got people involved in a world wide basis monitoring elections. At the time we were innovators and monitoring elections from outside. And now we just finished i think our 81st election this past month. In guinea. And before that in another place so weve done major elections no elections, the palestinian area and we did the first two elections in indonesia when they change from 50 years into democracy. So we had a very exciting time. All elections and i have to give them credit, he got me started on the elections. [laughter]. Because i had to deny him. Host tell me about you were mentioning looking at the white house and you were jogging in the white house diaries, for the on the campaign trail in texas coming often sneak in there and as you going on a jog. And then when you are into the famous on your inauguration. How did the idea of the walking for your inaugural come about. Jimmy carter one of the senators from wisconsin was talking about physical fitness. And he suggested that we might walk as a symbolic gesture. And then at the time approached for the inauguration, could see there was a great deal of distrust and even animosity between the people of america and the government in washington. Very similar that was the case with a set last election the tea party and so forth. A lot of dissolution. So we discussed it. We decided we would walk just to show that we trust in the American People. We have to remember that back in those days when i ran, 1976, we had just experienced the disgrace of watergate. In the defeat in vietnam. I had to lobby for that one Bobby Kennedy and john kennedy were assassinated. Martin luther king was assassinated. In a socalled church to innocent had a bill that the president and cia had frustrated crimes. Against the elected leaders in Foreign Countries who we didnt approve. Of their politics on was in chile and one was in iran. So all these things caused americans to kind of doubt the integrity and competency of the government. So i wanted to walk down pennsylvania avenue just to show the market people that i was one of them. And i hope that they could have trusted me. It. Host houston mentioned on douglas. He is to do walks along the canal. Used to drive around the canal. Youve a route that is present, that you would run around dc. In the park or was it too hard with the secret service to keep one talking group. Jimmy carter we work able to keep it straight. Sometimes i would jogging other areas. For instance, without a 7mile jogging area inside the white house grounds. Making several laps through the rows garden and through the south lawn and that sort of thing. And then on the weekend we go to camp david. Canal was the best place to jog. It became a National Park as you may know. Sponsored by william of douglas. That extends 108 miles from Downtown Washington all of the way to west virginia. In this canal, is to be a major thruway, adjacent to and in the tomah region. It was a very important trade routes back in those early days. They had about it for footwide very smooth path the horses used to work on. In this way jog. It was a wonderful and isolated place. Host all aspects of your presidency that history will treat well but people dont seem to know about right now is jimmy carter as conservationist. And working treating the department of energy but also putting solar panel on the white house. With the solar panels and want to talk about your last book. We you upset that reagan took them down. Soon i was. Spee. Host what did he do that. Jimmy carter was a total difference of philosophy between me and reagan. The market people should Pay Attention to our excessive with foreign oil. So for years i worked to get a comprehensive Energy Package past. I did. Before i went out of office. When i was inaugurated, we are importing a. 6 Million Barrels of oil a day and within five years, because of the package, we reduce that by half down 4. 3 barrels a day. And when reagan came in, he said american does not have to conserve. We can use as much oil as we want to. Resilient health and we dont have to or we can do away with all of these foolish things that the president imposed on the American People as constraints. I put solar panels on the white house. I think there were 36 of them. To provide hot water through the white house. But also as a symbolic truth to the American People that i was going to do something. And as soon as reagan was in office, his great publicity he removed them. He said this was a waste of money and time. As a matter of fact, spoke legibly the main purchased the 36 panels taken off of the white house and they started crusade about a year ago and finally induced president obama to put solar panels back on the white house. And last year, will this year, i was in china the major producer of the cells in the world knows in china. And they had bought one of the panels they used to be on the white house. And when i was over there, they should be the panel and told me about it. Host are you still high and the idea of solar or are you studying wind power. Where do we need to go. Jimmy carter i would say what we used to call as alternate sources of energy. Its not oil primarily. But to use coal in america, you cant make it a clean burn. But to reduce the dependence on uncertain foreign sources of oil. That was the major purpose of my goal. So we put into law, things are still permanent, we are required the electric motors and refrigerators and stoves remain highly efficient. And simply put on everyone but the degree of efficiency. They wont waste energy. We passed laws that were required them to be insulated for the first time. We also had restraints on automobiles efficiencies. But unfortunately, we left a loophole the net so the president could back out of it. Im course when reagan came into office, he backed out of it. So when obama came in, to the president , the efficiency of automobiles was down almost as low as it was his mom i went into some things we never dreamed the president would do. The reagan and his successors did to waste energy. But the laws are still in the books. So we still have efficient refrigerators and stoves electric motors and such. Host do you worry about eisenhower having industrial military complex. Are you worried about oil and the government and what we do to control the oil industry better. Why are they having so much power. What can americans do. Jimmy carter the auto Manufacturing Industry in the oil industry, and others of that kind are extremely rich, almost unbelievably rich. And it influence on congress. And even in National Elections for president. And they have always put as much money as it possibly could into campaigns. In this includes not related it Industries Like the health industry. And i think one of the most stupid things that the Supreme Court has ever done was a ruling last january. The took off all limits on corporations and making attributions to political campaigns. And even remove the core requirements they had to identify themselves. So now, even in the selection and 2010, theres been a massive influx of money from corporations totally secret without the donors being identified. In almost all of it goes to the republicans. So that is what has happened with the election. It ended his change, whole character of american politics. For instance when i was running for office against an incumbent gerald ford, and four years later against governor reagan, but never dreamed of using a negative commercial. We just refer to each other by our distinguished opponent. I think that the reason for the escalation an almost universal use now of negative advertising on television and radio has become the cause of enormous influx of money. Into the campaigns. So if the candidates of Congress Gets a 500,000 from the Oil Companies and so forth, and they spend a lot of the 500,000 bucks on the destroying the character and reputation of their opponent. And it happened on both sides. Although the American People disagree with that, it works. So by the time the election is over, one of the candidates prevails both sides have. Well convince the public the neatest candidate was worthy of holding office. Some of the time to get to washington, they talk about that highly are bipartisan they didnt prevail in all when i was president. And certainly wouldnt gerald busch was in office. When a wonderful bipartisan support then. And cooperation. Now there is no such thing. Congress is much more polarized now i believe in any time in history. I was even in the months preceding the civil war if that is possible because as you know, on some major programs, as obama put force, he did not get a single republican vote in the house or senate. So the republicans have acted and was completely responsibly during the first few months of president obamas term. I think that after the selection, the lease have to assume some responsibility because the have to consult the house of representatives which would be an improvement. Host what about this third treaty right now. Jimmy carter is a wonderful treaty. Its good for the soviet union, good for europe and the United States. Certain downward trend and arsenals of nuclear weapons. And i think in an ordinary time, say when i was in office, even when george w. Bush was in office, it wouldve been approved by the majority of the senators. But with this boycott, mice and the republicans against president obama and the avowed purpose for venting him to get reelected in 2012. Hes going to be lucky to get enough republican votes. But it certainly should be passed. Host what should president obama do at this point. Should he go result alone to use its executive power more somehow find a way to work with congress. If you are president in this political climate, what card would you play. Jimmy carter i think what he is likely to do in the next two years is to be much more resolved, much more determined. To stick with what he was to get done. In a stop trying to induce very few republicans to support his position. For instance he has said that is not going to permit an extension of the george w. Bush tax break for people that are very rich. Then i think yahoo do that. Do what he said he was going to do maybe have one vote in the senate. And then grant the extension of the tax reductions to people to make less than 250,000 year. This means that he was going to do in the campaign. And one vote only. Do not permit any possibility of extending the tax reductions for the very rich people. He does things like that, if he does, think he would have a good deal of success. It was only when he is as you know, a very wellknown technique that george w. Bush had used many times, that he was able to get help real fast. All thats tough. And i think most of the democrats say that we will do better in 2012. If he hangs tough. I think he will. Host back to conservation. Can you tell us by december 1980, in this remarkable Alaska Land Conservation act.