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Talking With Jimmy Carter

5/3/07, 6:01 pm EST

Jimmy CarterFor our fortieth anniversary, the editors of Rolling Stone have interviewed twenty artists and leaders who helped shape our time. We’ve been debuting exclusive audio clips from the Q&As, giving you unparalleled access to some of the most important personalities in history.

Today we present former U.S. president and tireless humanitarian Jimmy Carter. During his presidency, Carter was the anti-Bush, creating the Department of Education, strengthening social security and reiterating the country’s need to wean itstelf off foreign oil. Sitting down with veteran newsman Tom Brokaw for our fortieth anniversary issue, Carter talks about Vietnam, befriending Bob Dylan and Hunter S. Thompson and what’s on Jimmy’s iPods (he owns two). Listen to three excerpts from that interview, and for the full Brokaw-Carter pow-wow, pick up your copy of our fortieth anniversary issue, on stands now.

  • Carter talks about how the focus on drug policies have greatly differed since he held office: “We bragged to each other about who reduced the prison population the most. But with the increase of the drug culture, that trend has been dramatically reversed. Now politicians brag about how many prisons they’ve built…”
  • He didn’t exactly yell “Judas,” but Jimmy Carter had a similar reaction to Bob Dylan’s decision to go from acoustic to electric: “Well, later when he came back for performances when I left the governor’s office, we went to hear him. I was disappointed. I really cherished then and still cherish now the original Bob Dylan sound…”
  • Brokaw and Carter discuss whether or not America is ready for a female or black president: “I saw a poll a couple of days ago that was conducted by USA Today and Gallup, that showed that 94 percent of people in America claim that they would vote for a black and 88 percent for a woman. So either would be acceptable…”

Check back tomorrow for the next installment of our twenty-part audio interviews, featuring some of the most iconic and influential pop culture figures of the last 40 years. Want a hint at tomorrow’s interviewee? What Dead man told us this about a certain famous household in San Francisco:

Life was extremely communal. The most important thing was keeping each other amused. That was job number one. We were on something of a gravy train. We made enough money from gigs to feed everybody and pay the rent.


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Comments

Mary | 5/14/2007, 8:23 pm EST

Jimmy Carter is not a racist. African American support was crucial for him in ‘76 and he gained it.

Please | 5/7/2007, 10:55 am EST

Reagan stripped the solar panels off the white house as seen as he got in office. Wasted money in the star wars program, paid off terrorists in Afghanistan and Columbia and paid the Iranian government to hold the hostages till he left office. Carter is given heat as a peanut farmer, he was a nuclear physicist. Carter was screwed over by a lot of problems. Israeli soldiers are known for not caring. Plenty of videos where soldiers watch film crews get stoned and say it’s not their job, that they should go back to England. Others of Israeli children throwing stones at Palestian families. Soldiers who harrass workers at checkpoints (ones with papers). Check out reddit.com

Worst president | 5/6/2007, 3:09 pm EST

Jimmy Carter has embraced every dictator he has negotiated with and believed all their lies. He’s a proven anti-semite and was one of the worst presidents in American history.
He is the Neville Chamberlain of our times and would have negotiated and trusted Hitler if he were alive then.
He deserves no praise.

jared | 5/6/2007, 12:12 am EST

carter is a racist and an anti-semite. his camp david accords were and still are worthless as the egyptians government spews daily consistent anti-jewish and anti-israel propaganda in its press. recently Mohamed el-Katatny of President Hosni Mubarak’s National Democratic Party (NDP) told the Egyptian Parliament “Nothing will work with Israel except for a nuclear bomb that wipes it out of existence.” so much for peace. hes a failure of the greatest magnitude masquerading as a humitarian.

Logan | 5/5/2007, 10:59 pm EST

any president that is a friend
to Hunter S. Thompson is
a cool guy in my book.
I just wish Hunter would
have pointed that gun @
the Bush’s.(in a biblical
sense)

Hunter | 5/5/2007, 1:27 pm EST

Carter: worst president of the last 100 years. Thank god Reagan came around to dump his sorry ass.

Ashley | 5/5/2007, 12:36 pm EST

The only president to broker meaningful peace in the Middle East (Israel and Egypt, no problems since) and about the only person with the balls to tell the truth about the current Israeli/Palestinian situation (they truly have implemented a system of apartheid — they enforce curfues in Palestinian areas for crying out loud).

Franko Tanko | 5/4/2007, 5:01 pm EST

hahahahahahaha

spitting on the Carter’s peanuts!
That’s a good one

hm | 5/4/2007, 5:00 pm EST

dlt - you tax the people you represent, regardless of demographics… if you want to tax the rich only, then expect to see gov’t only represent the interests of the rich, since they’re paying gov’t bills.

stackman - true, doesn’t mean he wasn’t a horrible president. like, one of the WORST… seriously.

Dr. Ralph | 5/4/2007, 2:01 pm EST

What about the canal Jimmy? Every time I cruise through Plains I spit on your peanuts…

Stackman | 5/4/2007, 11:01 am EST

Mr. Carter is a smart man — probably one of the smartest and most compassionate people to occupy the White House.

dlt | 5/4/2007, 9:24 am EST

You Tax the Rich

Not the poor. And the Red Scare’s a
Pinko who doesn’t pay his hospital/
Rehab bill.

Carter was a better president than
Our current bozo. And his spirituality’s
Not a cartoon

ray | 5/3/2007, 10:19 pm EST

Jimmy Carter was weak on forigen policy the Iran hostage cris the Moscow olympic boycot come to mind. Youre right hm his tax policies hurt plus the big boys drove prices up they made sure he only got one term. not all his fault.

hm | 5/3/2007, 7:54 pm EST

conspicuously absent:

the president who oversaw rampant economic stagflation and instituted a tax policy against the wealthy that made mao’s testicles rise.

just because you interview famous democrats doesn’t mean you have to blow them.

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