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JIM LEHRER: The uncertainty over who will be President, and the issue
of legitimacy, President Jimmy Carter had some advice for the country
today. He spoke at the National Press Club in Washington.
JIMMY CARTER: This is a time, I think, not for frivolous delays in
the process, which I think would be condemned by the American people.
And I don't think it's a time for premature concessions because we don't
yet know the facts about what has occurred in Florida among the people
who went to the polling places in good faith to cast their ballots for
the presidency. And the American people should, I think, join me in
being patient and thorough in determining what that will of the Florida
voters was. My guess is that this process is going to take several days.
The campaign has been going on for more than a year, 100 million people
have voted. What they wish, as a result of the election, has not yet
been determined. And a few more days is not an improper expectation
to realize. The system of rules and regulations concerning the voting
processes in Florida have been and are being thoroughly studied. And
any challenges to the system that it has not accurately represented
the will of the people needs to be decided in the courts. Ultimately.
We don't yet know what courts will be involved, either state or federal,
but I think it's very important for the American people to realize that
it would be a serious mistake to have the final outcome of the election
determined without there being a general consensus that the process
has been thoroughly pursued.
When the process is over, within the next two or three days or maybe
a couple of weeks, if a decision is made to count the absentee ballots,
then whoever the next President might be will certainly have my full
support, the support of the losing candidates, and I think the overwhelming
majority of the American people. I don't believe that would be the case
if there are still uncertainties remaining about what the accurate results
in Florida might have been. So my primary message is that the American
people should be patient, that there be no premature decisions made
and that the will of the people of Florida and, therefore the nation
under our constitutional system should be accurately honored.
JOHN FEINSTEIN: Thanks, Elizabeth. Same to you.
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