Carter / Mondale Presidential Campaign Remarks at a White House Reception for Delegates to the Democratic National Convention.

How many of you think we're going to win in November? [Applause] This is going to be a very good year for Democrats, and it's because of people like you. This has been a good day for me, as well as, I know, it's been instructive for you, coming here to learn about our party and our platform, our administration, and the future of our Nation.

This morning I went over to one of the nearby hotels to give a Congressional Medal of Honor to a lieutenant colonel who served in 1944 in Europe, in Sicily, in Normandy. He had not received his medal because, although the recommendation was made at the time, the records 'had been misplaced. And a few months ago, they were discovered. And in front of the 9th Division, which are called the "Old Reliables," we heard read out the record of his heroism.

He was wounded as a captain, commander of a company. He kept on fighting and eventually prevailed, saved the lives of several of his men; was transferred back to a hospital in England, with a shattered leg. He heard over the radio that all the senior officers in his company had been lost and his company was still in combat. He eased out of the hospital at night, hitchhiked across part of England, caught a ride to France, found his company as it went into battle again. It was losing with a tank attack. He asked a lieutenant and a sergeant to join him in getting the tanks going again; both of them were killed on the way to their tank. He mounted it and prevailed again, saved some of his men; was returned again to the hospital; and later on, in November, went out and fought as a wounded veteran of two major battles.

When I first met him, he was very thrilled to meet a President. I was even more thrilled to meet him. He was wearing the Purple Heart with six oak-leaf clusters. And the emotion of that recognition of true heroism and true courage, when the freedom of our country was challenged, inspired the entire audience in that hotel.

Later this morning, I met a young man named Richard Queen, who spent about an hour with me and Rosalynn— [applause] . He spent about an hour with me and Rosalynn. I won't tell you the entire conversation. But his prime concern was not for himself, although he has been found to have multiple sclerosis; his prime concern was not to do or say anything other than what would contribute to the release of the 52 other Americans who have suffered now since last November from unwarranted imprisonment in Iran.

He told about weeks of being locked up in what he called "the tomb," in a place in a basement with no light or fresh air. And he was finally moved at night, blindfolded, to another building. They had the windows sealed up, but there was a small crack between two bricks in the wall. And he talked about the intense excitement he had the first morning, when day broke, to see a little glimpse of sunlight between two bricks. And eventually he heard two little girls talking in the streets outside the compound as they went to school one day, and even heard, he said, some birds sing.

This is the kind of experience that a President has, not every day, but often, that are true reminders of the greatness of a nation—220 million people brought to their knees, not in submission, but in prayer that 52 or 53 Americans can be free again. It reminds us of what our Nation is. It reminds us also of what our party stands for.

This has been a long, difficult, challenging primary and caucus season. You've all won your elections. I congratulate you. Now it's up to you to make sure Fritz and I win ours. [Laughter]

I didn't take the time to watch the Republican Convention. I read about it. [Laughter] I read about it, heard some of the things about what happened. And I was concerned about the attitude of that convention and the nominee of the Republican Party and the debacle that occurred when the loss of the realization of what the Presidency means became apparent during the choice of a Vice President. The Oval Office is not something to be traded in a hurried fashion in the middle of the night, where part of the responsibilities of a President under the Constitution can be granted to another person.

And there has been a great deal made about the harmony and the lack of debate, the lack of division, in the convention in Detroit. My guess is that ours will be different in New York, but that's not something that's entirely to be avoided nor about which we need be concerned.

We will be debating how we can grant full rights under the Constitution of the United States to women and under the laws of the United States to women. We'll have 50 percent of our delegates or more there who are women. And we'll be debating about how we can carry out the commitments to minority Americans, because about 25 percent of all the delegates in New York will represent minority Americans. Only about 3 percent did this in Detroit.

There was no controversy, because there was no issue; there was no deep commitment. But we have the commitment and the issue, and we'll be debating how we can carry out the principles of the Democratic Party, as has been done in conventions gone by. This has not been an easy thing for us, but the Democratic Party has been on the cutting edge of the progress of this Nation.

I mentioned the other night in California about some of the ancient differences we'll be talking about in the fall as I campaign actively around this country with Fritz Mondale and others—about modern differences.

My first job after I finished high school was at the minimum wage, which at that time was the highest salary I had ever made. It was in 1941; the minimum wage was 40 cents an hour. The Republicans opposed the increase from 25 cents to 40 cents. They also opposed the granting of a 25-cent minimum wage. They are still opposing increases in the future in the minimum wage.

The Republicans opposed the rural free delivery of mail. I happened to live on a rural route— [laughter] —and I appreciated the fact that we got it. The Republicans opposed Medicaid and Medicare and social security and all the advancements that have been made to give basic rights and a better life to American people.

We are a party of compassion and understanding and sensitivity, and we believe in the true worth of an individual human being, the right to stand on one's own feet, to take what talent God gives us and develop it and utilize it on the basis of equality. And we believe in reaching a helping hand to those who have suffered from discrimination of all kinds and deprivation, because we believe that a human being who is healthy and well educated and employed and blessed with justice will be a full, self-supporting, strong, dynamic American that helps shape the future of this country.

The Republicans had very little debate about helping those who are economically deprived. The average medium income of the Republican delegates was about $50,000 a year. They don't worry too much about deprivation. They do worry a lot about a 30-percent reduction in income taxes over the next few years, which will either give us enormous deficits or a debilitated Federal Government.

So, when we debate issues at the convention, it's not a sign that the Democratic Party is weak. It's also not a sign that the Democratic Party will be divided when election day comes in November, because those things about which we do debate among ourselves in the convention and in the primary and caucus season are the very things that bind us together with a common purpose when we face the Republican challenge in the general election.

It's not an accident that we have a President in the White House who's a Democrat. It's not an accident that twothirds, roughly, of the Members of the House of Representatives are Democrats. It's not an accident that two-thirds of the Senators are Democrats. The fact is that the Democratic Party has been tested in the forge of performance, under the scrutiny of American voters. And they have decided, "These are the leaders that I am going to support, that will give me a better life in the future."

Ours is a strong country. We have our faults. We've had our failures. The United States of America is not a perfect nation. The Democratic Party is not a perfect political party. My administration, along with Fritz Mondale, is not a perfect administration. But our faults are obvious, and they are brought about because sometimes we strive for too much, not because we strive for too little. And they are brought about in the public eye, because we do not avoid the tough issues which sometimes bring about political sacrifice, where we lose votes dealing with them. But the fact is that we look to the future with anticipation, confidence, unity, courage, commitment, never failing to tie closely together the principles on which our Nation was founded, which are the exact same principles that have been the lifeblood and the backbone of the Democratic Party.

So, your first answer to my question when I began my talk is the one that will prevail in my mind. We will beat the Republicans badly in November, with your help.

Just another word. Rosalynn reminded me that we'll have refreshments in the other end of the hall.

And I would like to tell you this: We still have some political struggle, perhaps at the convention itself. But I'm convinced that as you sit by and talk to and perhaps debate with the delegates that are committed to Senator Kennedy, that you have to remember that although we might be debating against them in New York, we'll be working with all of them throughout the country in November. So, keep that in mind. We'll all win together as friends.