Plains, Georgia Remarks to Area Residents.

Good morning, everybody. I hope some of you got to bed last night. I didn't. [Laughter]

As you all know, 4 years and—you can't hear? As you all know, 4 years and 1 day ago I came back the day after the election just as the Sun was rising in the east. And I thanked all of you for having helped me be elected to the highest office available in the free world.

I've had now a chance to serve for 4 years the greatest nation on Earth and the greatest people in the world. We've made some very difficult decisions, and every time I've made a judgment in a time of crisis or a time of solitude about the future of our country or the future of your lives, I've done it with the memory of my upbringing here in Plains, the fact that I'm a southerner, the fact that I'm an American. I've offered my life, as many of you have done, in time of war, to preserve freedom and to preserve the things in which we all believe.

We've made some difficult decisions. Some of them have not been politically popular. Some of them have been highly publicized. Some of the crises with which I've dealt you've never known about them, because they didn't develop into something that affected your life or the lives of people around the world. We've tried to deal fairly with all people, with black people, with those who speak Spanish, with women, for those who've been deprived in life. We've done this in every instance. Sometimes it's aroused the displeasure of others, and sometimes it's been politically costly.

Some of the most difficult decisions that have ever been made by the Congress or a President have been made in the last 4 years. We've been afflicted with the shock of more than a doubling in the price of oil in 1979, but our country was ready for it. Our people responded well. We've had unbelievable inflation the early part of this year. It's begun to come down, because you've responded. And we're now importing, as you know, 2 million barrels of oil a day less than we did just a year ago. We've cut it 30 percent in less than 12 months, because of you, not because of me. It was difficult for the Congress to take this action, but they did it, and they aroused the animosity of some who thought we moved too fast, didn't move fast enough.

The Panama Canal treaty was one of the things that I think is a courageous judgment that we've made. We acted in a way that was fair and decent. We did away with the colonial atmosphere of our country. We've formed a partnership with Panama. Now we share with them the responsibility for opening that canal, keeping it operating properly. After the year 2000 we'll still have a full right to defend it. This was a decision not easy to make, perhaps one of the most difficult judgments that an individual United States Senator has ever had to make.

We've kept our Nation strong, kept our Nation at peace. Sometimes it has not been easy to make a judgment in times of crisis overseas, but I can say to you something that no President has been able to say for the last 50 years. Our Nation has not been at war. We've been at peace.

And as you well know, the economic news has not always been good. I've noticed that we've had drought here in Georgia. We've had very difficult increases in energy prices. We've tried to handle these issues as you would have me handle them. In balance, our Nation has made good progress. We've honored the principles that are important to my life and yours. I think we've enhanced the freedom of people around the world. We've kept high the banner of human rights. We've not only kept our Nation at peace, we've extended peace to the people who live in the Middle East, with the exercise of the proper influence of our great country.

We've opened up government to people that in the past have been excluded. I've appointed more black judges, for instance, than all the other Presidents combined in 200 years—twice as many, as a matter of fact—more women judges than all the Presidents in 200 years put together; more judges that speak Spanish than all the Presidents combined in 200 years. This has not hurt our country. It's let those people, formerly deprived, formerly having been suffering from discrimination, be part of the decisionmaking process of our country.

Today is a great day in the life of a democracy. It's when the President and all of his challengers can cast a vote that counts the same as yours, and it's a time when you'll make a judgment about the Nation's future. I've always had confidence in the American people. I've never been disappointed, and at the conclusion of this day of voting I'll be willing to abide by the judgment. My belief is that I'll be reelected. I'll do the best I can to serve you. And I'm grateful from the bottom of my heart for the confidence that you've had in me.

Many people from Plains, from Americus, from Richland, from Preston, from Schley County, from around this area, have gone all over the Nation to speak for me and shake hands with people in other States, to tell them that you have confidence in me and that I would not disappoint them if I became President. I've tried to honor your commitment to those other people. In the process I've tried to honor my commitment to you. God bless you. Thank you.

Don't forget to vote, everybody.