Tonight, I went to the hotel room for a couple of hours before coming over here, and I wanted to write some notes for my speech. I thought back to a … - Jimmy Carter

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Tonight, I went to the hotel room for a couple of hours before coming over here, and I wanted to write some notes for my speech. I thought back to a little more than 3 years ago when I first came to Iowa. I traveled across your State. I think I stopped in seven towns and cities. And I began to talk about issues that were important to you and important to me and important to our country. Quite often very few people came. Harry Baxter and his wife arranged for two or three hundred to come to a reception here in Des Moines. I think three people came, including Harry Baxter's wife and Jody Powell and one other. And I was invited over to the courthouse and went through and shook hands. But way back in those days we were already talking about human rights. We were talking about stopping the construction of the B-1 bomber. We were talking about bringing lasting peace to the Middle East. We were talking about holding down weapons sales, not only from our country, which is the worst violator of all, but among arms producers throughout the world. We were talking about a better relationship with the Soviet Union, a comprehensive SALT agreement that would put a limit on atomic weapons of all kinds. And we are making great progress on this effort. And I can tell you that in a few weeks, my prediction is that we will have a SALT agreement that will be a pride of our country, and following that, we will proceed toward my ultimate goal of reducing nuclear weapons in this world to zero. Back in those early days, even a year ago, there was a general feeling that nothing could be done to stop the proliferation of nuclear explosives among countries that presently don't have them. But in the last 9 months we have formed a commitment among the nations of the world to permit some use of atomic power to produce electricity, but to prevent the production of weapons. And I believe that we'll never see another nation again added to that horrible club that we started of countries that have nuclear destructive weapons in our repertoire.