Well, I think that we or the Soviets ought to play a constructive role. And I think both of us will. We have been the nation then and, I think, now t… - Jimmy Carter

I'm trying to fulfill all my promises. And I think I was quite reticent in making those promises, certainly compared to some of my opponents. But we've put forward already to the Congress proposals that carry out the major promises that I made--reorganization, energy, welfare reform, and so forth. We've also been successful, I think-when an analysis is made of what the Congress achieved this year, I think there's going to be a very pleasant reaction from the American people when they see the progress that we've accomplished. So, I don't think I made too many promises, and I think I'm doing an adequate job in trying to fulfill those promises. There is a very heavy agenda for the Congress. And it's much easier for the administration to evolve a proposal or to present legislation to the Congress than it is for Congress actually to pass it. And so the Congress will inherently follow behind any administration in dealing with very controversial issues that have no easy solution. So, I think so far our relationship with the Congress has been good. The effort to carry out my promises has been adequate. I don't think I made too many promises to the American people.

Above all, the search for peace requires a much more deliberate effort to contain the global arms race. Let me speak in this context, first, of the U.S.-Soviet Union relationship, and then of the wider need to contain the proliferation of arms throughout the global community. I intend to pursue the strategic arms limitation talks between the United States and the Soviet Union with determination and with energy. Our Secretary of State will visit Moscow in just a few days. SALT is extraordinarily complicated. But the basic fact is that while negotiations remain deadlocked, the arms race goes on; the security of both countries and the entire world is threatened. My preference would be for strict controls or even a freeze on new types and new generations of weaponry and with a deep reduction in the strategic arms of both sides. Such a major step towards not only arms limitation but arms reduction would be welcomed by mankind as a giant step towards peace. Alternatively, and perhaps much more easily, we could conclude a limited agreement based on those elements of the Vladivostok accord on which we can find complete consensus, and set aside for prompt consideration and subsequent negotiations the more contentious issues and also the deeper reductions in nuclear weapons which I favor. We will also explore the possibility of a total cessation of nuclear testing. While our ultimate goal is for all nuclear powers to end testing, we do not regard this as a prerequisite for the suspension of tests by the two principal nuclear powers, the Soviet Union and the United States. We should, however, also pursue a broad, permanent multilateral agreement on this issue. We will also seek to establish Soviet willingness to reach agreement with us on mutual military restraint in the Indian Ocean, as well as on such matters as arms exports to the troubled areas of the world. In proposing such accommodations I remain fully aware that American-Soviet relations will continue to be highly competitive--but I believe that our competition must be balanced by cooperation in preserving peace, and thus our mutual survival. I will seek such cooperation with the Soviet Union--earnestly, constantly, and sincerely. However, the effort to contain the arms race is not a matter just for the United States and Soviet Union alone. There must be a wider effort to reduce the flow of weapons to all the troubled spots of this globe. Accordingly, we will try to reach broader agreements among producer and consumer nations to limit the export of conventional arms, and we, ourselves, will take the initiative on our own because the United States has become one of the major arms suppliers of the world. We are deeply committed to halting the proliferation of nuclear weapons. And we will undertake a new effort to reach multilateral agreements designed to provide legitimate supplies of nuclear fuels for the production of energy, while controlling the poisonous and dangerous atomic wastes. Working with other nations represented here, we hope to advance the cause of peace. We will make a strong and a positive contribution at the upcoming Special Session on Disarmament which I understand will commence next year.

This week 36 nations came together in Washington to talk about the international nuclear fuel cycle and how we might bring into being this dream of all people in the world. We talked about the reorganization of the Federal branch of Government, the executive branch, to bring some order out of bureaucratic chaos. And the Congress has given me authority now, for 3 years, to carry out this effort. And I am as determined now as I was 3, 2, or 1 year ago, to do it successfully. We talked about inflation. A year ago the inflation rate was very high--last December, 10 percent. We've brought it down slowly and steadily. The information that was given out this morning on a 1-month-only basis was that the inflation rate is below 4 percent for the first time in quite a while. I think the prevailing inflation rate is about 6 or 6 1/2 percent. It's going to be almost impossible to hold it down. But we are making some progress. We're doing the same thing on the unemployment rate. Last December it was 8 percent. Now it's down to 7 percent, a little bit lower. It's still a great challenge to us all, but we are making some progress. I was in Detroit earlier today. Two years ago, the unemployment rate in that urban city was 24.4 percent; now, it's 8.8 percent. But we still have an unemployment rate among minority groups, particularly young people, 35 or 40 percent. It's not going to be an easy thing to do, but I'm just as determined as I was before to carry out my commitment to you to bring some order out of chaos in our economy. We're working orderly and persistently with other nations of the world to address these matters on a multinational basis, and I believe that we are making some progress. I know that our country's persuasive effort around the world to bring about peace in Africa, in the Middle East, better relationships with our former enemies, depends upon a strong economy.