Rosalynn Carter on Iranian Hostage Crisis (C-SPAN)

Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter discusses the Iranian Hostage Crisis in an exclusive interview with CSPAN for its First Ladies series. More information here

"It was awful. I look back now and I have memories of just waiting for the press conference in Iran to say what happened that day because we had no idea what was going on. And the only way we knew what was going on was when they would come out and announce it.

And so - and it was just, you know, thinking about it and thinking - we met with the families all along and thinking about the people whose family members were there and what it was doing to Jimmy's presidency and it was awful. It was awful.

But - and I would go out - I would go out and campaign and I had found out earlier that I could - when the president goes out, he's so surrounded that people - he speaks to them. He says hello and so forth, but he doesn't get close enough to people to have conversations, you know, just normally like you would otherwise about what their hopes and dreams of what they thought about what I was doing and what Jimmy was doing and anything that could help them.

I had learned that early when Jimmy was - during his presidency. And - but I would go out and everybody would say, "Tell the president to do something and tell him to - he's got to do something."

I would come home and I would say, "Why don't you do something?" And he said, "What do you want me to do? You want me to mine the harbors," which a lot of people were talking about it. He said, "And then have them bring out one prisoner every day and hang him in public?" Well, maybe that's not the best thing to do.

And - but it was, you know - I wanted it over and, of course, he did too. Everybody did. Every one of the people in the country. Every night on - new TV programs started and nobody got over at all. I mean, could get over it or just think about it because it was there every day, every night. It was awful."