Visiting the Miller Center of Public Affairs yesterday morning, former President Jimmy Carter expressed his concerns with the current Bush administration's foreign policy.
Carter was the keynote speaker at a rededication ceremony for the Miller Center, marking the opening of the newly constructed Kenneth W. Thompson Pavilion and Scripps Library and Multimedia Archive. The $7 million project also involved renovating the historic Faulkner House, part of the existing center.
Carter told reporters he was deeply worried Bush was departing from traditional policies "in dealing with the Middle East and in dealing with the international agreements [the United States has] helped to forge."
Addressing a crowd of about 375 invited guests, he listed preservation of peace as one of the primary objectives of a president.
He added that if war was necessary, a president needed to form a coalition of allies and work through the United Nations.
"Departure from those traditions is a great challenge and a great danger to our country," he said.
Carter was one of several speakers at yesterday's event, along with Gov. Mark R. Warner. Presidents Ford, Bush and Clinton and current President George W. Bush each offered videotaped messages of congratulations. First Lady Nancy Reagan sent a letter on behalf of her husband.
"This one is a nationally recognized institute that we benefit from by having at the University," Warner said. "You see that today by having a former president -- all the living presidents recognize it."
The Miller Center, located on Old Ivy Road, researches American national and international policies with particular emphasis on the presidency.
Carter said one important aspect of the center's work was to examine patterns in the collective presidencies. One such pattern, he said, was presidents tend to alternate between one term and two terms.
He said he thought Bush would not be reelected.
"I won't look too far in the future, but you can understand the tradition that I think might be maintained," Carter said.
Carter also talked about his work at the Miller Center co-chairing the 2001 National Commission on Federal Election Reform with Ford. The committee, formed in response to the 2000 presidential election controversy, presented a report now awaiting Congressional action.
It is the public's duty to "insist that Congress pass this enlightened legislation so that election reform can be put to the desk of George Bush," Carter said.
Despite its national recognition, few undergraduate students are aware of the center because of its distance from Central Grounds and the fact that it holds no classrooms, said Wistar Morris, executive director of the Miller Center Foundation.
"Being located off main Grounds makes it challenging for students to find us, but we welcome their participation, especially at the forums," Director of External Relations Margaret Edwards said.
This afternoon, the center will host a 4 p.m. forum on U.S. foreign policy at the Darden Auditorium with former National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft and former Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger.
Additionally, the center employs student interns and volunteers for work on research, forums, communications and Web site projects.
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