President Jimmy Carter; Former TV6 anchor shares insights from interview
MILWAUKEE - As the nation remembers Jimmy Carter, FOX6 News took a behind-the-scenes look with two Wisconsin reporters who met the 39th U.S. president.
TV6 Anchor Dan Lewis
Roughly 40 days before the 1980 presidential election, then-TV6 News traveled to the White House to interview President Jimmy Carter. He was in a tough re-election bid; the economy had been struggling, and Americans were held hostage in Iran.
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Lewis: "Does the United States know now where all the hostages are and how safe they are?"
Carter: "We have a very good idea where the hostages are. I can't certify we know where every one of them is."
TV6 Anchor Dan Lewis
TV6 Anchor Dan Lewis interviews President Jimmy Carter
Forty-four years after he asked that question, Lewis spoke to FOX6 and reflected on that moment in American history.
"It was interesting to see him take that pause, and I think he knew he had to be very guarded in how he answered that question while putting the best positive spin on it as he could," Lewis said.
"I know in that interview, and in a couple of times I’ve had the chance to talk to him since then, that was a very difficult issue for him. The fact that he couldn’t get those hostages home, the failed rescue attempt. It weighed heavily on him, not just politically, but as a person, as a compassionate person."
Former TV6 Anchor Dan Lewis
Ronald Reagan trounced Carter in the 1980 election. The Republican won 44 states – including Wisconsin.
"I interviewed two different Jimmy Carters," Lewis said. "The first was at the White House when he was under a great amount of stress – things were not going well for him. He was still welcoming when we came into the White House. He was still kind and thoughtful. In the times I spoke to him afterward, he was gracious, he was wonderful, he was complimentary."
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Lewis interviewed many politicians in four decades of TV journalism. He went on to serve as a main anchor in Seattle for 27 years. He retired in 2014.
"Compared to other politicians, I think Jimmy Carter was one of the more, how do you say, normal people after the White House," Lewis said. "He was less guarded, he was open, willing to talk, willing to laugh, willing to share stories. And I thought Jimmy Carter, in my encounters with him, was really a true gentleman."
Reporter Dee Holzel
For Wisconsin-based journalist Dee Holzel, it was a scoop she fought for for weeks – an exclusive interview with former President Jimmy Carter – when she was working in Nevada.
"I was only thrilled for a moment, but mostly I was terrified, because he's a notoriously tough interview," Holzel said. "He does not come with sound bites. He does not come with stump speeches."
"I would ask him a question, and he would say, ‘Well, to understand that question, we really have to go back to the 1800s,’" she added. "Then he would, you know, explain the history, explain the different political lenses, and he would talk for ten minutes."
Before the interview on a cold day, the Carters invited Holzel to sit and relax.
Dee Holzel
"They're serving hot tea. They want their guests to be warm and comfortable. And they were so gracious," Holzel said.
It was 2006 in Nevada. The former president was visiting his oldest son, Jack, who was running for U.S. Senate. Holzel said she pressed the former president on his son's campaign message.
"President Carter became very spirited, and he maybe raised his voice a little bit," Holzel recalled. "I could tell you that you have really not been told off until you've been told off by a Nobel Peace Prize winner who's 82 years old, if I may say."
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Holzel ended up moving to Wisconsin and, most recently, reporting in Racine County. She took that experience of interviewing President Carter with her.
"A challenging interview, but I've never forgotten – I've never forgotten – our interaction," she said. "Other politicians, you know, they're easy to forget.
"They come with their soundbites, but that interview with President Carter, and the impression he made on me has stuck with me to this day, right? Understand things holistically, and always tell the truth."