Jimmy Carter Wade", 410 US 113 (1973). As president, he did not support increased federal funding for abortion services. He was criticized by the American Civil Liberties Union for not doing enough to find alternatives. In a March 29, 2012 interview with Laura Ingraham, Carter expressed his current view of abortion and his wish to see the Democratic Party becoming more pro-life: Carter is known for his strong opposition to the death penalty, which he expressed during his presidential campaigns, as had George McGovern. Two successive nominees, Walter Mondale and Michael Dukakis, also opposed the death penalty. In his Nobel Prize lecture,
Presidency of Jimmy Carter Democrats, who had been skeptical of Carter. The Republicans experienced a contested convention that ultimately nominated incumbent President Gerald Ford, who had succeeded to the presidency in 1974 after the resignation of Richard Nixon due to the latter's involvement in the Watergate scandal. With the Republicans badly divided, and with Ford facing questions over his competence as president, polls taken in August 1976 showed Carter with a 15-point lead. In the general election campaign, Carter continued to promote a centrist agenda, seeking to define new Democratic positions in the aftermath of the tumultuous 1960s. Above all, Carter attacked the political