JIMMY CARTER: NO TRUTH TO UFO RUMORS
The New England Skeptical Society / Marketwire.com
November 5, 2007

Original Link

PHILADELPHIA, PA - Democratic Presidential Candidate, Congressman Dennis Kucinich spoke once again of his experience with UFO phenomena Tuesday before a stunned and amused Drexel University audience. He invoked the name of Former President Jimmy Carter in support of his position.

Kucinich's comments drew fire from veteran political commentator Chris Matthews during a postmortem interview with Governor Bill Richardson. "This is shaping up to be a contest between the de-evolution party and the pro-UFO party," he said.

Former President Jimmy Carter, speaking candidly on a recent episode of "The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe," flatly dismissed claims that in 1969 he witnessed an alien spacecraft. Though he did see a mysterious light in the sky, Carter described it as a UFO only because "it was unidentified, it was flying, and it was an object."

"I have never thought there were extra terrestrial beings on a ship from outer space," Carter explained. He went on to speculate that the light may have resulted from military testing at nearby Fort Benning. Carter also rejects a common rumor spread on UFO websites that George H. W. Bush, then director of the CIA, restricted his access to classified UFO documents.

Dr. Steven Novella, president of the New England Skeptical Society (NESS) and host of the "The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe" said, "UFO stories like these are almost always the result of mundane astronomical events." He went on to explain that Former President Carter may have witnessed the planet Venus under unusual atmospheric conditions.

A challenge issued by "The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe" for Congressman Kucinich to appear on the show to defend his views has gone unanswered as of this time.

Listen to the complete interview with President Carter free online (mp3).

"The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe" is a weekly podcast with nearly 30,000 regular listeners. For more information, visit <http://www.theskepticsguide.org/> or download The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe on iTunes.

............

NHNE UFOs & Extraterrestrials Resource Page