Carter offers visiting Dean praise, and a correction

PLAINS, Ga. -- Amid polls indicating that he was losing his lead in Iowa, Howard Dean sought spiritual and political salvation yesterday in Jimmy Carter's church and hometown. What he found was a pleasant send-off from the former president on the eve of the Iowa caucuses, but also the minor embarrassment of Carter contradicting him about who sought the largely symbolic and photo-rich event.

"I made an announcement in advance that I am not going to endorse any particular candidate," the former president said as he and Dean stood on a platform erected on Main Street, in front of the former Carter peanut warehouse, in this southwestern Georgia community of 716 residents. "But I have been particularly grateful at the courageous and outspoken posture and positions that Governor Dean has taken from the beginning."

Labeling Dean "my friend, our good friend, and a fellow Christian," Carter cited the unity of their views in opposition to the war in Iraq.

"I have spent a lot of time in the last year and a half strongly opposing the completely unnecessary and unjust war in Iraq, and despite my strong efforts, the war has commenced and now has proven to be not only based on erroneous information and misleading statements, but also a sustained demonstration of tragedy," said Carter, a Nobel Peace laureate as well as the nation's 39th president. "The fact that he supported me in 1980, the fact that he was a strong and open advocate of peace whenever possible, and his outspoken nature -- sometimes saying things that have to be retracted, which I had to do as well when I ran for president -- has made it very harmonious between him and me."

Dean responded by labeling Carter a "moral model" and praising his foreign policy for linking human rights with international relations. "I really appreciated the lesson that you've given, the path that you've laid," Dean told Carter as American flags flapped over their shoulders and a crowd of about 150 clapped and cheered. "This is really a dream."

Yet two hours earlier, before leading a church lesson about Job, the former Vermont governor's favorite book in the Bible, Carter also contradicted Dean, who told reporters on several occasions last week that he was traveling to Plains at the former president's request.

"I didn't invite him, but I'm glad he came," Carter told reporters as he passed through an overflow room at his local parish, the Maranatha Baptist Church. "He called me on the phone and said he'd like to come worship. . . . He called me and asked me if it would be all right."

When the Dean campaign announced the visit last week, the governor was confronted with questions about the wisdom of leaving Iowa the day before the caucuses. He denied seeking a boost for his campaign by appearing with Carter, another former governor, who won the caucuses en route to the White House.

"When the former president of the United States asks you to go to church with him on the Sunday before caucuses, I think you probably take that up," Dean told Iowa Public Television Wednesday. On Friday, when asked again about the trip, Dean said: "I think that when the president wants to be helpful, I think that I should give him that opportunity."

Carter told reporters that he has also spoken with retired Army General Wesley K. Clark of Arkansas, a fellow Southerner, about visiting Plains and attending church with him. While the trip was Dean's first to Plains, it was something of a political homecoming for him.

In 1980, Dean volunteered on Carter's unsuccessful reelection campaign. Dean later attended a White House lunch with Carter, and the two reconnected at the 1988 Democratic National Convention in Atlanta. In late 2002, as Dean was planning his presidential campaign, he met with Carter in Atlanta to learn what to expect in the transition from a statewide to a nationwide campaign.

Yesterday, Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, greeted Dean at their brick ranch about a mile from the peanut warehouse. They chatted over coffee and scones before Carter took Dean on a tour of the house, including the study where he has written books and the wood shop he visits for relaxation. The former president presented Dean with a copy of his latest book, "The Hornet's Nest."

Georgia does not hold its primary until March 2, after the nomination is expected to be decided, but both in his Bible study class and later during the Main Street speech, Carter said he hoped the Democrats would campaign in the South and not be deterred, in Dean's case, by questions about whether a "Yankee" can win here.

Glen Johnson can be reached at johnson@globe.com.