Former Vice President of the United States, Walter Mondale, spoke with journalism students in a video conference between Pace, Denver and George Mason Universities about his experience as a Vice President and as a Presidential nominee.
“There is joy to be in a position where you can be heard; you may make a difference,” said Mondale in reference to his position as Vice President to former President Jimmy Carter.
While Mondale expressed great respect and reverence for having worked under a man he described as "strong," he revealed that there were many problems with the office of Vice President that caused him to make many changes. He told students that a President and his Vice President should be in sync with each other and work on everything together.
In fact, Mondale and Carter are well-known for the amount of time that they spent together. Mondale revealed that him and Carter would read every piece of paper together. Mondale also said that he is responsible for the creation of the most current Vice President office, which is located down the hall from the Presidential office.
When asked for his opinion on the current Vice President/President relationship, Mondale believes it has "gone off the rails."
Mondale doesn't believe the Bush and Cheney administration is in control of their power. He said: “I looked at myself, not as a co-president, not as a prime minister, not somebody that possessed power separate from the president, but someone who was put there to try to help the president and the administration do the best job possible."
"They’re going to find out that the result of what has happened now has really damaged our country,” Mondale said.
