The Attempted Assassination of Jimmy Carter by Lee Harvey/Oswaldo

A curious bit of disappeared history:

Toward mid-1979 Democrat Carter was being chastised by critics within the media, as well as by the Republicans, as being wishy-washy on a variety of issues. They said his was a mediocre presidency. The mass media were already focusing on conservative California Gov. Ronald Reagan as the man of the hour. His nomination as GOP presidential candidate for the 1980 election seemed assured.

Carter asked for and was granted a national television spot during prime time and many media pundits predicted that he was about to announce sweeping changes in government as well as new initiatives which would move his upcoming presidential re-election campaign off high center.

But before his televised appearance, Carter journeyed to California where he was to address a Hispanic crowd in Los Angeles.s Civic Center Mall celebrating Cinco de Mayo, the Mexican Independence Day.

A few days later, a handful of newspapers carried a small story stating that a "grubby transient" had been arrested there and was being held on suspicion of the attempted assassination of the president. A Secret Service spokesman downplayed the arrest stating the incident was about as "nothing as these things get."

However, a few days later, another news item appeared which reported that the 35-year-old Anglo suspect was being held in lieu of $50,000 on charges of conspiring to kill the president.

Finally, a one-time story in the May 21, 1979, edition of Newsweek revealed more details of the incident.

It seems that the suspect was arrested after Secret Service agents noticed him "looking nervous." A .22-calibre, eight-shot revolver was found on the man along with 70 rounds of blank ammunition. A short time later, the suspect implicated a second man, a 21-year-old Hispanic who also was taken into custody and subsequently held in lieu of $100,000 bail.

The second suspect at first denied knowing the other man, but finally admitted that the pair had test fired the blank starter pistol from a nearby hotel roof the night before Carter.s appearance. Both men said they were simply local street people who had been hired by two Mexican hit men. They were to create a diversion with the blank pistol and the two hit men were to assassinate President Carter with high-powered rifles.

Lending credence to their story, both suspects led authorities to the shabby Alan Hotel located near the civic center. Here investigators found an empty rifle case and three rounds of live ammunition in a room rented under than name Umberto Camacho. Camacho apparently had checked out the day of Carter's visit. No further trace of the hit men could be found.

The Anglo suspect was Raymond Lee Harvey and his Hispanic companion was Osvaldo Ortiz. This oddity of their names prompted Newsweek reporters to state, "References to Lee Harvey Oswald and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy were unavoidable."

"But it was still far from clear whether the authorities had a real conspiracy or a wild goose chase on their hands," they added.

No further news stories appeared and the disposition of the case against Lee Harvey and Osvaldo apparently has never been made public.

What did happen was that President Carter canceled his national TV speech and went into seclusion at Camp David, MD. After seeking advice from a lengthy line of consultants, including the Rev. Billy Graham, Carter was reported to have said, "I have lost control of the government."

It is historical fact that no serious policy changes were made and no sweeping changes were made in government. Carter remained indecisive in the public eye and by mid-November the following year, the United States took a conservative turn under the leadership of Ronald Reagan. Reagan's victory was due, in large part, to a failed military rescue attempt and the collapse of negotiations in mid-October 1980. Both concerned the release of American hostages seized at the American Embassy in Teheran, Iran, on November 4, 1979, after Carter allowed the deposed Shah to enter the United States for medical treatment.

Later, it was alleged that Reagan.s running mate, George Bush, along with CIA Director William Casey had privately cut a deal with Iranian leaders to hold the hostages until after the November election, thus assuring a Reagan victory. Despite testimony confirming this "October Surprise" from several people involved, including the Iranian Foreign Minister, no action was taken by the Reagan-Bush administration. Yet it is a fact that on January 20, 1981, just minutes after Reagan was sworn into office, the American hostages were released and within weeks, military supplies which Carter had withheld from Iran began moving to that nation.

To any astute observer of national affairs, there is activity happening behind the scenes, which is rarely reported by the 'watchdog' media.

And never mind calculating the odds of two men named Lee Harvey and Osvaldo being identified in a conspiracy to assassinate an American president. This information alone should be enough to cause any thinking person to ponder the hidden machinations which may be taking place in this nation to control government leaders through fear and intimidation.