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Wednesday, Sep 29, 2010 1:43 PM UTC

Carter’s Washington book signing events canceled

The former president remains in Ohio hospital overnight for observation after stomach problems

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Topics: Jimmy Carter, Political Books,

Former President Jimmy Carter is canceling scheduled book signing events in Washington as doctors continue their observations following Carter’s overnight stay in Ohio for an upset stomach.

Carter had been scheduled for two events in Washington on Wednesday, including one at the Smithsonian Institution, to promote his book “White House Diary.”

Kathy Daneman, publicity manager at publisher Farrar, Straus & Giroux, said no decision had been made about an event planned at a Columbia, S.C., bookstore Thursday.

Book signings in a Cleveland suburb and Durham, N.C., were canceled Tuesday when the 85-year-old Carter fell ill on a flight to Cleveland.

Christina Karas, spokeswoman at MetroHealth Medical Center, said Wednesday that doctors recommended additional observation during the day, but that Carter feels normal and looks forward to resuming his schedule soon.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Former President Jimmy Carter, feeling normal and hoping to resume a book publicity tour soon, remained in an Ohio hospital Wednesday after doctors recommended additional observation following an overnight stay for an upset stomach.

“Carter is feeling normal this morning,” Christina Karas, spokeswoman at MetroHealth Medical Center said Wednesday.

“His doctors at MetroHealth Medical Center recommended additional observation during the day. He looks forward to resuming his schedule as soon as possible.”

It was not immediately clear if Carter would attend two scheduled events in Washington later Wednesday, including one at the Smithsonian Institution, to promote his book “White House Diary.” A message left for the publicity manager at Carter’s publisher was not immediately returned.

Book signings in a Cleveland suburb and Durham, N.C., were canceled Tuesday when the 85-year-old Carter fell ill on a flight to Cleveland.

Carter’s grandson, Georgia state Sen. Jason Carter, said Tuesday his grandfather was doing fine.

“He’s definitely resting comfortably and expected to continue his book tour this week,” Jason Carter said. “I haven’t talked to him, but nobody in the family is concerned.”

On Tuesday, Karas said Carter was fully alert and participating in all decision-making related to his care, and that the decision to admit him overnight was purely precautionary.

Carter was a passenger on a Delta Air Lines flight from Atlanta to Cleveland when he became ill. After the plane landed, he was taken off by rescue crews, said Jackie Mayo, a spokeswoman at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.

He was wheeled into an emergency room at MetroHealth on a stretcher and later was up and walking around, said Mary Atkins, who had taken her daughter to the hospital for medical treatment and saw Carter from a nearby room.

“He walked by the room and he was saying he was ready to go,” she said. “They had Secret Service everywhere.”

President Barack Obama called Carter from Air Force One as he traveled from New Mexico to Wisconsin, White House spokesman Bill Burton said. Carter was feeling great, Burton said.

About 500 people had waited in line Tuesday afternoon at Joseph-Beth Booksellers in suburban Lyndhurst, where Carter was scheduled to sign copies of his book. The event was later canceled, as was a Tuesday night appearance at the Regulator Bookshop in Durham, N.C.

“It’s crazy for an 85-year-old guy to fly … just to sign some books,” Regulator Bookshop co-owner John Valentine said. “He’s a brave guy. His health is most important.”

In the book, Carter said he pursued an overly aggressive agenda as president that may have confused voters and alienated lawmakers. But he said the tipping points that cost him the 1980 election were the Iran hostage crisis and the Democratic primary challenge by U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy.

Carter, a former peanut farmer elected to the White House in 1976, has spent his recent years pursuing peace and human rights, efforts that won him the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.

——

Associated Press Writers Thomas J. Sheeran in Cleveland; Matt Leingang, Jeannie Nuss and JoAnne Viviano in Columbus, Ohio; and Greg Bluestein in Atlanta contributed to this report.

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