An analysis of the content and a critique of the significance of President Jimmy Carter's 1977 commencement speech at the University of Notre Dame, show that technical weaknesses such as poor organization, inconsistent style, and overbreadth limited its intended effect. Carter had hoped that this speech would dispel confusion over some of his foreign policy decisions and would change the motivating principle of United States foreign policy from a negative one (anti-communism) to a positive one (supporting human rights). Instead, the news media found the speech to be ambiguous as to Carter's foreign policy intentions and questioned how his commitment to human rights--which they found praiseworthy--could be transformed from theory into practice. The speech differed from others by Carter in that it was a broad statement of policy rather than an addresss on specific measures, and Carter worked more closely with his speech writers and gave more attention to the effectiveness of the speech than usual. While the speech did not have the effect intended by Carter, it did cause foreign policy discussions to be reshaped even into the Ronald Reagan years. (Twenty-six footnotes are included.) (MHC)