For quite some time now, we have known that Jimmy Carter’s passing was imminent and inevitable. But for some of us, it is nevertheless hard to believe.
I can still remember Jimmy Carter’s election to the White House in November 1976. I was in the third grade. I am 56 years old, and Jimmy Carter has been a part of the political landscape for basically my entire life. Almost 50 years.
My maternal grandparents, both lifelong FDR Democrats, were big fans of Jimmy Carter.
In 1980, or thereabouts, my grandmother wrote Carter a handwritten letter, assuring him that he had performed admirably as president during a difficult time. Carter sent my grandmother a signed reply. I don’t remember the exact wording of either letter, but I do recall that Carter’s missive was personalized, and reflected a reading of my grandmother’s letter.
Jimmy Carter’s time in office (1977 – 1980) was a good time for me. Those were the last of my elementary school years, and I had a notoriously happy childhood. I was a lucky kid.
I realize that in the wider world, many problems occurred: inflation, the energy crisis, the Iranian Revolution (and the accompanying Tehran hostage crisis)…Oh, and also the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Jonestown, and urban decay in most large American cities.
The Jimmy Carter years were not a good time, in the big scheme of things.
But Jimmy Carter inherited a difficult, post-Vietnam world, characterized by stagflation, upheaval in the Middle East, and renewed Soviet aggressiveness. Some presidents (Bill Clinton comes to mind) have had it comparatively easy. Jimmy Carter did not have it easy.
Jimmy Carter was a man of conscience, of the kind that rarely enters politics at the national level anymore. He cared deeply about human rights—and not just in politically correct venues. Carter pushed back against the Soviets for their shabby treatment of the refuseniks. Carter was a Democrat who was personally and vocally pro-life, even though he toed his party’s line from a policy perspective. Carter was also a man of faith who was not afraid to talk about his faith. After losing the 1980 election in a landslide, he dedicated his long remaining years to charity and peacemaking. He became the face of Habitat for Humanity.
A saint? No, far from it. Carter was first and foremost a politician, let us not forget. The term “saintly politician” is an oxymoron. But he was probably the best all-around human being to occupy the Oval Office during my lifetime, even though his results in that office left something to be desired.
Jimmy Carter, 100, RIP.
-ET