It’s highly likely that Jimmy Carter will be remembered as the most, “decent and good man” to serve as President of the United States.
It says a lot about present American political culture that a commitment to honesty and human decency served him more effectively after he left Washington. His years in the Oval Office were embattled, but his words were bold. He said things unlike those of his predecessors. History will have those words and his futuristic and humane vision will elevate his status.
Carter spoke hard truths and even chastised Americans who preferred the easy way or who ignored personal accountability. Some thought he was out touch. He installed solar panels at the White House, and spoke of our energy needs and what it meant to our collective future. Ronald Reagan had those panels removed.
Carter’s was the first Presidential Inauguration I covered. From wheels up in Indianapolis to landing at National Airport in DC I read Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha.
The 1922 novel reveals a life in search of meaning. I thought it was a good set up for covering a populist Southern Governor who came out of know where, “Jimmy Who?” to defeating an incumbent at a time America seemed to be searching for meaning.
A new band of Democrat, Georgia style, graciously spiritual and committed to “human needs and rights” brought an outsider’s vibe to Washington. In that era Washington culture, the ways of doing business, the very mood of relationships and of people in government would morph when administrations changed.
There were some who thought Carter and the Georgians were naïve. The President was upfront about his deep Christian faith, and some in Washington read that as simple or too innocent. However, Carter was bright, innovative and committed to principles, but he resisted being a part of the Washington “club.” He relied on his homegrown staff to guide and shape the administration, and the building of its agenda. Critic said he was too strong willed, insisting on doing things his way. Washington was a town of power zones and influencers and Carter resisted.
I’d become convinced of Carter’s political sophistication when I met Jody Powell and Hamilton Jordan, who later became known as the “gold dust twins.” It was 1975 and I was in Kansas City at the Democrat “Issues Convention” part of the run up to the 1976 campaign. The Democrat field was full of names of potential candidates and almost no one gave a serious thought to Governor Jimmy Carter. I bumped into Powell and Jordan at a Carter reception one night and we talked for an hour. The next day Powell left a message they’d like to have coffee or lunch and talk about Indiana politics. I left Kansas City thinking Powell and Jordan were the two best political operatives I’d met. They knew more about state politics, personalities and issues than many of the people I had been covering. They had a strategic and encyclopedic knowledge of most states political landscape. They had a detailed strategy to win the nomination and then the election, and they were certain it was going to work.
When I got back to Indianapolis and was briefing my news director Fred Heckman he asked me, of all of the candidates, who I thought was going to get the nomination. When I told him Jimmy Carter, he was incredulous. He started to question my sanity and how I had spent the time in KC. He even questioned aloud if I belonged on his staff. We made a $ 5.00 wager. Years later he would recount the story, though telling people he took pride in hiring a reporter with such insight.
It was a different time in America. The 60’s and early 70’s had been brutal and threatening. Culture and society were broken. The divides were hard edged. Carter came with a sense he could heal, repair, restore, bring hope and renewal.
The night before the inauguration I was covering a reception at Conservatory of the United States Botanical Garden, which is located on the grounds of the US capitol. Several members of the House were hosting receptions. I was standing in cluster of staffers and at least two members of congress who were enthused about how things were going to change and how the nation would be renewed, when a House staff person passed me a joint. He could tell I was uneasy, stunned in fact, and looking around when he offered, “it’s a new day.”
The next day was sunny but it was below freezing and my perspective of the inaugural was with other regional press, which is to say at a distance and away from any heat. My plan had been to walk from the Capitol to the White House and I set off on that while as the motorcade was being assembled. Minutes later, and to the surprise of everyone but President and Mrs. Carter, they got out of the car and began walking Pennsylvania Ave. The throngs along the sidewalks were ecstatic. He became the first President to do so. As I walked behind the crowds on the sidewalk, keeping pace with the brisk walk of the Carters, I thought that after Watergate, and the broken sense of the nation, Carter might be a new day.
Things were not a Camelot for Carter. Economics, the Iran Hostage Crisis, stumbles of his administration, the energy crisis and all the rest overcame the best of his lofty objectives. His administration was not without accomplishment, but the sum of the negatives was too much. In the end he too had been taken hostage by the student revolutionaries in Iran. A re-election would not happen.
President Carter however soared as the former President. You have read of his humanitarian work, his role in Habitat for Humanity, the election monitoring trips and the peacemaking efforts of the Carter center. Even former political enemies credit Carter as being the most active former President in history. He undertook decades of post White House diplomacy, activism and always advancing human decency.
A longtime friend made it possible for me to interview former President Carter after an address at Ball State University. She made the effort to travel to Plains Georgia to attend Carter’s Sunday School Class, which drew hundreds of people.
Carter was the most open US President in discussing his faith. He was also a man who “walked the talk.” His life of principles taught by Jesus, his devotion to peace, justice, and mercy, with his humility and his continued benevolence and servanthood was exemplary of a Christian life. None of us are without flaws or. have lived lives without mistakes, but Jimmy Carter was a great man, one of the best.
