Jimmy Carter, Great American
Disagreements don't define greatness
Editor’s Note: The original version said Iran Contra - that was Reagan. I meant the Iranian hostage situation. My bad
First, as a form of civic hygiene, I detest people speaking ill of the dead. Suffice it to say that I had severe and persistent disagreements with President Jimmy Carter.
Nevertheless, in nearly all areas of his life, sans his presidency, he was great. Your peak performance doesn’t purely define greatness.
He rose to prominence as a farmer. The last president ever to have risen from the field of agriculture. It's hard to imagine another one unless they’re part of someone’s empire.
He was a very Southern Democrat. Back when ya know, that was a thing. Cough, cough.
I always felt that Carter got hit with some doozies. Inflation seriously hurt. Then, the entire Iran hostage affair happened, which hurt him. But at least Carter ordered a rescue mission. It failed, but that was because the military wasn’t ready to work jointly on those types of missions. The reforms from that failed mission resulted in the birth of the Joint Special Operations Command. JSOC is one of the most effective military arms. If you work for JSOC, even in a support function, you’re killing the worst of the worst.
But Carter also got the 1978 peace deal between Egypt and Israel. That deal has been the cornerstone of American Middle East foreign policy (for the better) than anything enacted since. Which other American president can boast such a thing? Nobody. Clinton got close, but you can blame that on a terrorist named Yassir Arafat. They don’t negotiate in good faith. Sorry, people.
Then Carter got hit by Ronald Reagan. And that’s just bad luck. Reagan understood Hollywood. He came from California, back when Republicans lived there. Cough. Cough. And cutting taxes, which may sound like standard boilerplate Republican stuff, was severely needed. The Regan Revolution would’ve beaten him or Ted Kennedy.
Even great men get defeated or even humiliated.
It’s what you do after a setback that defines you. Love is the reason for the fight, people.
So Jimmy Carter fought for the poor. And there’s plenty of that in the Deep South. Then Carter got involved with his philanthropic work and his heart shined. The amount of goodness that came from his post-presidency is indescribable. And that’s something we need more of in this deeply divided country.
There’s always a need for southern Democrats. For far too long, Democrats have given up on places like Alabama, Mississippi, and Arkansas.
That’s just unfortunate. Because there are plenty of votes to win, you must approach MAGA correctly. If Democrats could find another Jimmy Carter, they would succeed in 2028.
P.S. - Equally as important, Jimmy Carter was a veteran. A fine damn officer. He graduated with distinction from Annapolis. Carter was selected to be a submarine officer. Ladies and Gentlemen, hell no. This GCV wants nothing to do with that type of service. It takes a real hero to do that type of stuff. He left service after his father died to take over the family business.
He’s a great American. Full Stop.
Rest Easy, LT Carter. We got the watch.
Once again, your writing moved my heart. Thank you for describing a man who, though his presidency isn’t remembered as or considered the best, lived a good life and accomplished so much good.
It’s so easy for us to look at a very short time in a person’s life and judge ALL of their life by that.
Thank you Will, for reminding us that most people have a lot of good in them and President Carter certainly had, no matter what one thinks of the few short years he spent in the White House. He was a good man and made this world a better place for many many years after he left the White House!
Carter was a good man, with a wicked sense of humor I saw him display. The Iran hostage crisis could have happened on anyone's watch, but unfortunately for Carter it defined his presidency in the eyes of many people.
The Iranians continue to profit from playing their same old hostage diplomacy game, 45 years later. They just took an Italian journalist Cecilia Sala hostage and are charging her with violating Islamic law. Not good. There is also something of a US angle, which I discuss in https://open.substack.com/pub/ericterzuolo/p/iran-same-old-hostage-diplomacy?r=1g49a&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true