RIP Jimmy Carter

 

Jimmy Carter passed away today. He was the 39th US President, which places his term in office right around my preteens and early teens. I remember back in 1976, my 5th grade class did mock presidential elections and I think I was one of the few kids in my class who "voted" for Jimmy Carter that year. That should have been a warning to me decades later when I would try to find some of my old school friends on Facebook. But I digress.

I often view President Carter as one of the more underrated Presidents we've had. He was in office in the shadow of Nixon's near-impeachment and ultimate resignation, the rather ugly end to our involvement in the Vietnam War, and at least one energy crisis mixed with what at least felt like stagflation. He did not preside over those events, but those were the events that would shape the public zeitgeist for the remainder of the 1970s and into the 1980s. Carter dealt with multiple crises as President, including a Russian (then Soviet Union) invasion of Afghanistan, the takeover of the US Embassy in Tehran in 1979 and ensuing hostage crisis that would end only in early 1981, another oil supply and price shock, and another round of stagflation. Carter faced some serious headwinds during his campaign for a second term in 1980, but it was not a foregone conclusion that he would lose, although that was what happened. His successes in Middle East diplomacy often go overlooked, but were truly meaningful, and perhaps could have led to a broader peace had he managed a second term. We shall never know.

The Carters impressed me as a kid for their willingness to send their daughter to DC public schools (where as far as I am aware did just fine) and although more symbolic at the time, the installation of solar panels on the White House was a very forward-thinking move at the time. He was not perfect, but he did a solid job. Post-presidency, Jimmy and Rosalyn became very active in Habitat for Humanity, and I often think of the Carters as the badasses who were helping to build houses well into their 90s. Jimmy made it to 100 years of age and did get to cast one last vote this past year. 

I do hope that folks reevaluate Carter's presidency and look at the level of kindness and empathy he tried to project during his term. Carter made no secret of his own religious devoutness, but it was not performative as we find with most politicians. He was the real deal - a man who lived his values and did so in a way that did not put off those of us who might not be so religious. It goes without saying that I will miss his voice of wisdom and empathy in an era when those qualities are sorely lacking from our body politic.