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Thomas L Mischler's avatar

I'm one of the people who owe Jimmy Carter a huge apology; I'm a poster boy for seeing the "prevailing assessments of his role as president change as profoundly as those of Harry Truman did."

I grew up in Jerry Ford country, and still refer to myself as a "Jerry Ford Republican" (though I haven't voted for a Republican since 1992). When Jimmy Carter was in office I joined other Republicans who derided his economic policies as naïve and his foreign policy as weak and ineffectual. I blamed him for the failure of the Iranian rescue operation, for the outrageous economic effects of the "Arab oil embargo," and even the significant loss of market share of the US car industry to the Japanese. And most significantly, I was too young & inexperienced to understand the depth of his character and the many successes of his presidency.

Maybe that's why I find it easier than most of my liberal friends to empathize with those "on the other side of the aisle" today who condemn the efforts of Obama and Biden.

Mea culpa, mea culpa. I am deeply grateful for friends and mentors through the years who have opened my eyes to my earlier errors in judgment and understanding. Because today I know very well how much Carter did for this nation and for individual citizens around the world - both by his example and by his actions.

Today I recognize Carter as the great man he is. Although the peace process between Egypt & Israel began with Ford and Kissinger, it was Jimmy Carter who closed the deal - and it is noteworthy that this peace agreement is the only one in the Middle East that has never been violated by any of the signatories. He installed solar panels on the roof of the White House, decades before the world caught on that climate change was an existential threat. A fiscal conservative, Carter consistently worked to balance the budget, and left office with a plan to pay off the national debt - which remained under $1 trillion during his presidency.

But you're absolutely correct: his presidency suffered from some of the worst luck of any in US history. There was a perfect storm of setbacks that you describe in the first few paragraphs, and while his successor has been hailed as one of the greatest US presidents, many of today's difficulties can be traced back to the Reagan presidency. Today I am convinced that a second Carter term would have paved the way for a much better future than the one we now live in.

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Keith Wheelock's avatar

From afar above all my impression of Jimmy Carter was his decency. From peanut farmer, to nuclear sub expert, back to peanut farming, and, ultimately to the presidency, my image of his decency never wavered [what a contrast to Tricky Dick, though I considered Jerry Ford—our accidental president—decent.]

As the author of a book on modern Egypt during which I got to know Anwar Sadat, I was heartened (and surprised) that Carter was able to obtain the Camp David Accords between two feisty leaders. His insistence on the Panama Canal Agreement was a matter of principle in a volatile political environment.

Carter was a ‘Georgia boy’ who never adjusted to Washington. He did not recover politically from his bad luck with stagflation and the Iranian hostage situation.

I found Carter even more admirable after his presidency. Unflaggingly he pursued his core principles of decency. And he was hands on, as witnessed by his Habitat for Humanity involvement and his many trips, domestically and abroad, in pursuit of his principles.

I salute Jimmy Carter for his decency and for his dedication to what he thought best for his country.

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