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With the Death of former President Jimmy Carter At 100 we can now capture the full measure of the man. The legacy of the 39th President is an example for all of us, regardless of party, ideology, worldview or station in life. Quite simply, Jimmy Carter led a heroic life and, to many, represents everything that is right about public service. His life was well lived.
I say this as a fellow Democrat who disagreed with Carter’s policies in the Middle East and countries like Venezuela. But I don’t say this to criticize the former president, but rather to underline his unwavering commitment to principles and integrity and to always doing what he believed was right.
JIMMY CARTER IS REMEMBERED FOR HIS INTEGRITY AND DEDICATION TO HUMANITY
Carter’s life reads like a picture book. He was a military leader and hero, a successful farmer and businessman, and a governor who was a trendsetter in civil rights. He did all this while understanding the concerns of those now known in America as ultra-MAGA voters. Perhaps his greatest achievement was winning the presidency in 1976 on a simple agenda: He wanted to convince the American people that he was an outsider, a fresh face, and someone who, as he put it, “never let you “would lie to you.”
Democratic presidential candidate Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn spend a moment aboard his campaign plane
His single term in the White House saw a number of major successes but also well-documented failures. His greatest success was in the Middle East with the signing of the Camp David Accords. He returned the Panama Canal and signed a nuclear arms reduction treaty with Russia. Chief among his failures were the economic crisis that gave rise to the term “stagflation,” and of course the Iranian hostage crisis and botched rescue attempt. His time in office also included an energy crisis that burdened Americans with skyrocketing gasoline prices and long lines at the pumps.
It is also important to know that Carter was a man of faith and of God. He was reserved in his religious beliefs but also compassionate and committed in the most humble way possible. He taught Sunday school in his hometown of Plains, Georgia, both before and after his presidency, without the public noticing or being aware of it.
Carter’s marriage to Rosalynn was an example to us all. It was a partnership that lasted 77 years, apparently without stress or discord, but with a shared commitment to the private and public values they both shared and a desire to advance their worldview and values.
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But it’s probably most important to note that Carter’s greatest achievement, after losing in a landslide to Ronald Reagan in 1980, was the founding of the Carter Center, dedicated to promoting world peace. He was able to continue dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian crisis. He led peace negotiations around the world, helped oversee contentious elections and policy changes, and worked to eliminate the scourge of highly contagious and infectious diseases.
(LR) Amy Carter, Rosalynn Carter and Jimmy Carter pose for portraits in Plains, Georgia, during the fall 1976 presidential campaign. (Guy DeLort/WWD/Penske Media via Getty Images)
This model of a post-presidency was and is something that laid the foundation for what others, including former President Bill Clinton, did after the presidency. After leaving the White House, Carter sparked a period of extrajudicial and judicial activism that produced both the Presidential Medal in 1999 and the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.
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But as I reflect on President Carter’s life, his perhaps final significant decision to enter hospice care in February 2023 sends a powerful and profound message about end-of-life care and the decisions we all inevitably have to make.
By embracing the final chapter of his life with such grace and dignity, the former Carter accomplished something I would have thought almost impossible: he elevated his own stature and served as a role model for all of us, while also providing a level of leadership and service achieved that I think it is fair to say is unparalleled in American political and civic life.
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