Jonathan Alter wrote an excellent biography of Carter a few years ago called "His Very Best" that I recommend everyone check out. It's difficult to read it and not come away with a lot of admiration for Jimmy Carter the man. He has truly practiced what he preached throughout his life. As other have said, the book is full of instances where Carter the man was tripped up by Carter the politician. He was strong-headed and often undercut his own messaging. For example, the "Malaise Speech" was actually received really well (and full of accurate insights about America that ring true today) by the general public, but he undercut its reception by firing six cabinet members in one day shortly after its broadcast. Carter didn't cultivate relationships with national Democrats and had an uneasy bond with Congress as a result, opening the door for Ted Kennedy to further bruise him in the 1980 primary before the general election against Reagan. He made hard choices, like appointing Paul Volcker to chair the Federal Reserve amidst rampant inflation, negotiated arms reduction treaties with the Soviets, boycotted the Olympics, negotiated the Camp David accords and worked to free the hostages in Iran right up to his last hours in office. He doesn't get credit for the long-term effects of what he did, but subsequent politicians got to enjoy some of the fruit of his political labor. Jimmy Carter is a truly good man.
The Camp David Accords peace treaty remains binding and unbroken to this day. A top ten presidential accomplishment trumping (no pun intended) any modern day American president.
I'm not interested in ranking him in history amongst the other presidents. What I will say about President Carter is that he is the embodiment of everything we, as a nation, want in a President. Man of the people, veteran, religious in the right ways, kind, tough, smart, monogamous, etc., etc., etc. You might disagree with his policies but he's everything people really want in a President. He is the true definition of a patriot. May his final days be lived in pain-free peace amongst his family.
He is the first president that I remember. My grandmother, who was a staunch democrat, loved him to pieces. Of course, later, she was calling Bill Clinton her boyfriend but I digress. What a wonderful man Jimmy Carter was and is.
I'm a Carter fan but don't troll here. Carter isn't top 10 in accomplishments. It's not even close. He's a great man.
Not saying Carter was top ten, nor trolling. The Camp David Accords certainly rank as one of the most important accomplishments by a modern president.
President Carter is one of the finest ex-presidents in our history, in my opinion. I’ll add that the Camp David Accords were the capstone of his presidency. I voted for him. Not in the primary, but in the general, both times.
he has accomplished more, post the presidency, than any former POTUS. As a former POTUS, Carter had served as a freelance ambassador for a variety of international missions, including soothing disputes between countries, observing elections in nations with histories of fraudulent voting processes, and advising presidents on Middle East issues. been involved in mediating disputes between the U.S. State Department and the most volatile of foreign leaders, including Kim Il Sung of North Korea and Muammar Qaddaffi of Libya. In 1994, the former president assisted the U.S. government settle a tension-filled nuclear weapons dispute with North Korea. he also actively helped / promoted charitible organizations, including Carter Work Project / Habitat For Humanity
Just want to point out that in the 47 year interval between then and now, global population expanded to nearly 8 billion. Exponental growth is a b****.
This story has been circulating for years with no clear evidence until now. Another possible conspiracy was that the Delta Force Mission to rescue the hostages had been deliberately sabotaged by Carter’s political opponents.
Seems like a nice guy, unfortunately, he was instrumental in the Ayatollahs taking over in Iran. History repeating itself right now, with the Dems on the wrong side of history.
