Jimmy Carter has been consigned to history … may he rest in peace

President Carter was a good man.  There is almost universal agreement on that point.  He was not a great President, however. So sayeth, progressive Democrat Jonathan Alter – journalist, writer and author of the presidential biography, “His Very Best.  Jimmy Carter, a Life”

There can be no mistake, Alters is a fan of Carter – and writes of him in the most glowing terms.  But Alter does not canonize him as most of the obituary writers do.  He does not attempt to spin a largely failed presidency into one of great accomplishments.  Being a good man does not automatically bestow competency and success.

When a CNN host talked about Carter’s early life as a civil right advocate, Alter demurred.  He said that Carter’s indisputable civil rights advocacy came later in life.  Alter noted that Carter was raised in a staunch segregationist, White supremacist family.  Carter’s strong civil rights advocacy surfaced in his later years as governor of Georgia –and when he decided to run for President. 

The portion of my book, “Who Put Blacks in That PLACE?  The Long Sad History of the Democratic Party’s Oppression of Black Americans”, dealing with the younger Carter coincides with Alter’s assessment.  I wrote:

“Jimmy Carter was viewed as a southern progressive and an advocate of civil rights, but his upbringing was very much the old South, and his civil rights beliefs were convoluted. In his book, “An Hour Before Daylight”, Carter wrote:

‘It seemed natural for white folks to cherish our Southern heritage and cling to our way of life. We were bound together by blood kinship as well as by lingering resentment against those who had defeated us. A frequent subject of discussion around my grandparents’ homes was the damage the “damn Yankees” had done to the South during Reconstruction years.’”

Carter was politically allied to the staunchest segregationists in Georgia.

“After losing the 1966 Democratic gubernatorial primary to a one-time ally and hardcore racist Lester Maddox, Carter had the opportunity to support moderate Democrat Ellis Arnall or even Republican Bo Calloway.  Instead, Carter supported Maddox as a matter of political pragmatism. Four years later, Carter made another run for governor. This time he minimized campaigning in front of Black audiences and sought the endorsements of leading segregationist personalities. It worked and he became governor.

In his successful run for governor in 1970, Carter played the race card by widely distributing photographs of his opponent, Carl Sanders, posing with Black members of the Atlanta Hawks basketball team.”

Even as governor, Carter minimized the harshness of imposed segregation, expressing his belief that it was only “natural” for Whites and Blacks to want “to live among themselves”. 

Up to his inauguration, the Carter family were parishioners of the Whites-only Plains Baptist Church — which had an official policy to ban “all Negroes and civil rights agitators.”  It drew little attention in the campaign until October of 1776 – on the eve of the presidential election.  Black minister Clennon Washington King, pastor of the Divine Mission Church in nearby Albany, Georgia, announced his intention to integrate Carter’s church by attending services on Sunday, October 31 – two days before the election.

Rather than embarrass Carter, Pastor Bruce Edwards recommended admitting King.  The church council voted down the recommendation.  Instead, they ordered the church temporarily closed –and recommended the termination of Edwards as pastor.  Carter did not severe his ties to the church until 2000 — and it was not over racial issues, but the refusal to admit women to the clergy.

In his television appearance, Alter stated that, unlike the kinder and gentler image of Carter, he was a pretty tough cookie in private.  I found that to be true in my research. Consistent with Altar’s assessment – although perhaps less gentile – I wrote:

“Carter’s public image cast him as a gentle speaking humble Christian. Those who have run afoul of Carter tell quite a different story. Privately, he was very vindictive and ruthless. Writing for Time magazine, columnist Hugh Sidey said: “The wrath that escapes Carter’s lips about racism and hatred when he prays and poses as the epitome of Christian charity leads even his supporters to protest his meanness.”

Alter also talked about Carter as President.  The two high points of his presidency were the Camp David peace agreement between Anwar Sadat of Egypt and Menachem Begin of Israel.  Not only did it look good on paper, but it also continued to work for 47 years, and counting.  The second accomplishment – albeit more controversial — was the creation of the Department of Education as a free-standing Cabinet institution.

On the downside, Carter was plagued by a pernicious four-year inflation, gasoline shortages, the fall of the Shah of Iran and the seizing of 53 American diplomats as hostages in 1979 by the militant terrorist regime that took over the Persian state. 

Carter authorized Operation Eagle Claw in 1980 – six months ahead of the presidential election – to rescue the hostages.  He aborted the mission due to various “equipment failures” in several of the aircraft already in Iran.  Eight service personnel were killed when a helicopter collided with a personnel transport plane during the withdrawal.   

As a slap at Carter, Tehran agreed to release the hostages only after he lost the election to President Reagan.   They were released shortly after Reagan’s Inauguration.

In terms of civil rights, Carter was a strong advocate for civil and human rights during his presidency – but he neither proposed or produced any major programs or legislation comparable to President Truman’s Executive Order integrating the armed services, President Johnson’s bipartisan civil rights legislation of the 1960s or President Nixon’s bipartisan Affirmative Action programs.

Carter appointed Blacks to high level positions, including Patricia Roberts-Harris as Secretary of House and Urban Development (HUD) and later as Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) – the first Black female to be both a Cabinet member and to hold two Cabinet positions.  He issued Executive Order 12067 to increase coordination and improve enforcement of civil rights laws.

What distinguishes Carter is not what he did or accomplished as President.  That was rather unimpressive – and the reason he has not been consider a very effective President.

It was his post-presidency that provided Carter with a unique legacy.  Without doubt, he was a more involved and accomplished former president than any of his predecessors – or successors.    By his tireless activities and endorsements, he became a tour-de-force for human rights, civil rights, and democratic elections.

Carter not only became a prominent world personality, but he was also a humble practitioner of his beliefs.  He and his wife frequently labored building affordable homes for Habitat for Humanity.  Carter in his blue jean coveralls — wielding a saw or hammer – became an iconic image in his post-presidential years.  His post-presidency service was more notable by the fact that he died at the age of 100 — 44 years after leaving the White House.

Carter will be remembered as a decent human being … for being the only President to live to be 100 years old … and for his post-presidency service more than his years in the Oval Office.  As a whole, it was a life well spent.  May he rest in peace.

So, there ‘tis.