Carter’s legacy shaped once he left
the Oval Office
Thomas Sellers, Jr.
West10/Legacy Media
From the Presidential File Collection. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division. https://www.loc.gov/item/96522672/
Jimmy Carter might go down as the greatest U.S. president if you account for what a man does once he leaves the Oval Office.
A part of Carter’s legacy will be that he was a one-term president. He was the man in charge of the country and the free world from January 1977 to January 1981.
As the Year 2024 closed out, Carter passed away at the age of 100. The Best Sellers’ List is my opportunity to pay tribute to the late president.
Carter was the bridge between Richard Nixon/Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan.
The 39th President will partly be remembered for overwhelming events like inflation, the energy crisis, war in Afghanistan and the hostages in Iran. By the time Reagan popped up on the scene, Americans were ready for a fresh start.
Voters forgot the good Carter did while in office like brokering a peace agreement between Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin in 1978. But the Camp David Accords were just the tip of the iceberg of Carter’s contributions to the world.
Carter becoming president was a blessing in disguise because it gave him and his life partner a platform to serve and help other people. Here are my top 10 Jimmy Carter facts.
10. Carter’s Humility
At the time he was mocked, but now those who deal with daily sin respect Carter’s admission of lusting during a “Playboy Magazine ‘’ interview.
In 1976, the then presidential candidate gave an intense interview being pretty transparent with potential voters. Weeks before he won the election, Carter admitted to having “committed adultery in my heart” many times. Carter told the interviewer that he “looked on a lot of women with lust.”
In retrospect, Carter admitted he was human and was relatable to all adults. He didn’t act on his desires and it took a certain amount of courage to share that with the public. No one is perfect and Carter made that clear with that statement.
9. Carter went down as a below-average president
Carter was popular when he took office in 1977. By 1980, U.S. Americans were ready for a fresh start and for the Carter Era to conclude.
The Carter Era will be remembered mostly for rising energy costs, crippling inflation (we know that all too well), and continuing tensions around the world. The country endured a short recession and the decisions Carter made gave him the nickname the ‘budget cutter.’
8. Carter was a survivor
Mr. Carter could have taken his defeat and rode off into the sunset. But with blood still pumping through his body and a mind to serve, Carter had a renaissance in the public eye. By August 2015 he was a beloved figure in the country. Also by that time, he was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma in his liver. It later moved to his brain.
Carter announced that an experimental drug had helped eliminate any sign of the disease in him. Surviving the health scare gave him nearly another decade to impact the United States and world.
7. Carter’s successes had a secret weapon
Carter greatest triumphs during his professional and political careers had his beloved wife Rosalynn. His wife was always there to help from the farm to the White House.
She learned accounting to manage the books and together they made the peanut farm flourish.
When it came to the political realm, Rosalynn was there for her husband’s senate race. She was very instrumental in his campaign by using her organizational skills.
When he was president, she took the important role of the first lady and his advisor. She attended cabinet meetings that were of interest to her. She also went ahead to establish the Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta.
Carter said that the secret to a long life was a good wife.
6. Carter was the longest-married president
Rosalynn and Jimmy have a special destination as a “first couple.” While at the U.S. Naval Academy, Carter met and fell in love with Rosalynn Smith. She was a friend of his sister Ruth. The two married after his graduation in 1946.
The Carters have been married for nearly 80 years. Rosalynn has been beside him in his career as a helpmate and advisor.
5. Carter was the oldest living former president
From Donald Trump to Barack Obama, we kept seeing a healthy Jimmy Carter popping up for photo opportunities.
He was the breath of fresh air whenever all the former living U.S. Presidents came together and the cameras started snapping away.
Past former Presidents faded away or seem to pass away shortly after their departure from Washington D.C.
Living 100 years, Carter was always that bridge-guy. He was the first president to be born in a hospital with his mother being a registered nurse.
In addition to being the oldest living president after his departure, Carter also had the longest post-presidency life.
4. Carter was a great farmer
Within the first paragraph of Carter’s bio will read he was a peanut farmer. He gave up his military career to save his family’s peanut farm.
His father James Earl Carter Sr. had passed on pretty wealthy, but due to his leniency to debtors and several inheritors, Carter got a small portion of the farm.
Carter put aside his Naval career to save his family’s legacy. The first year was tough but with Rosalynn taking care of the books, the peanut farm became successful. That professional victory gave Carter the boost to later become president and an American legend.
3. Carter was an underdog
During the 1960s and 70s, it was hard for a white politician to declare support of Civil Rights in the South. Carter supported civil rights, which hurt his early political career in Georgia.
He failed to become governor in 1966. Carter bounced back and won the election in 1970.
Just a few years later, Carter turned his attention to the most powerful office in America. He was a “dark horse” presidential candidate in 1976. Carter was tied for 12th in early polling, well behind former Alabama Governor George Wallace and former nominee Hubert Humphrey.
Carter played to his strengths as a Washington outsider to defeat Gerald Ford for the presidency.
2. Carter won the Nobel Peace Prize
Personally you don’t hear much bad about Jimmy Carter. He appeared to be a peaceful man and tried to live a Christian life. It was fitting he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.
This was because of his humanitarian work and his decades of finding peaceful solutions to international conflicts. Along with his wife, Carter tried to advance democracy, human rights, and to promote economic and social development.
His post-presidency activities were viewed as more favorable than during his tenure.
1. Carter had the best post-presidency run
Being born in 1981, I’ve always known Jimmy Carter as a diplomat and humanitarian. Maybe the third or fourth thing mentioned about him was his presidency.
It was better for our country and the world Carter lost his bid for re-election. It gave him time to fight for peace, build homes and fight for human rights.
In 1982, he founded the Carter Center. This center has played an active role in human rights and disease prevention issues globally. The Carters have helped promote and expand human rights.
Carter traveled the world to conduct peace negotiations. He fought to make sure elections were fair all over the world. And he was a champion to educate people on disease control and developing advances in medicine in “third-world” countries.
Carter was proof that a U.S. President should be judged on his entire body of work before he leaves this world.
