#39 Jimmy Carter (1924- )

“Jimmy Carter was an exceptionally smart man. He could also be very engaging; few failed to be dazzled by his memorably wide smile. And, at least early on, he sometimes demonstrated a real sense of what many Americans wanted, whether that was the desire for an antiestablishment politics or the need for a new moral framework, such as human rights, for debating foreign policy” (Zelizer, p.4).

Yay! We’re emerging from the dark ages and into what I like to call ‘modern times.’ Why would I place Jimmy Carter’s presidency in the ‘modern times’ category? Well, silly, it’s because I…yes, I (Vanya Elise Starr) was born during this blessed time (and if you think I’m anything but modern, well then, I will cut you. Ha!) Whether Carter’s administration was any good or not remains to be seen but the fact that my presence graced the scene…well…it speaks very highly for him. Hahaha. I know this particular blog is about Jimmy Carter and his impact on the American landscape but I’m just going to warn you that you’re probably going to hear more about me as well. (PS Every single time I even think about Jimmy Carter, I start singing the song “Jimmy” from the musical Thoroughly Modern Millie. Argh!)

Also, let’s not forget that Jimmy Carter was (is?) from Georgia, my very own adopted state. I mean, it’s weird how many coincidences there are between us but somehow I’m convinced that this is where they all end. Sigh. To become more personally acquainted with this man, I hied myself off to ye olde local biblioteca and checked out Jimmy Carter: American Presidents Series by Julian Zelizer (New York: Times Books, 2010). From his bio, it looks like Julian (the author) is more than qualified to treat the subject of Jimmy Carter. His books include Arsenal of Democracy: The Politics of National Security—From World War II to the War on Terrorism, On Capitol Hill: The Struggle to Reform Congress and its Consequences, 1948-2000, and Taxing America: Wilbur D. Mills, Congress and the State, 1945-1975, not to mention he’s edited and co-edited countless other works. (Am I a dork or what: when I saw his list of books I was like ‘Ooo interesting!?’)

Little James Earl Carter Jr was born to proud parents, James and Bessie, on October 1, 1924 in Plains, GA. Only a few years later, the Carters moved out of Plains to nearby Archery and there established a huge farm (Growing what? You guessed it! Peanuts…aka Death.), warehouse and grocery store. Jimmy grew up helping out on the farm and doing chores around the house. “One of his favorite things to do outdoors was to sit with his father in the evenings, listening to boxing matches, baseball games, and political conventions on battery-operated radio; there was no electricity in their home before the late 1930s” (p. 8). His father was a very strict man with definite rules and strictly kept all his children (Gloria and Ruth would follow Jimmy) in line. “Some observers blamed his father’s tough demeanor for instilling two traits in Jimmy: his propensity to exaggerate accomplishments, which they said came from a desire to please his father, and his ability to smile in almost any situation, which he used to mask anger toward his dad” (p. 8).

Luckily, the Great Depression did not hit the Carters too hard and Jimmy was able to progress through school and work at a normal pace. In June 1941, he graduated high school and then spent one year at Georgia Tech before he could officially be accepted to the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. “The first few years at the academy were grueling. His physical limitations—he stood at 5 feet 9, weighing about 121 pounds—made training especially difficult” (p. 10).

One month after graduating college, Jimmy married a girl he had known since childhood—Rosalynn Smith. They moved immediately to Norfolk, Virginia in the summer of 1946 because Jimmy, with his background in engineering, was scheduled to work aboard the USS Wyoming in a submarine training program. After that, the Carters moved locations at a pretty regular pace. In March 1949, they were in Pearl Harbor aboard the USS Pomfret and after that they were onto Groton, Connecticut. He was stationed in San Diego during the Korean War and they then found themselves in Washington DC, then in New York. “All of these years as an engineer helped to shape Carter’s approach to tackling issues. He developed a technical and managerial, as well as nonideological, mind-set to problem solving that would inform him throughout his career” (p. 12).

In 1953, Jimmy’s father died from pancreatic cancer and so Jimmy quit the Navy to move back to Plains to help keep up the farm and the other Carter family interests. While there, the farm prospered and the Carters were well known in the vicinity, especially when Jimmy aided desegregation in the community. Because he made such a name for himself by this time, Jimmy was persuaded, in 1962, to run for a seat in the state senate. He did but ended up losing the race. However, it turned out that the reason he lost was due to corruption from the other side (his opponent had men physically rip up Carter votes and substitute his own) and when he asked for a recount, it was determined that Carter really did win. Jimmy also won re-election in ’64. In 1966, however, he decided to run for the big prize—Governor of Georgia—and lost in the primaries. He then returned to the family farm where he not only got back into the business but he also became a born-again Christian.

By 1970, Jimmy was ready to try his hand at politics once more. At this juncture, he was known more throughout the state and so this time when he ran for governor, he won! As a relative outsider to the usual political circles in Atlanta, he made a massive program for his government. “His major objective was to streamline the state government by eliminating unnecessary agencies and centralizing control under the governor…In addition, Carter introduced zero-based budgeting, which forced agencies to rewrite their budgets each year to justify annual spending” (p. 25). He also focused on corruption (since he already experienced it) and transportation issues and was a moderate when it came to race relations.

With the presidential election of 1976 on the horizon, Carter announced in December 1974 that he was going to run for president. Although he was relatively unknown on the national stage, he won the Democratic nomination due to the fact that there was a vacuum in the head Democratic ranks at the moment. During the presidential campaign against incumbent Gerald Ford, Carter stressed the fact that he was an outsider and not a part of the current mess up in Washington. He wanted to clean up the corruption in the national government like he did in Atlanta and he emphasized his background in Christianity. “Carter refused to take a strong stand on most issues, including the big foreign and domestic policy questions…His goal was to appeal ideologically to moderates and independents through a centrist agenda. Defending himself from the accusations that he avoided specific answers, Carter said, ‘I’m not an ideologue and my positions are not predictable’” (p. 47-48). Maybe it was Carter’s intransience on the major issues, but he barely squeaked by with the victory over Ford. Either way, the peanut farmer from Georgia was now the 39th President of the United States.

Immediately, Carter surrounded himself with trusted friends and associates (soon to be known as the Georgia Mafia) and he announced that he would pardon all draft dodgers of the Vietnam War. This act received mixed reviews and it didn’t help that within the first year of his presidency, Carter managed to upset Russia, the Democratic Congress, and other legislators. But that was Carter’s M.O: since he was a Washington outsider, he owed no one anything. “In fact, Carter was sometimes able to obtain what he wanted precisely because he did not feel beholden to congressional powerhouses” (p. 59). In the domestic arena, he vowed to reorganize the federal government and combat the serious energy crisis that American’s were facing while his foreign policy centered on peace in the Middle East and human rights around the globe. With this in mind, Carter created the Bureau of Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs in the State Department. However, this policy received mixed reviews as well. “The administration’s focus on practical ways to gain recognition for minorities meant that it was not always consistent in how it implemented human rights policy” (p. 63)

Domestically, the United States was in a bind. Not only was there an energy crisis but there was also stagflation plaguing the country as well (high inflation, high unemployment). Carter proposed a stimulus bill that, after it went through Congress, left everyone unhappy. Carter was also hurt by a mini-scandal that involved the head of the Office of Management and Budget, Bert Lance. There were rumors that he had engaged in some illegal activities at his last job in Atlanta and that he was unfit for the position in Washington. The reason this hurt Carter was that he promised the American people that his administration would be squeaky clean and he absolutely would not give up on his friend. “Carter had promised to uphold the highest ethical standards in presidential history and said that his administration would not even give the appearance of impropriety” (p. 69). There was a huge media frenzy over the whole affair and eventually Carter, under pressure, allowed Lance to resign.

Another unpopular move on Jimmy’s part was the treaty he signed with Panama guaranteeing to turn over the Panama Canal by the year 2000. Most Americans wanted to keep control of the Canal but Carter thought it would be a smart foreign relations move, showing the Central and South American nations that the USA was no hemispherical bully. He also pushed through a Social Security amendment, visited Iran (and became very buddy-buddy with the Shah), and dealt with national health insurance issues. “National health insurance was another uphill battle in an era of changing political loyalties, rampant inflation, and growing conservative strength. It also turned out to be the issue, more than any other, that created huge fissures between Carter and congressional liberals” (p. 78). Carter also promoted an Airline Deregulation Act, which “transformed the industry by allowing for competitive fare setting, phasing out the Civil Aeronautics Board, and allowing new companies to enter the market” (p. 84).

“By the end of his second year, Carter was facing a rebellion from his own party and real pressure from his conservative opponents, who were now looking like a serious force. It was a politically dangerous combination. The economic context of his presidency—an ongoing energy crisis and stagflation—created a public mood that was increasingly disenchanted with the White House. Unfortunately for Carter, the worst was yet to come” (p. 87).

Carter went to considerable trouble to host the Camp David Accords in September 1978 in an effort to bring peace the Middle East. He mitigated the conference between the Israel and Egypt (Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin) and eventually brought about some sort of closure for the area. After then traveling to Cairo and Jerusalem to promote this peace, Carter finally got the treaty signed on March 26, 1979. While things were apparently humming right along for Israel and Egypt, events in Iran were slowly spiraling out of control. The Shah had made himself terribly unpopular with his own countrymen over the years and beginning in 1978, the Ayatollah, who had been exiled, finally succeeded in fomenting rebellion. The Shah then had to escape the country and fled to where else? The US! Actually he was a very sick old man and needed a certain surgery that only we could provide but most countries around the world were furious that we would harbor that criminal. Sentiment against the United States ran very high in Iran and that contributed to an awful situation when the rebels captured the US embassy and held over fifty diplomats and soldiers hostages.

That’s not all. On March 28, 1979, only 2 days after the euphoria over the Camp David Accords, there was a nuclear meltdown at a reactor in Pennsylvania (Three Mile Island), sparking thousands to protest. This event caused the Carter administration no end of hardships mainly because Carter wanted to solve the energy crisis with nuclear power. Then, in the spring of 1979, the US faced a major gas shortage that soon turned the country’s mood sour. “Approximately 50 percent of the gas stations in the United States did not have fuel and the stations that had fuel were charging prices that were 50 percent more than the year before. Drivers were forced to line up for gas, frequently for over an hour, on specified days” (p. 92). On December 27 of that same year, the Soviets invaded Afghanistan.

The hostage crisis, which Carter wanted to end quickly, continued to dominate the media and they highlighted the fact that Carter just didn’t seem to know what to do. There was a rescue attempt made but it backfired and the administration merely looked stupid. With the Soviets advancing in Afghanistan and problems in Iran, Carter then declared a new ‘Carter Doctrine.’ “He called for a 5 percent annual increase in defense spending and outlined a more aggressive posture in the Persian Gulf that would make the region the center of national security policy. Carter also decided that the United States would boycott the Moscow Olympics” (p. 103). Quick note: As a fanatical devotee of the Olympics (winter and summer!), I am frankly horrified by this decision. Horrified!

On top of all that, the election of 1980 rolled around, as it tends to do every four years. Carter declared that he was running again and was duly nominated by the Democratic Party. “Without question, Carter was now running as the president, not as the maverick. He surrounded himself with the glory of the White House rather than running away from it. Throughout the next two months, he marshaled all of the resources that he enjoyed in his position and tried to make the case to voters that he had the experience and skill to be commander in chief again” (p. 116). However, he then ran up against the wall that was Ronald Reagan and the new Republicans. Carter was unable to stage a brilliant rescue of the hostages in time for the election and so he ended up losing pretty much at the last minute.

“Iran might very well have made the difference, but the broader political picture told another story. Carter had run as a maverick in 1976 and he governed as one for must of his presidency, failing to secure the support of many key segments of the Democratic coalition. When faced with the twin challenges of a strong opponent, who was connected to a vibrant grassroots movement, and a series of difficult policy crises, Carter’s political standing collapsed. As Reagan’s advisers realized, by 1980 Carter was running with the thinnest possible base of support, a fact that Republicans exploited to move conservatism into the White House” (p. 128).

Carter, though a lame-duck president, could not stop trying to resolve the hostage crisis situation. In his last months he spent nearly every waking moment searching for the solution for a peaceable, speedy recovery of the Americans overseas. Soon a diplomatic channel opened and Carter was able to guarantee the release of all the hostages. On January 20, 1981(Inauguration Day),444 days later, the hostages were flown to Germany where Carter was on hand to greet them.

The Carters moved back to Plains, Georgia where Jimmy took up farming again but managed to keep his nose in the public bidness. On October 1, 1986, he opened the Carter Center as a peaceful place for politicians to meet (along the lines of Camp David). “It’s designers wanted to create a site that would serve as host to international leaders from all over the world and where opposing sides would be able to hammer out the major conflicts of the day” (p. 132). Carter became very involved with Habitat for Humanity and created the Atlanta Project. “Run through the Carter Center, the objective of the project was to strengthen impoverished communities and foster working alliances between government and community organizations” (p. 143).

In 1989, President H. W. Bush asked Carter to monitor elections in Panama for signs of corruption. Carter was shocked by the disgraceful tactics of the Sandinistas and publicly proclaimed that the elections should be considered void. “The speech generated international praise for Carter and gave him credibility around the world” (p. 134). He did the same thing (election watch!) in Nicaragua in 1990.

Unfortunately, Carter was still a bit of a maverick and that earned him some lifelong enmity here in the United States. During the Iraqi war, Carter went behind Bush’s (and the US’s) back and tried to negotiate a peace settlement that was not sanctioned by our government. In 1994, Carter met with the North Koreans and pretty much did the same thing as before which severely pissed off Clinton. He was quite vocal against the war in Iraq. Carter stirred up even more controversy with all the books he wrote after leaving the White House. Since a major pet project of his was Palestinian independence, one of his books, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, stated that most of the problems in the Middle Eastern area were due to the Israelis and this position stirred up deep anti-Carter feeling in the American Jewish communities. “The controversy exemplified Carter’s postpresidential career. Carter defiantly took unpopular stands about foreign affairs, but stands that he fervently believed in, displaying almost no concern about who would dislike him as a result” (p. 144).

“Without the challenges that came with being in elected office, and with a substantial institutional base at his disposal, this ex-president has neared the end of his career as an enormously powerful figure on the international stage” (p. 146).