JIMMY CARTER: A GOOD PRESIDENT, WELL SERVED BY TIME

Jimmy Carter outlived his negative reputation.
The 39th President of the United States passed away at age 100. In 1977 he was the first President to be denied reelection since Herbert Hoover. He was widely seen as an ineffective and inconsequential President.
That view was reinforced by critics like Republican provocateur Newt Gingrich who repeatedly railed against Carter's "weakness" and inability to stand up to tougher opponents.
But time, a belated appreciation of reality fueled by two well received book -- "His Very Best: Jimmy Carter, a Life" by Jonathan Alter and "the Outlier" by Kai Bird -- changed that view and recognized some impressive achievements as President. And with his many good works he is almost universally seen as the most significant ex-President in American history.

As President, Carter engineered the Camp David peace treaty with Egypt and Israel, the most significant Middle East achievements of any President. He secured passage of the Panama Canal Treaty returning the canal to Panama and averting unrest in Central America. He took a tough stance against the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan, initiated a global focus on human rightsd and established full diplomatic relations with China.
Domestically, he elevated the importance of a looming energy crisis, creating a Department of Energy, and enacted successful deregulation of airlines and other industries. Perhaps his most significant appointment was naming Paul Volcker chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. Volcker tamed raging inflation though his high interest rates probably hurt Carter's 1980 reelection.
There were notable failures. He never established good working relations with the Democratic congress as his White Hou9se didn't appreciate what a valuable ally House Speaker Thomas P. Neill could be. Carter was not a naturally warm and engaging politician to his detriment.
His decision to allow the deposed and ailing Shah of Iran into America for medical treatment proved catastrophic. It resulted in Iranian revolutionaries taking American embassy personnel hostage for the final 15 months of his Presidency. A failed rescue attempt only added to the disaster.
Like Joe Biden, his policies were better than his ability to communicate them. He suffered in a rough primary against Ted Kennedy and was decisively defeated in the general election by Ronald Reagan.

It also is worth recalling his extraordinary campaign to win the Presidency in 1976.
A one time Georgia Governor, and peanut farmer, he wasn't considered a serious candidate by party leaders or most pundits. Other than Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded to the Presidency when John F. Kennedy was assassinated , America hadn't elected a Southerner President since the Civil War. Moreover, Carter was considered no match for political heavyweights like Senators Hubert Humphrey and Henry Jackson and Congressman Morris Udall.

But the Georgian and his political mastermind. Hamilton Jordan, brilliantly figured out a winning strategy . Jordan kept a rating awarding specific points for every state Carter visited, every journalist he courted and various positions he took.
They decided to make a big deal of the Iowa caucuses which never been a factor before. But they correctly calculated winning there -- actually they finished behind uncommitted -- would catapault Carter into a top tier contender.
It did and paved the way for him weeks later to win the New Hampshire primary, pathway to the nomination,
Then as one of the front runners big challenge was to take out George Wallace, the segregationist Alabama Govenor, the bete noire of Democrats for more than a decade. had won Democratic primaries before even in northern states like Massachusetts and was a strong third party candidate as an independent in the 1968 general election. But he remained a Democrat and was a real threat to the party in 1976.
Carter figured as Southerner he was better positioned to take on Wallace. He beat him in a critical Florida primary, which essentially ended Wallace's national career.
This endeared to some previously skeptical Democrats. The man dismissed on a year earlier as that peanut farmer, beat incumbent President Gerald Ford in November to capture the Presidency.