Jimmy Carter passed away on December 29 at the age of 100, a little over a year after the passing of his wife of over seven decades, Rosalynn.
There have been post-presidency redemption arcs before. Even Richard Nixon, who remains the only president to resign from office, saw his public image slowly creep into something resembling respectability as the sordid details of the Watergate break-in and the ensuing cover-up slowly faded from memory. But none, in my opinion, can match that of Carter. By the end of his presidency, he was the punchline and punching bag for every late-night comedian and barstool pundit in the nation. And there is no doubt some of the criticism was accurate. The economy was in the tank, the country was hemorrhaging manufacturing jobs to cheaper labor markets, Americans were being held hostage in Iran, and his brother Billy was a buffoonish thorn in the president's side.
Yet, when he passed on Sunday, the tributes from both sides of the political divide were effusive and seemingly heartfelt, due, I think, largely to Carter's dedication to service throughout his more than four-decade-long post-presidential life. That service ranged from high-level diplomacy in the Middle East and North Korea to picking up a hammer to help build homes with the nonprofit Habitat for Humanity. He was also a prolific writer. His books range from his vision for lasting peace in the Middle East to memoirs about his rural Georgia upbringing to explorations of his faith. Above all, what comes through to us is Jimmy Carter's abiding decency. By all accounts, he was a good man who tried to do his best and to live in accordance with his beliefs. That is a life plan we should all aspire to.
NPR: Jimmy Carter was 'a very unusual kind of politician,' biographer says
THE CARTER CENTER: Official Bio
Jimmy Carter Presidential Library & Museum
WHITEHOUSE.GOV: James Carter
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