A list of the ten-most honest United States Presidents has Abe Lincoln, Jimmy Carter and George Washington respectively in the top spots, though I give the nod to Carter over Lincoln.
Because Lincoln was a lawyer.
Were the list to rank our most ethical presidents Washington would be removed along with the remaining slave owning presidents and again I slot Lincoln below Carter. Because while freeing the slaves was the ethical decision, that’s not why Lincoln did it!
Despite his mention amongst those notables history’s recollection of Carter's term ensures Jimmy will never be enshrined with Abe and George. Though it could be argued that Carter's omission only exposes a flaw in how history rates American presidents.
Becasue when assessing leadership, what could prioritize higher than ethics?
For Carter ethical leadership meant speaking truth to the American people, even when they did not want to hear it. It was that plain-spoken honesty at-least in part which lead to Carter's defeat in his November 1980 re-election bid.
Dispatched from the White House Carter continued to serve both his nation and mankind, his post-presidential career the most consequential of any former president. And considering Biden and Trump’s age there seems little chance of either besting Carter's post-presidential attainment.
A child of poverty Carter returned to his family’s peanut farm in rural Georgia at the expiration of his term, that humble pursuit allowing time to teach Sunday School and swing a hammer building housing for Americans who could not afford to build their own.
Among the poorest men ever elected to the presidency, Carter never forgot where he came from!
In retirement Carter won a Nobel Peace Prize for his achievements delivering humanitarian aid to the world’s suffering and his efforts to end war globally. An effort he contributed to himself while in office: Carter is one of only two American presidents this century to complete their term without initiating any military actions.
Trump being the second, though if he invades Canada that boast won’t survive a second term.
With boundless energy Carter worked to eradicate six neglected tropical diseases, bringing hope to some of the earth’s poorest and most isolated peoples. That effort bringing honor to his name in a way that his time in office and political outcomes never did.
Between Nobels and Guinea worms Carter penned 30 books with subjects that reflected the author’s breadth, from his deep faith, relentless pursuit of happiness and love of nature, to his conviction that diplomacy was better suited than war to resolve the planet’s most intractable problems.
THE latter view immutable.
Carter published children’s books, collections of poetry, novels and memoirs along with his views on aging and morality, each a best-seller. But it was Carter’s magnum opus published in 2006 which most shapes Carter's legacy.
Lasting Peace
For 12-days in 1978 Carter hosted Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat at the presidential retreat in Camp David in an effort to end the decades-long conflict. Working in secret Carter cajoled the adversaries to put down their swords and pick up pens, bringing peace to those two countries which lasts to this day.
The Camp David Accords were the crowning achievement of Carter’s mostly misunderstood presidency, and they remain among the greatest diplomatic achievements of the 20th century.
Though that progress cost Anwar Sadat his life.
As for the violence between the Palestinian people and the Israeli government Carter believed there could be no lasting peace without self-determination for the Palestinian people. Carter called the two-state solution the “only viable solution to this long-running conflict.”
Current events would prove Carter prescient, at-least according to the United Nations.
Of Carter’s 30 post-presidential publications one-in-six address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict directly, though his belief in self determination for all people was woven into his oeuvre.
That politic plus high inflation and a 444-day hostage crisis cost Carter in his present day, his 1980 loss to Ronald Reagan was among the most lopsided in history.
And while ethics did play a role in that election's outcome, it was not Carter’s ethics which played the biggest role!
Carter’s book Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid returned controversy to the 80-year-old ex-president, 25-years removed from office at the time of that book’s publication. His use of the word apartheid to define the policies of the Israeli government came 20-years before that useage would gain wider acceptance which brought animus from many American Jews with some even leveling accusations of antisemitism against the former president.
A libel recently discredited.
Rest in Peace Jimmy Carter 1924-2024
