Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
His tenure as president was punctuated with unrelenting adversity, tortured from the outset by obscenely high inflation and a post-Vietnam-and-Watergate nation that had a sour disposition.
His fragmented administration was disproportionately populated by political cronies from his home state of Georgia. His micromanaging style drew widespread derision and his right of center values resulted in serious conflicts with a much more liberal and progressive Congress.
In the eyes of many historical and political observers, Jimmy Carter’s one-term presidency was considered a Waterloo.
He was defeated by Republican Ronald Reagan in 1980 by the largest electoral margin (489–49) any incumbent president has suffered. He oversaw a sluggish and stagnant economy, continual energy shortages, a horrendously failed effort to rescue hostages in Iran, and a Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
Despite such challenges, his tenure as president accomplished distinctive achievements.
He successfully brokered a peace between Israel and Egypt, which endures to this day almost a half a century later. He was successful in persuading the Senate to ratify a treaty ceding control of the Panama Canal, likely preventing a war from breaking out in the region. He secured a relationship with red China, resulting in several decades of abundant benefits for the larger, global economy. And he placed the issue of human rights as the core mission of his foreign policy.
Carter entered the 1976 presidential election as an obscure, one-term southern governor. His victory in the Iowa caucuses propelled him onward, ultimately winning the election on a campaign of populism, touting his experience as a small businessman and peanut farmer. His memorable promise to “never tell a lie” was widely welcome in the post-Vietnam, Watergate scandal era.
Once in office, much of Carter’s legislation was stifled and he failed to cultivate any considerable degree of support when events became acutely challenging. Murphy’s Law was in full effect for much of his presidency.
Carter amplified this weakness by embracing old political allies who were just as bereft of experience as he was. When he belatedly hired experienced veterans who knew how to navigate Washington, he appeared to abandon his own unique traits that got him elected – he struggled with how to effectively employ their political skills and acumen.
Ted Kennedy’s decision to challenge Carter for the 1980 nomination did considerable political damage to Carter and to an already fragmented Democratic party. Kennedy’s less than professional behavior on the night Carter was nominated for a second term further ripped apart the party.
During his post-presidential years, Carter reset his life and redefined his reputation.
He built houses with Habitat for Humanity. He established the Carter Center, which improved health care, raised living standards, supervised elections, and continued to speak out for human rights all across the world.
He was a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for “his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions for international conflict, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.”
He also authored 30 books, almost all of them bestsellers.
During his presidency, Carter was a walking shorthand for ineffectual leadership and incompetence.
His post-presidential career was splendid and serves as a superb example of how an ex-president can best conduct themselves, with dignity, professionalism, a degree of humility and grace about the honor of presiding over the highest office in the land.
Elwood Watson is a professor of history, Black studies, and gender and sexuality studies at East Tennessee State University. Contact him at: