There is no system in place in America to dial up the president that the nation most needs at a given juncture. It is true that most delegates at the Constitutional Convention believed that George Washington would be our first president, assuming the sovereign people ratified the proposed Constitution and elected the country’s most famous citizen, the hero of the Revolutionary War, adjudged by everyone, everywhere to be our greatest leader. Washington didn’t disappoint his countrymen, unless you factor in the widespread disappointment registered in reaction to his unwillingness to serve a third term in the Office of the Presidency.
But since Washington, there has been no similar universal agreement on a candidate that fit the billing: --“The Man for Our Times” --though many aspiring presidents sought to persuade voters that, indeed, they were precisely the right man for the moment. It is true, of course, that the United States has enjoyed several “great” presidents and a few “near-great” presidents. And, after their service in the Oval Office, supporters could justifiably say that a particular president was the right president for the time. Many, in fact, say that about Jimmy Carter, our 39th President, who brought much needed decency to the White House after the Watergate scandal, the pervasive corruption within the Nixon Administration, and the criminal and corrupt acts undertaken by Richard Nixon himself.
Revelations about Nixon’s behavior –authorizing the CIA to stop the FBI from investigating the Watergate burglary and related acts, Nixon’s personal involvement in the coverup of the burglary, Nixon’s declaration that he “could find” the money necessary to buy the Watergate burglars’ loyalty so that would not finger Nixon’s inner circle, Nixon’s creation of the Plumber’s Unit, his secret bombing of Cambodia, his use of federal departments such as the IRS to harangue his political enemies and his infamous enemies list, to name but a few of Nixon’s egregious and illegal acts—shattered the morale of the nation and left many across the country to wonder about if America’s constitutional democracy had a future.
Against that grimy backdrop, Jimmy Carter proved to be the right presidential candidate at the right time. Carter, the peanut farmer from Plains, Georgia, who returned to his family farm after a stellar career as a naval officer, serving on a prototype nuclear submarine under the command of the legendary Admiral Rickover, following the death of his father, was by every measure a good, decent and moral man. He arrived at the doorstep of the nation’s highest office at a time when America badly needed someone with his character, honesty and humility, who promised during his campaign “never lie to the American people,” in contrast with the pervasive immorality of the Nixon Presidency whose mantra was, “the ends justify the means.” In Jimmy Carter, American voters embraced an honest outsider, genuinely committed to working for the people, exhibiting transparency at every step, eschewing special interests, a man who instituted ethics reform in government and installed independent inspectors in every department to promote checks, balances and integrity. Carter’s approach to government would have pleased Jimmy Stewart’s, “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.”
That’s not to say that Carter was a great, or even a near-great president. It is fair, however, to call for a review of his one-term presidency, because the characterization of his term as a failure has always been unfair and inaccurate. At least two major events that marred his reputation were beyond his control. Iran’s seizure of American hostages in 1979, would have scarred any presidential record. And the crippling inflation that hurt him most, was already in its early beginnings when he captured the White House in 1976.
Carter’s achievements in the realm of foreign affairs distinguish his presidency. His normalization of relations with China, initiated by Nixon, opened a historic door for new relations between two great adversaries. The Camp David Accords, Carter’s signature diplomatic achievement would rank at the forefront of any president’s major accomplishments, since he negotiated the last peace between Israel and Egypt. His leadership on the issue of the Panama Canal Treaty, avoided a major war and the lasting enmity of neighbors in the Western Hemisphere.
Above all, Jimmy Carter will be remembered for restoring the dignity of the presidency which, when you think about it, represents a historic achievement.
David Adler is president of The Alturas Institute, created to advance American Democracy through promotion of the Constitution, civic education, equal protection and gender equality. He has lectured nationally and internationally on the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. His scholarly writings have been quoted by the US Supreme Court, lower federal courts and by both Republicans and Democrats in Congress.
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