Remembering President Carter

Jimmy Carter, our 39th president, passed away at the age of 100. He was the oldest living US President.

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Jimmy Carter’s presidency and his legacy have had a profound impact on the American tapestry that we call our American history. President Carter was a one-term President who won the nomination as an outsider for the ‘76 presidential election. He rose from a no-name peanut farmer, school teacher and “outsider” (even though he was a Governor) to President in less than 2 years.

His presidency was not one of the better times of our nation and marked an era of true American Failures.

Those who lived through it faced rampant inflation, high interest rates, energy shortages, and a challenging diplomatic and foreign relations to say the least. Americans waited on line to buy gas with horrible shortages.

Home mortgage rates rose above 14 percent which are more than double what they are today and these rates now are considered unaffordable.

Iran

Carter’s lack of support for the Shah of Iran and his administration’s secret talks with Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini resulted in the overthrow of the Shah. Khomeini was the architect of the Iranian Revolution and installed himself as the first leader of the Islamic republic in 1979.

This revolution resulted in the taking of the American Embassy in Tehran by Iranian students loyal to Khomeini from November 4, 1979 to their release on January 20, 1981.

Most notably, President Carter was credited with the poor rescue of Americans held in the Iranian embassy that led the accidental death of eight servicemen. Those hostages were released 444 days later on January 20, 1981, the day that Ronald Reagan took office. It is likely that the hostages were released as Khomeini perceived Reagan to be a credible threat.

It was those political challenges of Carter’s administration that likely paved the way for the Reagan era. Carter’s blunders galvanized a nation and Reagan even won 40% of the Jewish votes setting the high-water mark for the GOP despite Carter’s role in the Camp David Accords.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remembered “President Carter’s crucial role in facilitating the first Arab-Israeli peace treaty.”

President-elect Trump stated “The challenges Jimmy faced as President came at a pivotal time for our country and he did everything in his power to improve the lives of all Americans. For that, we all owe him a debt of gratitude.”

Carter Faced Challenges

Carter also lead the charge to boycott the 1980 Olympics in Moscow and took other steps in strengthening the nation against Russia which he is not always credited for.

Carter is also remembered for his Cold War military strategy that he unveiled as part of his 1980 State of the Union which stated that the Soviets’ Afghanistan invasion and attempts to takeover that region was a threat to the US. At the time, Carter supported Mujahideen guerilla’s in Afghanistan following the Soviet invasion. At the time, President Carter realized that military force was necessary. At that same State of the Union addressed, Carter pledged to begin a five-year spending initiative to modernize and strengthen the military because Carter realized that the US was ill-prepared in a post-Vietnam that was plagued by military.

President Reagan likely rose to popularity due to the continued big-red scare of the Soviets coupled with the political instability and military challenges attributed to Carter along with a horrible economy. However, Reagan did acknowledge Carter’s foresight years later and praised the former President's record on military preparedness.

Carter’s foreign policy in Latin America did leave an impression that led thousands of Cuban, Haitian and Nicaraguan refugees to flee their war-torn dictatorships to the United States while the US struggled to promote democracy. Carter also signed the Refugee Act of 1980 placing a “humanitarian” focus and changed the definition of “refugee” to a person with a “well-founded fear of persecution” according to standards established by United Nations conventions and protocols.

A Love for Music and the First to Galvanize the Youth

Carter’s election was probably the first one to raise significant funds through popular recording artists. Jimmy Carter credited his victory to the Allman Brothers. In 2016, as he gave Gregg Allman an honorary degree at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, Carter stated that “Gregg Allman and the Allman Brothers just about put me in the White House,” The legislation changed to allow for matching dollars and The Allman Brothers were “were the best fundraisers that we had. In those days, they would charge somebody $15 to come hear them play. And we were getting the whole $15 plus 15 more matching dollars! So we got $30 every time someone came to hear the Allman Brothers Band play.”

This unique team of Carter and the Allman Brothers helped bring in the youth vote coming off Woodstock. It has led to decades where the popularity of a recording artist help to raise funds or awareness for politicians. This trend did not work for the most recent Presidential election despite heavy influence of Hollywood actors and notable recording artists cheerleading for Kamala Harris.

Humanitarian Off the Field (or out of the White House)

President Biden praised President Carter’s decency and stated that he [Carter] “lived a life measured not by words, but by his deeds.”

Since his presidency, President Carter was probably one of the most influential and successful presidents to use his diplomacy and relations to impact the community at large. President Carter did more as a civilian and to impact and better the lives of mostly Americans. He had a charitable heart and many benefited as a result. He will be best know for his ties to Habitat for Humanity. Through the Carter Work Project at Habitat for Humanity. Jimmy and his wife Rosalynn inspired more than 108,000 volunteers across the U.S. and in 14 countries to get involved, build, renovate and repair 4,447 Habitat homes.

His influence and personal beliefs on Israel and the West Bank and his 2006 book, “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid,” exacerbated Carter’s “complicated” history and positions by comparing Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians to South Africa’s apartheid.

Biden Era Parallels Carter Era

What is interesting to note is the Carter era is very similar to the Biden era. The challenges that paved away for Ronald Reagan are similar ones that paved the way for president Donald Trump to win and be re-elected. Carter had inflation, fuel shortages, challenges with OPEC, and a very charged activist environment following Woodstock and Vietnam. There were also the challenges of the Soviet Union. In addition, Carter had the hostages that were Americans held in an embassy in Iran. Due to various political blunders in backing Khomeini and messaging, the US was perceived as weak under Carter and the US government was unable to leverage its power to have them released.

This is not unlike today and similar issues plague Americans, and the world at large. Russia invaded Ukraine and has been causing significant chaos and financial burdens to the United States along with the challenging humanitarian issues at play. The Hamas attack at the Nova festival and the hostages are still held today in Gaza are like the Iran hostage situation on a much larger scale.

As we know, Iran plays a critical role in the funding and shaping of Hamas’s terrorist activities, and the Biden administration has been responsible for releasing funds that likely extended whatever leverage that Hamas has at the present moment.

Final Thoughts

President Carter was really a unique president. He was the only U.S. president to have taught Sunday school while in office but fully understood the separation between church and state.

It’s not just what you do as a President. It’s what you do after. Carter was the recipient of the Nobel peace prize for his extensive efforts in Middle East peace.

President Carter has left us many lessons that we can learn from, both positive and negative, and his lasting impact on improving the lives of Americans and those around the world in need.

He will also be known for challenging positions on the Middle East after his Presidency, a rocky relation with Israel and the West Bank. He will also be remembered as the man that also gave up the Panama Canal which has now become at issue again.

As they say, those who fail to learn history are condemned to repeat it. Unfortunately, the memories have faded and America is just as susceptible to repeating its mistakes like any other political dynasty.

It is our responsibility as Americans to take care of those at home and help our neighbors and President Carter will be remembered for such humanitarian assistance.

A grateful nation mourns its former leader and his death is a good time for us to go back over the past few decades and really audit the pros and cons of all of our previous administrations. It is not a time for revisionist history which has plagued most obituaries on any former leader.

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Dr. Michael Goldstein & Jonathan Goldstein

The father-son team continues on so please spread the word and lets really rebuild CT together in a meaningful way.

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