Jimmy Carter, the 39th President of the United States, died last week at the age of 100. Carter had a "Former Presidency" of forty-four years, the longest in history, he lived longer than another US President, and had a marriage that lasted longer than any other President, 77 years. These are just answers to trivia questions, though.
Carter's presidency will probably not be favorably judged by history. It was beset with problems with inflation, domestic gasoline shortages (remember gas lines and odd/even days when you could gas up your vehicle?), and was surely done in by the Iranian Hostage Crisis. He was denied a second term in 1980 when he was defeated by Ronald Reagan.
Few will doubt, however, that there never was and may never be a greater "Former President" than Jimmy Carter. Retirement for Carter and his wife, Rosslynn, who died in 2023 at the age of 96, did not consist of making speeches for six figures. Instead, he traveled the world monitoring elections in foreign countries, built homes for Habitat for Humanity (and he hands-on built them, he didn't just show up to cut ribbons), and, as he had done all of his life, he continued to teach Sunday School in hs home town of Plains, GA, and he did all of this well into his nineties.
A great President? Perhaps not, but the Presidency may never have been filled by a greater human being.
RIP, Mr. President.
No comments:
Post a Comment