Maybe it was his brother’s influence.
Its disgusting that Reagan was the one to mobilize the evangelical vote, when Carter was probably our most Christian president since McKinley. It shows that the religious right is far more about bigotry and exclusion than about the teachings of Christ.
So, will Trump be invited to the funeral?
The presidency is an impossible job. Carter made mistakes and his political skills weren’t up to the problems we faced. But he followed his faith and gifts, despite being pilloried for it.
Matthew 25:31-40
31 “When[a] the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All[b] the nations will be assembled before him, and he will separate people one from another like a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He[c] will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34 Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him,[d] ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When[e] did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or naked and clothe you? 39 When[f] did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the king will answer them,[g] ‘I tell you the truth,[h] just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters[i] of mine, you did it for me.’
He was a sheep.
Carter was the most underrated president of my lifetime. He was dealt a very bad hand with the Iranian revolution leading oil prices doubling between April 1979 and April 1980. Carter talked to us like adults, telling us how important energy conservation was in times of high energy prices. But the American public was not willing to face unpleasant facts, along came Reagan telling us “yes there is a free lunch and we’re going to eat it.” Irresponsible tax cuts blew gigantic holes in the deficit and created the anti-government monster that the GOP is today.
Carter was arguably the unluckiest president in history. He was the only full term president in history that did not get to make a single Supreme Court nominee. In his term, the Iranian revolution happened, the hostage crisis happened as the Iranians refused to negotiate in good faith with Carter calling him the great satan and took out their frustration of past US support of the Shah on him. Between April 1979 and April 1980, the price of oil doubled due to OPEC flexing its muscle and Iran’s production being cut due to the revolution. When something that basic to the economy becomes twice as expensive, quite naturally general inflation heats up.
The American voters have strange ideas, such as that the president is to blame for inflation. It’s like they think that there is a lever in the Oval Office marked “inflation” and Democratic presidents pull it to speed it up. Or that mean tweets from Republicans in office are effective in combating inflation. Or that Democratic presidents alone are responsible for budget deficits. So the American people took this good and decent man and tossed him out in favor of a movie actor. We did him wrong.
I wonder if it will be a private, family funeral, and not a state affair.
That would be my assumption. He has led a modest life since he left office. It would be out of character to have a state funeral.
But I bet the hometown church will be packed to the rafters and overflowing nevertheless.
It seems to me that he was a decent person who had a job that needs someone who can be nasty on occasion.
He was and is very smart, but did little of the schmoozing necessary for a President to succeed on Capitol Hill. He certainly caught a lot of bad breaks, including inflation, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Three Mile Island, the Iran hostage crisis and the botched rescue attempt.
By the end of his term, I’m sorry to say, he seemed overwhelmed and even hapless. I was one of just three kids at my high school who supported his reelection in 1980, and even I was by no means filled with enthusiasm.
His post-Presidency, by contrast, has been honorable, selfless and impressive - and a model I wish others would emulate.
May his passing, which seems imminent, be peaceful and pain-free.
That must have been the first election I voted in ( turned 18 in 1979). I’m sure he got my vote. My biggest beef with him was restoring selective service registration. (I still haven’t registered though, so I guess I got the last laugh)
I doubt that Trump would be invited to the funeral; Pence might be.
Likely related, in part, to oil prices, was the fact that Carter was dealt a terrible economic hand during his presidency, which coincided with a period of high inflation and high unemployment, and which grew worse over time.
For the four years of his presidency (1977-1980), U.S. inflation was (source):
- 1977: 6.5%
- 1978: 7.6%
- 1979: 11.3%
- 1980: 13.6%
In those same four years, unemployment consistently stayed above 6%, and was at 7.2% by the end of 1980. (source)
When he entered office in early 1977, the Fed prime rate was 6.25% (yes, by current standards, that does feel high). With the Fed raising interest rates to combat inflation, by the time of the 1980 election, the prime rate was 14.5%, and had peaked at 20.0% in April of that year. By the end of 1980, it was back up to 21.5%, its all-time high. (source)
I hadn’t thought of that. I just assumed it would be a state affair because that’s always been the case in my lifetime. Except for Nixon, of course, for obvious reasons. I was just reading up on it and all presidents plan their funeral while they are in office. But he could have planned one and later changed his mind about it. I agree that it is something he probably would not want now.
BobLibDem: Great post, and right on.
It is also worth mentioning that Jimmy Carter is one of only four people who served as POTUS and were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The fact he is the only who was given this award largely for his post-presidential activities is notable.
The family decides, in the end, but at the very least one can imagine a National Cathedral memorial service… or at the chapel at the Naval Academy in Annapolis. Which come to think of it, this last should be added even if there is a state funeral, what with he being a graduate with distinction (and the only Annapolis grad to have made it to POTUS so far).
Yes, I hope there will be some Annapolis dimension to his funeral.
Just heard on Maddow last night that a building at Annapolis is going to be re-named Carter Hall.
It had previously been named for a Confederate somebody-or-other.
That is very cool.
I thought so, too. In fact, I think I said that out loud.
A nice article about Jimmy Carter. Sorry that his kindness and compassion just didn’t seem work in our political system. It’ll be sad to see him go.