OPINION —
As a 23-year-old with enthusiasm for politics and history, I was at Ronald Reagan’s presidential inauguration on Jan. 20, 1981, just as I had been at Jimmy Carter’s in _____. People used transistor radios (declining by 1980) to find out when the 52 hostages departed Iran. It was surreal: garbled and messages were all we heard. Two hours after Reagan’s Inaugural Address, he spoke with Congressional leaders at the Capitol.
“Some 30 minutes ago, the planes bearing our prisoners left Iranian air space, and they’re now free of Iran,” he said.
Applause came like thunder and when the radios announced “They are free!” All of us on Pennsylvania Avenue cheered our hardest. Carter had found a winning formula, but by then he was a defeated candidate. He was 52 years old, and out of a job.
The hostage crisis, lasting 444 days, began with wide patriotic support. Yet as the months continued with no apparent progress, Carter’s use of economic and diplomatic pressure yielded no major changes. The Man from Plains lost by a landslide, as the deadly duo of a poor economy with chaos abroad was too much.
“I am committed as a matter of fundamental policy to continue real increases in defense,” Carter said.
That was a turn-around from his 1976 campaign three years before, in which he called for $5 to $7 billion in cuts in military spending. Now he realized Russia was a strong antagonist. He noted, “Our forces must be increased to contain Soviet aggression.”
In his first full day as president, Carter pardoned people who evaded the draft in the Vietnam War by violating the Selective Service Act from Aug. 4, 1964, to March 28, 1973. Many Vietnam veterans were insulted by the pardon of draft evaders but pleased that amnesty was not offered to deserters.
In the 1960s and 1970s I lived in a suburban blue-collar neighborhood where several streets were named for Vietnam War heroes killed in battle. They played the popular song with the refrain, “Born Free, and life is worth living, But only worth living ‘Cause you’re born free.” My brother Tom served in Vietnam (1966-67), so my view was why would people resisting their rightful duty be pardoned? And only hours into a presidency?
Carter’s Proclamation 4483 was unpopular among war veterans. For me, the earlier end of the draft in January 1973 was good news. My 17th birthday was May 31, 1973, so I would not be drafted. Seven years later, it was peacetime and I was able to choose my Army job (journalist) and first duty station (Fort Bliss, Texas.)
Carter, as president, is rated by professional historians to be at between 28 and 36 of 45 presidents analyzed. After he dies, he will likely jump four to five points. That happens when a president dies say scholars, as reevaluations occur. For example, the Camp David accords signed by Israeli and Egyptian leaders and directed by Carter led to a “framework for peace” lasted for 40 years. A remarkable development for the Middle East.
David Harsanyi, of The Federalist, wrote a column in 2019 titled, “Reminder: Jimmy Carter is Our Worst Ex-President.” He challenges the conventional wisdom that Carter’s post-presidency is commendable. Why then, would the former president visit Cuba under Fidel Castro, who was still imprisoning and torturing his political opponents?
“’Great men’ do not use freelance diplomacy abroad to undermine elected American governments,” Harsanyi said. “They do not coddle and legitimize tyrants and murderers. They do not undercut liberalism by allowing despots to use them as props. It is one thing to meet with detestable characters as president — diplomacy and American interests often dictate it — but it is another to ally yourself with them as a free man. Yet, that’s what Carter has done for 40 years.”
People who voted for Carter in 1980 likely figured that Carter would do a better job in domestic and international roles because he is highly intelligent and learned from his errors. But the charismatic conservative Reagan won easily and is rated as a top-ten president, according to historians and political scientists.
In January 1975, Carter was forced to leave office because Georgia did not allow governors to run for successive terms. He tested the presidential waters at the 1976 Iowa Caucus. Carter later won the Democratic nod and astoundingly, the presidency. I was delighted as a college student to write about him first in October 1975 and as his life is ending. I voted against him twice but agree with millions that he has made many achievements for our country.
Greg Markley first moved to Lee County in 1996. He has masters degrees in education and history. He taught politics as an adjunct in Georgia and Alabama. An award-winning writer in the Army and civilian life, he has contributed to The Observer for 12 years. gm.markley@charter.net