Jimmy Carter A Great President

This is an excerpt of the speech I shall deliver next month at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library

It is no longer enough to simply describe him as a Great or Excellent EX or Former President. This is an example of Professorial ignorance and a long used republican talking point. The simple fact is Jimmy Carter is the greatest former President in our nation's history, period. But, he is also an underrated and excellent President. He was not a failed president as many have claimed. And its time the Democratic Party defends him. His only major failing while in office was an honorable attempt to avoid bloodshed.
He has the best average of legislative achievement of any modern president except Johnson and the Camp David Peace accords still stands as the only lasting example of a Peace treaty in the Middle East. He cut our consumption of Foreign Oil in half and actually took the nation on the path towards a balanced budget by the mid 1980s. None of his Cabinet members were arrested or investigated (Reagan's cabinet couldn't claim the same.) He was the only modern Presidency to limit nuclear weapon production and trim our sale of Arms to foreign nations.

His promotion of Human Rights not only undermined the Soviet's support in many satellite nations, it also invigorated our own support in South America. At the start of his term, nearly every nation in South America was being governed by a military dictatorship. By the time he left office nearly the entire continent was electing democratic leaders.

Now not to look like a total Carter Fanboy, I will add that he had and has some severe failings. But to his credit he is the only modern US President that not only admits to them, he actually enjoys evaluating them. The final section of his book White House Diaries (itself a brilliant literary achievement) Carter talks very openly about his failing while in the office. He admits  to being a micro manager and that he hated being the leader of the Democratic Party. He admits to having poor relations to congress and concludes that his efforts to pass legislation resulted in any modification or compromise to appear as a presidential defeat.

In 2002 of course the former President won the Nobel Peace Prize, two of the three small bronze medals he received reside here by his Grammy Award , just down the corner. While he is considered the nation's greatest former president, a title and reputation he doesn't mind, those four turbulent years still seem to resonate with Americans. Reagan doesn't connect with Millennials the way Carter does partly because of his post presidency, but mainly because his record remains evergreen. His humility and innovative agenda while in office speak for themselves and his humanitarian efforts out of office continue to make him relevant.