Jimmy Carter has died. For those who did not live through the 1970’s he may seem like a distant and unremarkable figure. During his administration we suffered much. Runaway inflation, gas shortages, and the humiliation of the Iranian hostage situation. America chose to replace him with a celebrity politician who assured us that he would make Morning in America come again. Sound familiar? But I digress.
Carter was an evangelical Christian who lived by those principles. He taught Sunday School. He went to church. He read the bible. He was married to the same woman for 77 years. He volunteered and built houses for the Habitat for Humanity. A stark comparison to our president-elect.
In 1976 when Carter was elected the country had just endured the Watergate scandal. The nation was looking for a fresh face outside of the Washington establishment. Carter, a peanut farmer from Plains Georgia offered an optimistic view of what the nation stood for and a moral character above reproach.
What History Has Taught US
If history has taught us anything it is that very good people can be very bad presidents and that very flawed people can make very good presidents. So, let’s look at what Carter actually accomplished as President acknowledging that this was a very good and decent man.
A great deal of our economy was still governed by archaic regulations. They were the legacy of World War II. Others were the failed attempt during the WIN (Whip Inflation Now) programs of the previous administrations.
He deregulated crude oil and natural gas to increase domestic supply. By the end of his administration only 15 percent of the crude oil processed by American refineries were subject to price controls. It meant that local refiners could charge what the market would bear. They would then be able to profitably drill for more oil.
He sponsored the airline deregulation act of 1978, and opened the airline industry to free market forces. CAB (Civil Aeronautics Board) used to control airline travel. It was completely phased out in 1984.
Many of his deregulation accomplishments were phased in over time. They did not affect the economy until well into Ronald Reagan’s administration. Carter rarely got the credit for the free-market forces that he unleashed. It is not within the scope of this article to assess the long-term sensibility of these actions but there is no question that they are the reality that shapes our economic lives today.
He used his powers of moral persuasion to create and bring to pass the Camp David accords which created a long-lasting peace between Israel and Egypt. An accomplishment that is still unmatched in the Middle East.
The Post Colonial Period
He was the first president of the Post Colonial period. America had for years depended on the subservient status of the countries it influenced. We deposed a democratically elected president in Iran and put in power a dictator that we supported and subsidized. We did that to preserve our flow of oil. Ultimately the people of Iran rose up and violently deposed this totalitarian government and put in place an Islamic regime that has become a pariah in world affairs. Carter spearheaded the return of the Panama Canal to its rightful country in stark contrast to the “We Built It We Paid For it” contingent of American Hegemony.
America had just endured the capitulation of the South Vietnamese Government. An artifact of French colonialism that America unwisely supported in the aftermath of World War II. We saw the world as two dimensional. Communists and Us. We did not see the multiple layers of complexity that governed regional conflicts and national aspirations throughout the world. These losses impacted our sense of national dignity. Carter paid the price.
God’s Irrepressible Sense of Humor at Work
It may be his last contribution to the political and moral conversation that he public mourning of this president will come at this time. An evangelical who taught Sunday School up until the end. A man who claims the Bible is his favorite book but does not attend church. A stark comparison between one term presidents.
They say God does not have a sense of humor. I respectfully disagree. Thank you, Mr. Carter for your service. God speed. Please put in a good word for us.