President Jimmy Carter

Dear Friends,

I have always thought that President Carter was a great President primarily because of his moral leadership, a trait completely absent in most presidential politicians today.  President Carter was wrongly maligned and criticized during his presidency and has not gotten the credit he is due for the incredible work he has done since then to make this world a better place.  I did not always agree with his political positions, but I always respected him for his honesty and moral integrity.

In The New York Times today, Nicholas Kristof wrote a wonderful column about President Carter  (here).  You really should read the entire piece, and I hope you do.  Just in case you don't, here are a few snippets.

in recent years it has been common to hear that he’s anti-Israel or anti-Semitic (This about the man whose Camp David accord ensured Israel’s future!).
At a time when “principled politicians” sometimes seem a null set, it’s remarkable how often Carter showed spine.
He has a new memoir, “A Full Life,” out this week, recounting that his father was a segregationist. Yet Jimmy Carter says he was the only white man in his town who refused to join the White Citizens’ Council, and he fought to integrate his church. At one point, after a racist slur was posted on his door, he considered giving up and moving away.
When he was inaugurated governor of Georgia, he declared, “I say to you quite frankly that the time for racial discrimination is over.” He then erected a portrait of Martin Luther King Jr. in the State Capitol.
But Carter was also a pioneer. He was the first to elevate human rights in foreign policy. He appointed large numbers of women, Latinos and blacks. He installed solar panels on the White House (President Reagan removed them). He established diplomatic relations with China.
After leaving the presidency, Carter could have spent his time on the golf course. Instead, he roamed the globe advocating for human rights and battling diseases from malaria to blinding trachoma.
Carter, the one-termer who was a pariah in his own party, may well have improved the lives of more people in more places over a longer period of time than any other recent president.

Thank you, President Carter for demonstrating what a moral President looks like and how much a selfless person dedicated to making the world better can succeed.

Thanks for reading and please comment,
The Unabashed Liberal