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Joshua HutchinsonJimmy Carter- Waging PeaceIn The Post-Presidential PeriodJimmy Carter, president of the United States from 1976 through 1980. WorldCitizen from 1980. It is the thesis of Douglas Brinkley that it is the second title that ismore important in writing a history of Jimmy Carter than that of mere President of theUnited States of America. Brinkley chose to write The Unfinished Presidency beginningin 1980 on election day- when Jimmy Carter was voted out of office. As he says, “Carter was a better ex-president than he was president.” (page 218).Brinkley’s position is that Carter as the ex-president and activist achieved morethan Jimmy Carter, the president who was so mired in details that he never had a coherent policies, or strong staff. In the all-important post-presidential period, Carter created hisCarter Center, and worked for Habitat for Humanity, and Global 2000, among others.The Carter Center is a non-profit center based upon the precepts that made the CampDavid Accords a foreign policy success. It was created as a place for mediation in worldconflicts, and a venue for international conferences. Carter got involved in both Habitatfor Humanity and Global 2000 in order to improve living conditions, environmentalconditions, and political freedoms for the worlds poor.Reading about the 1980 campaign for me was especially striking; as I read, theaftermath of the 2000 campaign was playing itself out. I found that for a book written in1998, Brinkley described the 2000 campaign almost to a tee. Both were races between anincumbent (president and vice-president) micro-manager, and a self styled outsider whohad, shall we say, a less than full grasp on facts, the intricate workings of government,
 
reality, and other apparently unnecessary things. Also reminiscent of 2000, in whichGore’s concession speech was deemed by many to be his best speech of the campaign,Carter’s farewell address was called a masterpiece even by his critics.Throughout Reagan’s eight year term of office, he and Carter sometimes clashedmore violently than they did during the 1980 presidential campaign. Long after theelection was over and done with Carter stated that “allowing Ronald Reagan to become president was by far my biggest failure in office” (page 3). Such free speech was onlymade possible by the fact that he was no longer president, and there was no electoratethat he could not alienate. Brinkley shares Carter’s scorn of Reagan, declaring that while“the motto of Carter’s Oval Office had been Truman’s The Buck Stops Here; Reagan’swas Ignorance Is Bliss” (page 16). The obvious scorn of Reagan, and to a lesser extentBush is perfectly juxtaposed by Brinkley’s admiration for post-president Carter. I’mafraid that (if possible), Brinkley was too much against Reagan, and his ignorant theorieson missile defense, exploiting our natural resources, and a huge tax cut. However, I don’tknow enough about Reagan’s strong point(s) to make a judgment on how accuratelyReagan administration decisions were reported.Carter considered his greatest achievement as president the Camp David Accords.These in part set his post-presidential period’s agenda. Carter worked hard for peace inthe Middle East, gaining the respect and admiration of Arabs. Also a result of the CampDavid Accords was a friendship with Anwar-al Sadat that lasted until Sadat’s death.Sadat had a great effect on Carter- he thought of Sadat as his brother striving for peace inthe Middle East despite their difference in religion. Sadat’s death touched Carter in the
 
way that a death of a best friend often does; it was a time for introspection, and a time for reaffirming of faith.Carter’s religion is the guiding light in his life. He is a Deacon in his Baptistchurch in Plains, Georgia (the integrated church that broke away from the whites onlychurch during his term as president). A deep sense of Christian charity led not only to hisemphasis on human rights, but also on his affiliation with Amnesty International andHabitat for Humanity. Carter feels that it is easier to talk to, for instance, the Ortegas in Nicaragua because they are Christian, or Sadat and Begin during the Camp DavidAccords, because they were both deeply religious, even though one was a Muslim, andthe other a Jew. Although Carter held his religion as a private matter during his presidency, he was still criticized for being too idealistic- “policy from the pulpit”.While he had a very stiff relationship with Reagan, Carter and his predecessorsFord and Nixon had a much better relationship. Carter had a great sense of resentmenttowards Reagan because after he left office in 1981, Reagan on the whole treated Carter very shabbily. Reagan never sent people to brief Carter, or ask his opinions as Carter haddone to Ford and Nixon. Reagan also often blamed problems on Carter- he practically blamed Carter and Ford for the 1982 bombing in Beirut that killed over 200 US Marines.Carter and Ford, however, during Reagan’s tenure issued joint statements calling for anincreased emphasis on human rights, they co-chaired committees looking at Middle East peace, and US-Soviet relation. The three, Carter, Ford, and Nixon, issued a few jointstatements, and corresponded quite a bit. That post-presidential friendship is an exampleof real bipartisanship.
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