Jimmy Carter The President

Source:The Movie Gourmet with a look at the American Experience documentary about Jimmy Carter.

"In PBS’ American Experience documentary Jimmy Carter, The New Yorker writer and former Carter speechwriter Henrik Hertzberg says:

Jimmy Carter was what the American people always SAY they want – above politics, determined to do the right thing regardless of political consequences, a simple person who doesn’t lie, a modest man, not someone with a lot of imperial pretenses.  That’s what people say they want.  And that’s what they got with Jimmy Carter." 

From The Movie Gourmet

"Jimmy Carter's story is one of the greatest dramas in American politics. In 1980, he was overwhelmingly voted out of office in a humiliating defeat. But over the subsequent two decades, he became one of the most admired statesmen and humanitarians in America and the world. 

Through interviews with the people who knew him best, JIMMY CARTER traces his rapid ascent in politics, dramatic fall from grace and unexpected resurrection, including Carter family home movies and a rare film sequence of Carter's final hours in the Oval Office, when he and his advisors waited in vain for the release of the Americans who had been held hostage in Tehran for 444 days." 

Source:American Experience Jimmy Carter

From The American Experience

When I saw this American Experience documentary about Jimmy Carter back in the spring or summer of 2003 on PBS, for the first time, this Hendrik Hertzberg (who was President Carter's speechwriter from 1979-81) quote about Jimmy Carter, stuck with me. Perhaps the only memorable quote from the documentary from the people they interviewed. Other than what Vice President Walter Mondale said about high interest rates and inflation, high energy costs, the lack of available oil and gas in the economy, was bringing real pain to the America people. That they weren't imagining that. 

When a political candidate, especially a politician, tells the voters exactly what he plans to do as President of the United States and then you vote for him, he gets elected and 2-3 years later you don't like what he's doing, it's not working out as well as you had hoped, don't the voters have at least some responsibility in that? It's not like they can honestly say: 

"Well, we didn't know that President Carter wanted us to conserve to help bring down prices and the cost of living, and was trying to balance the budget to reduce inflation and interest rates". 

You might not like what Jimmy Carter ran on when he ran for President in 1976. But that's why we have a democracy so people can vote for the candidate they like, or at least prefer. 

It's one thing to be lied to and to be misled and just be sold a pile of junk at full price, not knowing what you were buying, because it look so beautiful when you bought it. But when the voters know what they're getting ahead of time as far as what the candidate said he would do, if elected, and then he tries to do exactly that and even has some success at getting done what he said he would do, once he's in office, the voters bare a lot of the responsibility there. 

It's as the great political satirist George Carlin said about American voters and politicians, that was featured on The New Democrat 3 weeks ago: 

"Everybody complains about politicians. Everybody says they suck. Well, where do people think these politicians come from? They don’t fall out of the sky. They don’t pass through a membrane from some other reality.

They come from American parents, American families, American homes, American schools, American churches, American businesses, American universities, and they’re elected by American citizens.

This is the best we can do, folks. This is what we have to offer. It’s what our system produces. Garbage in…garbage out.

If you have selfish, ignorant citizens…if you have selfish, ignorant citizens, you’re gunna get selfish, ignorant leaders. And term limits ain’t gunna do ya any good. You’re just gunna wind up with a brand new bunch of selfish, ignorant Americans [leaders].

So, maybe…maybe…maybe it’s not the politicians who suck. Maybe something else sucks around here. Like…the public. Yeah, the public sucks! That’s a nice campaign slogan for somebody: “The public sucks! Fuck hope! Fuck hope!”

Because if it is really just the fault of the politicians then where are all the other bright people of conscience? Where are all the bright, honest, intelligent Americans ready to step in and save the nation and lead the way?"

You can see the rest of George Carlin's standup about American politicians and voters on The New Democrat

This post is not about Jimmy Carter the President as far as how successful he was as President, or just as a politician when he was President. But more about the character of Jimmy Carter as President. 

To paraphrase Hendrik Hertzberg: American voters during every election cycle (perhaps not so much now, but definitely pre-social media) say they want the President to be honest, to be above politics, to put the country above their own political ambitions and political party. But then they tend to vote for the person who is really just trying to get elected, or reelected, and is more than willing to say and do things, just to try to get reelected and get past the current political moment that they're in. 

American voters tend to say that they want a saint. But they vote for used car salesman instead, who advertise Ford Escorts as being better cars than Cadillacs. Not saying that James E. Carter (also known as Jimmy Carter) was a saint. But he was about as honest and decent of a man, perhaps the most honest and decent man who was ever President of the United States. And he never got rewarded, or even got any credit for that. Even though that's what American voters tend to say that's what they want as President of the United States. 

You can follow me on Threads and Blue Sky.

You can also see this post on WordPress.