The LuLac Edition #5, 179, October 1st, 2024

 

JIMMY CARTER @ 100

 

I first heard of Jimmy Carter in the spring of 1973 when Watergate was breaking, and the Presidential election of 1972 was only a few scant months in the rearview mirror. The story stated that the former Georgia Governor was making appearances in Iowa to run for President the United States.

In 1976.

More than three years away. I thought this guy was a crack pot. Iowa wasn’t New Hampshire and just what exactly was “a caucus?”

The years flew by as I pursued my degree in Government and Communications from King’s College. 1976 came and as a senior, my guy was still Hubert Humphrey until I heard otherwise. But Carter intrigued me. A one term Governor going up heavy hitters like Ed Muskie, Henry Jackson, Hubert and a plethora of other candidates with more experience was going to take some doing.

The night of Iowa came and the results were:

Carter 27%

Bayh    13%

Harris    9%

Udall      6%.

Carter was first among all the humans. Undecided came in first place though at 37%. But Carter who essentially lived in Iowa for all those years rode that victory to New Hampshire and other states. He had a few bumps along the way, California Governor Jerry Brown was nipping at his heels and people were persuading Hubert to come back one more time but the old Happy Warrior saw a new generation taking over. The disabled George Wallace in a wheelchair was only a nominal threat to Carter and was a not so favorable candidate compared to the Georgia Governor.

Before the Pennsylvania primary Carter came to town. He stayed at the old Host Motel and I was on the national press bus as he traveled to places in the Wilkes Barre Area. When he shook your hand, you knew it. I saw him as he worked the crowds, looking intently into the eyes of the enamored, curious and faithful.

The 1976 campaign was the first presidential campaign in which the primary system was dominant. However, most of the Democratic candidates failed to realize the significance of the increased number of primaries, or the importance of creating momentum by winning the early contests. Jimmy Carter, who was virtually unknown at the national level, leveraged his obscurity to run as an "outsider" to Washington. Carter's plan was to run in all of the primaries and caucuses, beginning with the Iowa caucuses, and build up momentum by winning "somewhere" each time primary elections were held.

Carter breezed through the primaries and won the nomination before the New York convention.  He picked Walter Mondale as his running mate and won a squeaker of an election over incumbent Jerry Ford. His selection of Mondale came after a series of summertime auditions in Plains, Georgia amid softball games and barbeques. While he was doing that, his son Chip visited the northern states and made a stop at WVIA TV and Radio where I interviewed him.

The Carter Presidency was marred by some miscues in staffing and not dealing with traditional Washington, D.C. Carter had rampant inflation, (nothing like today’s) an energy crisis, and then of course the hostage takeover. Running for re-election he came to LuLac land once more speaking at Pittston Area High School

He lost to Ronald Reagan and retreated back to Plains where he was in debt and depressed. But in typical Carter character he bounced back by helping foreign countries establish democratic governments, building houses through Habitat for humanity and making his library a center for policy discussions.

Carter is ranked #26 by some experts. But there might be a reexamination of his four years. The hallmark of his Presidency was the act that as a candidate he changed the way elections for the top job were conducted. As President he adhered to his promise that he would never lie to the American people. He was regarded as a good, decent man who tried his best.

In the end, in this era of lies and a visible assault on all things democratic in this country by the Trumpanzees and the Republican party that supports it,  Carter’s star shines brightly and I dare say with honor.

At the century mark, he’s led a good land long ife. He and the country he loved couldn’t ask for anything more.