At the Democratic National Convention in August 1976, one-term Democratic governor of Georgia Jimmy Carter made the case for his down-to-earth leadership.
“As I’ve said many times before, we can have an American president who does not govern with negativism and fear of the future, but with vigor and vision and aggressive leadership,” Carter said. “A president who’s not isolated from the people, but who feels your pain and shares your dreams and takes his strength and his wisdom and his courage from you.”
Carter died at age 100 Dec. 29, 2024, the longest-living president in US history.
At the time of his address, the then-relatively unknown one-term governor of Georgia was a dark horse for the Democratic Party’s nomination for president, having acquired the nickname “Jimmy Who?” during the campaign. Carter faced down Democratic Party bigwigs such as Arizona Representative Mo Udall, Alabama Governor George Wallace, California Governor Jerry Brown and Washington Senator Henry “Scoop” Jackson.
During the campaign, Carter invested heavily in grassroots campaigning in rural states, emphasizing his status as a relative political outsider and being aided by his former career as a peanut farmer in his hometown of Plains, Georgia. Above all, Carter promised to return a sense of morality and honesty to the Oval Office in the fallout of former President Richard Nixon’s resignation following the Watergate scandal.
Carter was born to humble beginnings, growing up in rural Georgia, attending public school in college and university and then going on to serve his country in the Navy. He remained faithful to his wife, Rosalynn, until her death after 77 years of marriage. Above all, remained a loyal and devoted Christian and dedicated his life to discipleship.
Even Carter’s fiercest critics never doubted his honesty and integrity in decision making, often citing him as “too good” or “too nice of a man” to be president of the United States due to their perception that he was “weak.”
That perception of Carter’s supposed weakness was nowhere to be seen when I visited the Carter Center on the first full day the former president lay in repose. Instead, there was an ode to a great man who loved his community and in turn had the country love him back. A diversely woven tapestry of thousands of people took time out of their Sunday afternoons to pay tribute to our nation’s 39th president, including 82-year-old Joann Watson from East Point, Georgia.
“He was so great — he was not only president, but he was a people person,” she said of Carter. Watson, who grew up in a segregated community in Clayton County, Georgia, said Carter’s record on equality for all and justice for all was what meant the most to her.
She added that Carter did not just live, but also served. “Like all of us, we should make a difference in this world before we leave — not just leave a name, but leave a legacy, and he did it so well.”
Stories about Carter’s kindness and approachability were also on display, as was a case with a story I overheard excitedly being told to those leaving their tributes at the front of the Carter Center’s welcome sign.
Ida Catlin recalled one morning, while plans for the Carter Center were being made, going on a walk and seeing a barrage of people in ominous clothing. As she approached them, one of them pointed out to her that Carter and his wife were walking nearby. She described the event as like receiving a Christmas gift.
An ecstatic Catlin approached the Carters and said hello to them, and they exchanged formalities.
“It was like I had won the lottery!” she said.
Catlin, a former teacher, said Carter’s care for the needy through organizations such as Habitat for Humanity and work center projects made a visible difference in the lives of students in the area.
“When those homes were built, you cannot imagine how happy- the children even acted better in school because they had something to be proud of,” Catlin said.
There is no weakness in the compassion, loyalty, faith, service, dignity and honesty Carter was known for. Carter’s character was his strength, and his selflessness and honesty — in all situations, in and out of office, high stakes or low — have cemented his legacy as a man of honor in the United States’ psyche. And in a world that prioritizes power and incentivizes corruption and tribalism, perhaps that’s the greatest lesson we can take from Carter’s life.
His legacy is a testament to the idea that the greatness of a leader is not defined by the size of their victories, the sphere of their influence nor the volume of their words. His belief in the dignity of all humanity and his faith in the greatness and love of God led him to touch many more lives than he could ever have imagined.
And for that, we thank you, President Carter.