In Memoriam. Jimmy Carter.

James "Jimmy" Carter died on December 29. He was, of course, the 39th President of the United States.

I'm late to noting his passing and therefore everyone has already read tributes to him.  Even Donald Trump, to my surprise, lauded him and indicated he'd attend his funeral. Carter did, it might be noted, feel that the early criticism of Trump was unfair.  I don't know what he thought about Trump later.

I've listed to a lot of the audio obits and read a few, and what I'll note is that, as so often, they approach being hagiography and tend to omit somethings that should be of real interest.

I'll start with the biggest.  Carter was a failure as a President.  Coming into office with an American public sick of inflation (sound familiar?) and disgusted with the Republicans due to Watergate (sound unfamiliar?), and also fatigued by the Vietnam War, he really didn't accomplish much.  He proved incapable of tackling inflation, which would fall to Reagan, and the US military, probably not surprisingly, lapsed into a weakened state, which Reagan also would address.  

While he was not a success as a President, he was one in life, however.

Carter, it was often noted, was from a peanut farm in Georgia.  What's oddly less often mentioned is that he was a Naval Academy graduate and a submariner.  To enter the submarine service you must be an engineer and a genius.  He was both.  He may be the smartest man to occupy the office since the Second World War. 

He was certainly the most moral.

He was a dedicated Baptist Christian, which nobody could rationally doubt.  The degree of his devotion was such that its almost surprising that he was elected, particularly as he gave an interview to Playboy during the height of its influence, noting how deeply Christian he was.  After he lost his bid for reelection, he devoted his remaining long life to public service, often to the poor.

Like the law, politics is an occupation that frequently initiates people into compromising their morals and attracts a certain percentage of people who are willing to do so.  And power, as is so often noted, corrupts.  Carter was unique in that he was a deeply moral man and the office did not change him.