Jimmy Carter passed after almost 2 years in hospice. RIP
Jimmy Carter passed after almost 2 years in hospice. RIP
Learning this here. Heard him speak in 1992.
Describing him as a good man seems totally inadequate and yet complete at the same time.
He held in there until he hit 100. Good job Jimmy.
Sad news but not unexpected. He had a good long life.
He did a lot of good.
Quite possibly the finest Former President this country has ever had.
Said another way, I like the way he defined the role of Former President.
This popped up while digging up other thread but to copy and paste,
The Onion.com really nailed it with their list of presidential reviews.
"Thirty-ninth president of the United States, whose four years in office were somehow the least impressive of his entire life. A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, prosperous farmer, nuclear engineer, reformist, and governor of Georgia prior to becoming president in 1977, Carter strangely hit the most pronounced lull in his career during his single term as the nation’s chief executive. While his presidency was marked by occasional successes such as the Camp David Accords, Carter’s professional life really took off again when he left office. In these years, he founded a human rights nonprofit that won him the Nobel Peace Prize, went on international diplomatic missions, and became the public face of Habitat for Humanity, worthy accomplishments that made his four years as president of the United States a blip in an otherwise distinguished lifetime of public service."
Rest in peace, President Carter. May this be a far, far better rest that you go to than you have ever known.
The Onion article didn't get to a matter 25 years before his presidency. In 1952 a nuclear reactor at Chalk River Ontario suffered a partial meltdown and the US Navy requested participation in the cleanup as training for nuclear submarine issues. Among the personnel was a lieutenant named Jimmy Carter. Jimmy Carter was in the building with his crew and sitting back in some safe area.
We have lost one of the good ones. The world has lost a really good man. His presidency was not one of the highlights of his life but un like so many former presidents he did not let it define his life. I would go as far as to assert the he actively tried to have it not define who he was.
Rest in peace Mr. President Carter. Thanks for all the good you brought to this world.
In reply to Rons :
And don't forget that during the Three Mile Island meltdown and atmospheric air nuclear release, he showed up (on sight) and talked to the staff, government, and the public.
A great human being. RIP
President Carter had a profound impact on my life. I attended Emory University where he was an emeritus professor after his presidency. Every year he would host a town hall for incoming freshmen. No one else allowed in, just the eager 18 year olds and Jimmy. As a 9-13 year old during his presidency, he was the first one that I was aware of in the context of "grown-up" things. I saw interest rates, gas prices, inflation, and the general malaise of the USA and from afar in the midwest, had the same general opinion that he wasn't the best president. I got into that town hall meeting, and there he was, just a pair of blue jeans and a simple chair on stage, willing to answer whatever questions were thrown at him for two hours. His answers were so compelling, so thoughtful, so full of so many moving parts. Explaining why we took whatever action in one part of the world, and why that decision was carefully weighed and how it impacted relations with other countries, other strategies. He made me understand the "bigger picture" and made me realize that no one at that level of politics is just a "big idiot" or "dumb politician."
RIP, James Carter.
The US Airforce designed the B-1A high altitude, high speed, swept wing cruise missile carrier bomber with no usefulness after the USSR's anti aircraft missile advancements. They then wanted to build the B-1B, a stealthier and slower low level version. Jimmy canceled the program because he new that around the corner, they where designing the B-2 stealth bomber. Ronny Raygun didn't want to wait and forced the B-1B into production wasting all of that money and time, and it's only lasted 35 years.
The B-52 is scheduled to fly for something like 100 years. It's only got 37 more years to go to meet that goal. 
Edit: I think I'm wrong. Jimmy canceled the B-1A and Ronny brought us the B-1B. Sorry.
If anyone can find it, he wrote an article for Road and Track about his experiences attending a Can-Am race at Road Atlanta and a NASCAR race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
When you fly on an airplane for less than the cost of driving, thank President Carter for deregulation!
Good man. Terrible President. I came of age during that time and I remember how dismal the country was then.
And lest we forget the family tree:
My grandfather was serving in Congress during the Carter presidency.
His description of Carter's presidency was something to the effect of, "Carter was inept at getting Congress to fall in line because he talked to them like he knew better than them because he did."
RIP. He was a good man who discovered that the Presidency was not the job for a good man.
Guys at work were talking about how dumb he was for signing a treaty to "give away" the Panama Canal and looked at me cross-eyed when I mentioned that he may have signed it but he didn't ratify it😉, and that there were actually two treaties: one to "give it away", and one to allow us to defend it's neutrality in perpetuity. That second one came in handy when "that a-hole Noriega" (same folks, same quotes) stopped being our buddy.
The history of the Panama Canal, the Cold War, our involvement with guys like Noriega in Central America....all interesting things to read about in declassified documents available online from the National Archives.
https://www.archives.gov/research/foreign-policy/panama-canal
Sad news–can’t say it’s unexpected but still sad.
Also a music fan.
David S. Wallens said:Sad news–can’t say it’s unexpected but still sad.
Also a music fan.
Good point. I don't have time to watch this right now but here's a couple of pictures of Carter with one of his close friends. You might recognize him, he's still touring.
One of my favorite photographs of him is him campaigning in 76 in an Allman Brothers T shirt .
Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) said:David S. Wallens said:Sad news–can’t say it’s unexpected but still sad.
Also a music fan.
Good point. I don't have time to watch this right now but here's a couple of pictures of Carter with one of his close friends. You might recognize him, he's still touring.
I was showing these pictures around at work, then took a dog's temperature. The dog doesn't have a fever, this was the result.
I said it was Willie's fault.
Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) said:Good point. I don't have time to watch this right now but here's a couple of pictures of Carter with one of his close friends. You might recognize him, he's still touring.
Emmylou Harris is still touring too.
As a kid growing up in Georgia, I saw him all over the place. President Carter and Rosalynn on the kiss cam at a Braves game well into their 80's was a special memory I won't forget. Habitat for humanity, random church events, walking on the street in Atlanta....I know he had Secret Service detail but that guy was just out in public all the time solo it seemed like. Funnily enough my earliest memory of him was my dad (Vietnam vet) despising him for pardoning draft dodgers and that's all that ever got brought up when he was in the news. Fair enough. As an adult looking back at all the things he did for GA and his local community, I don't think we've ever had a dude that tried to walk the walk more than him. I know LOTS of people that disagreed with his politics (me included) and yet had massive respect for him as a person.
Ran across an article on some of his positive achievements as President on science/tech/environmental issues. Note that he had computers with telecoms on his campaign planes in the '70s, that would've been a bleeding-edge feature on even a military plane at the time!
https://www.theregister.com/2024/12/30/jimmy_carter_died/
That article also reminded me that he tried to get the US moving off of fossil fuels - mainly in response to the OPEC oil embargo, but partially due to early concerns about global warming that sound like they could've been stated yesterday:
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