DOUG SCHOEN: Jimmy Carter provided a model for the post-presidency

with former president Jimmy Carter passed away with 100, we can now take the full measure of a man. The legacy of the 39th president is a model for all of us, regardless of party, ideology, worldview or life situation. Quite simply, Jimmy Carter led a heroic life and for many represents all that is right in public service. It was a life well lived.

I say this as a fellow Democrat who disagreed with Carter on his policies in the Middle East and in countries like Venezuela. But I say this not to criticize the former president, but to emphasize his unwavering commitment to principles, integrity and unfailingly doing what he believed was the right thing to do.

JIMMY CARTER REMEMBERED FOR HIS INTEGRITY AND LOYALTY TO HUMANITY

Carter’s life reads like a storybook. He was a military leader and hero, a successful farmer and businessman, and a governor who was the initiator of civil rights. He did all this while understanding the concerns of what are now known as ultra-MAGA voters in America. Perhaps his greatest achievement was winning the presidency in 1976 on a simple program of convincing the American people that he was an outsider, a fresh face, and someone who, in his words, would “never lie to you.”

His single term in the White House saw many great successes as well as well-documented failures. The most successful was in the Middle East with the signing of the Camp David Agreement. He restored the Panama Canal and signed a nuclear arms reduction agreement with Russia. His failures were primarily the economic crisis that gave birth to the term “stagflation”, and, of course, the Iranian hostage crisis and failed rescue attempt. His tenure also saw an energy crisis that burdened Americans with skyrocketing gas prices and long lines at gas stations.

It is also important to know that Carter was a man of faith and God. He was aloof in his religious beliefs, but also compassionate and committed in the most humble ways possible. He taught Sunday school in his hometown of Plains, Ga., both before and after his presidency, with little or no publicity.

Carter’s marriage to Rosalynn was a model for us all. It was a partnership that lasted 77 years, seemingly without stress or disagreement, but with a common commitment to the private and public values ​​they both shared and a desire to advance their worldview and values.

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But probably the most important thing to note is that Carter’s greatest achievement, after losing overwhelmingly to Ronald Reagan in 1980, was the founding of the Carter Center, dedicated to promoting world peace. He could have continued to work on the Israeli-Palestinian crisis. He has led peace negotiations around the world, helped oversee contested elections and political changes, and worked to eradicate the scourge of highly contagious and infectious diseases.

This post-presidency model was and is something that set the stage for what others, including former President Bill Clinton, did after the presidency. After leaving the White House, Carter sparked a period of extrajudicial and judicial activism that led to the 1999 Presidential Medal of Freedom and the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize.

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But as I reflect on President Carter’s life, perhaps his last major decision, to go to the hospital in February 2023, sends a powerful and profound message about end-of-life care and the decisions we will all inevitably have to make.

In accepting the final chapter in his life with such grace and dignity, the former Carter has done something I thought was almost impossible: He has elevated his own status and served as a role model for us all while providing a degree of leadership and service that, I think to be fair, unparalleled in American political and civic life.

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