Jimmy Carter, what a blast from the past. The man generally thought of today as the best person ever after his presidency. I wish him well in his hospice care. He is often considered the worst president in history. I disagree. But, Trump replaced him in that category in many people's minds. I disagree with that, as well, I think Trump is the best president we have had in the modern era.
Then, of course, there are some who think Biden is the worst. That last I do agree with. Carter and Trump were anything but bad. Even though both were hampered by the bureaucracy surrounding them, something we now call the “Swamp” or “Deep State.” Whatever you call them, they were always there (see JFK assassination for reference)
Those two had every establishment politician and media organization against them. They are the only two presidents in the modern era to not start a new war. As a veteran of these wars (of Reagan, both Bushes, and Obama), I love that about them both. Trump and Carter are the only non-establishment presidents ever to make it there. And no one in power wanted either one of them.
I turned 18 in 1973, complete with a draft card (great for getting into bars, the birthdate was easy to change) and very anti-Vietnam War), but my first presidential election wasn't until 1976. I voted for Carter. I voted for Carter again in 1980. I actually liked the “malaise speech” where Carter was 100% right. Note that I also voted for Trump in 2020. Right now, I am a Trump guy for 2024. I think DeSantis is way to close to the Swamp. I will admit that I think RFK Jr is interesting. I am watching him.
My interest in Jimmy Carter comes and goes, but really came back in a big way with the publication of Kai Bird's book, The Outlier: The Unfinished Presidency of Jimmy Carter. Published in 2021, I found it an outstanding and fair book that provided valuable insight into Carter's presidency. After that, I bought a used copy of Carter's memoir, Keeping Faith: Memory of a President. This was published in 1982 and is a good, if rather disjointed, read.
First, a word about memoirs. Today, they just ain't what they used to be. The first current era memoir I read was by Tommy Franks, who led the invasion that started the Iraq war. To appreciate memoirs, you don't have to like or agree with the person writing it. The Franks’ memoir was very superficial. I also read Dick Cheney's and Don Rumsfeld's memoirs.
Today, you can't be published if you use too many words and hundreds of pages of footnotes are frowned upon. All three of the latter memoirs are worth reading and have interesting things to impart, but they really aren't documents than are a major part of the historical record. Although, I recommend Cheney's memoir because the dude is funny, Otherwise I am not a fan. But it is interesting to read about the times I lived through and, in some cases participated in.
The best memoirs were written intentionally to be part of the historical record, with footnotes everywhere. Sure, they presented the author's side of stories, but such information is important and helps journalists (good ones) and historians (good ones) compare and contrast and even see the source documents. Back in the day, presidents and high level figures retired and wrote memoirs. Churchill comes to mind. Two of the best relatively recent ones are Richard Nixon's, The Memoirs of Richard Nixon, and Kissinger's multi-volume memoirs. One of my favorite memoirs is Jefferson Davis' two volume The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government. It is super well written and gives you insights you will never get anywhere else.
Which brings me back to Carter's memoir. It is a hybrid between the old style detailed writing and footnoting and the modern “tell it short or you will lose your audience that expects 1 minute soundbites.” It was a good read, but leaves a lot to desire.
So, you might ask, what is similar between Trump and Carter and their treatment by both establishment politicians and their media. In Carter's day, the media was much less diverse, they were all establishment, from the Washington Post to the New York Times to Time Magazine to CBS/NBC/ABC. Not even CNN was on the scene back then.
One major thing in Carter’s day that would absolutely never happen is the censorship of a US president. This, of course, happened to Trump and it one of the most shameful things to have ever happened in this country. That was simply beyond the pale. It can never be forgiven in a country with free speech as the first amendment.
The major sin of both Trump and Carter is that neither were establishment shills. They were outsiders. Many of the people they brought in with them were also outsiders. Carter and his people were openly hostile to the Washington, DC, “Swamp” cocktail parties and people who did their business this way. That included both the politicians, like Teddy Kennedy, and the media royalty like Katherine Graham.
The Carter administration and all its “redneck” members like Hamilton Jordan were not attending all these parties that were required to get the media to at least get you recognized as legitimate. It never really happened with Carter and the media hated him for it. And, their tactics worked as these jerks controlled the media.
Even Teddy Kennedy and Carter were enemies and it could be argued that this was the last time that universal healthcare could have happened, but both Carter and Kennedy allowed this to pass because they were at odds with one another. That was shameful and makes me hate Kennedy (Chappaquidick aside) and Carter for not playing along on at least that issue, but the media did not like Jimmy Carter and it showed and was a major reason he lost in 1980 to Ronald Reagan. The myth that has grown up in conservative circles around “Saint Reagan” is simply not true.
Trump got it worse than Carter for sure, but it happened much the same. Trump would not play the “Swamp” games. Clinton, Bush, Obama, Biden’s handlers, all did and, of course, the media is completely covering up Joe Biden's dementia and terrible policy decisions. His people are all playing the “swamp” game. Yet, Trumps policy decisions were generally quite good. As I said before, no new wars, just that is huge. He also actually talked to adversary country's leaders, such as North Korea. That is what good presidents do.
But, the establishment politicians and the mainstream media was all-in on destroying Trump. Fake charges on Russian collusion, his role that didn't happen on January 6th, You name it, they charged him with it, all with zero evidence. The same thing happened with Carter, even though it was a gentler time. It still happened. And it got Reagan elected.
I won't even get into all the other things Trump has had to deal with. Yet he is still standing strong. Jimmy Carter stood tall, as well, until he couldn't after his loss to Reagan. I could say more about Carter and how he got things right before the Reagan greed platform overtook him. Trump has everyone against him. Our politics and nominating process for years has ensured that an establishment candidate make it past the outsiders. After Jimmy Carter, the DNC actually changed the rules so no one like Carter could ever get the nomination again. You can be sure the RNC is doing its best to do the same. Look out RFK Rr.