J's Pages

Jimmy Carter is a man I did not respect when he was president. Of course, I was in high school at the time and was foolishly following the fashion of disrespecting authority. After his presidency and my adolescence, the more I heard about the man, the more I grew to like and respect him. But overall, I really didn't know all that much about him. So I was looking forward to getting to his biography and filling in the gaps in my knowledge. 

Mr. Alter tells the tale of a hard working perfectionist. The appeal of that protagonist--at least for me--varied as Carter's life unfolded. As a kid growing up as a working class farmer, and as a young man attending the Naval Academy and serving in the Navy after World War II, Carter was likable. When he returned to civilian life to run the family business, his appeal dimmed. A big reason for that was his inaction while the Civil Rights movement came to his backyard. His early political career was likewise tarnished, up until the point he was elected governor and surprised everyone by announcing that "the time for racial discrimination is over." (Mr. Alter puts forth the theory that Carter's later work for human rights stem is fueled by his regret for not doing more for civil rights back in the day.) 

As president, Jimmy Carter is portrayed as a political outsider who is bit too idealistic and ends up failing to make the compromises necessary to better achieve his goals. Of course, some things that plagued his administration, such as the economy or the Iran Hostage Crisis, were not of his making, and would have caused grief for any president. On the positive side, Mr. Alter makes case after case of things that Carter did accomplish which lacked immediate impact, but set the stage for later benefits. Sometimes his logic is a bit of a stretch, but that's bound to happen when folks are trying to interpret history. 

All in all, the portrait of Jimmy Carter in His Very Best is one of an exemplary man who could be a quite annoying at times. 

Check it out.
LibraryThing link

Labels: CheckItOut, PresidentialBioReadingList

// posted by John @ 6:15 PM