Keller: Jimmy Carter was a great American
The opinions expressed below are Jon Keller's, not those of WBZ, CBS News or Paramount Global.
BOSTON - What do we mean when we call someone a great American? The definition could start with the life story of the late Jimmy Carter.
Life of contradictions
As the first president to be born in a hospital, Carter arrived in 1924 as the modernization of American life and culture was hitting full swing. Segregation prevailed during his rural childhood in Plains, Georgia, but young Carter mixed with Black children and went on to become something of a civil rights champion. Plains High School didn't even have a twelfth grade, but Carter made it to the U.S. Naval Academy and became a rising star in the Navy's nuclear submarine program.
That ended when his father died young and Carter returned to Plains to run the family business, which he turned into a success. He worked his way up in Georgia politics, becoming a state senator and then governor, branding himself as an agent of modern-day thinking on issues like education and civil rights. Along the way, he broke whatever eggs he felt necessary to make the omelette – Carter criticized a primary opponent for backing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and only became a critic of racist political tactics after victory was secured.
The contradictions continued during his presidency. Carter won the first post-Watergate election by promising "I will never lie to you," But he put a sketchy crony in charge of the budget, and his 1982 memoir was so replete with falsehoods, the Washington Post's reviewer concluded, "Jimmy Carter has not kept faith." He was prescient on the need for federal leadership on education, energy and health care policy reform. But his political ineptitude crippled his agenda in Congress, despite Democratic control of both branches. He was tough on Russia after they invaded Afghanistan in 1979, but the misuse of US aid to rebels there was a precursor to our disastrous later involvement.
And while even critics unimpressed with his presidential performance have praised his decades of post-White House work for Habitat for Humanity and other charitable activities, Carter's blame-Israel-first approach to the Middle East was been less well-received.
What makes Jimmy Carter a great American?
So what makes Jimmy Carter a great American?
The work ethic. The striving to learn, improve and succeed. The devotion to family, community and country. The ability to care about others.
And the warts: the situational ethics, the bouts of narcissism, the moments of knee-jerk politics and thoughtless error.
Carter's term in office was marred by inflation, "malaise," and foreign policy crises. Most surveys of presidential greatness rank him poorly. But one by-product of modernity is how graphic descriptions of a person's flaws circle the globe while the good news about them struggles for oxygen.
If you think you can name a great American from the political arena who lacks a downside, go ahead and try. But if you acknowledge humankind's imperfections and honestly assess the upside of Jimmy Carter – scholar, patriot, humanitarian, good son, husband, father and citizen – there's no doubt he's a worthy study in what makes a great American great.
