(ReliableNews.org) – President Jimmy Carter, the Democratic peanut farmer from Georgia, only served one term in the White House. He was defeated in 1980 by a charismatic California Republican named Ronald Reagan. Though he only held the office for four years, the former POTUS left behind an impressive legacy.
In February, the Carter family announced the 98-year-old former president was receiving hospice care at home. He wanted to live his final days surrounded by his loved ones in the place most comfortable for him.
https://t.co/1auzIG0yqy pic.twitter.com/JJQMWgg8DW
— The Carter Center (@CarterCenter) February 18, 2023
As President Carter’s life comes to an end, historians and political experts are weighing in on the legacy he’ll leave behind. He’s the longest-living former president in the history of the country and threw himself into humanitarian work upon leaving office. Well into his 90s, Carter was still helping to build homes with Habitat for Humanity.
Georgia College & State University professor and political scientist Nicholas Creel told Newsmax Carter didn’t try to stay politically relevant after he lost the election and left office. That allowed him to rise above the hyperpolarization of today’s political landscape. That doesn’t mean he was out of the loop completely. During former President Donald Trump’s administration, the 45th president spoke to Carter periodically to receive advice. Vice presidential historian Charles Denyer said the ailing POTUS’ “character and integrity will always give him high marks.”
History Professor David Greenberg told Rutgers Today that Carter’s presidency is known as being mediocre because of domestic issues like high unemployment and inflation. However, he had significant achievements, including giving the Panama Canal back to Panama. Carter also oversaw a peace deal between Egypt and Israel, known as the Camp David Peace Accords.
Denyer explained that many of the issues that came up during the Carter administration were really beyond his control, like the economic woes that started in the mid-1970s. He was still able to get a significant amount of legislation through Congress. Ultimately, the former president will leave a mixed bag as far as his presidential legacy is concerned, but everyone can agree he’s an incredible human being.
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