President Carter: The White House Years by Stuart E. EizenstatMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
To be sure Jimmy Carter was not a perfect man. He could have better advanced his initiatives if he’d learned to work better with Congress, or indeed if he hadn’t presented a flurry of initiatives to begin with; if in a time when people were confused and struggling, he offered a hopeful vision instead f one characterized by sacrifice. That being said, Carter was a more consequential President than he’s been credit for. I remember the press coverage of that time well; how frequently unkind it was; how he would often be caricatured as weak when those who worked with him knew better.
His energy initiative, the peace he brokered between Israel and there greatest enemy Egypt, the Panama Canal treaty have had long-lasting benefit that have lasted to this day. His administration’s emphasis on human right helped save countless lives in Latin America. To that we can add that he saved both New York City and Chrysler from bankruptcy, and he appointed Paul Volcker to head the Federal Reserve, the man who arguably more than Ronald Reagan himself saved our country from economic disaster. On his watch, the Vice President Walter Mondale became a trusted partner and not the mere cipher all previous VPs had been.
This bio, written by his domestic policy adviser Stuart E. Eizenstat, while it gives Cater his due, takes care to emphasize the man’s flaws as well as his strengths. It manages to balance the blunders with his admirable successes. The constant theme of Carter’s Presidency was a willingness to risk short-term political costs for the nation’s long-term gain. On a personal note, several Washington State senators I only knew as names in the 1970’s take the stage as well, frequently to the frustration of the sitting President. Many of you will be unfamiliar with these names—Congressmen ‘Scoop’ Jackson, Warren Magnuson, Tom Foley, future Speaker of the US House, & Brock Adams, Carter’s Transportation Secretary before going on to be a one-term U.S. senator.
In the final summation, Jimmy Cater may have been imperfect, but he was and is a better man, a more moral man than a certain someday in the White House today.
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