Jimmy Carter Was My First and Second Presidential Vote

Unlike some of my fellow high school classmates, I did not turn 18 until after I had already started college.  My birthday fell six days before the registration deadline in Arizona for the November, 1976 election and six days after the Vietnam War draft registration requirement expired.  How lucky is that?  

The Nixon Watergate scandal was still fresh in the minds of voters, along with the pardon of Nixon by President Ford, whom he had appointed to the Vice Presidency after Agnew's resignation.  We had a long discussion in Civics class in high school about whether a deal had been struck that would elevate Ford to the Presidency if Nixon were impeached and removed, which looked very likely.  Nixon's resignation made it look even more like a deal, and the Civics class was, by a two to one margin, convinced of it.  

After my classes were over on my birthday, I headed to the nearest county clerk's office, which was just a few blocks off the campus of the small, Southern Baptist-related college I attended, and registered to vote as a Democrat.  Long before that day, I was determined to vote for whomever the Democrats nominated, not only because I thought Ford was bumbling and inept, and because he had obstructed justice by abusing the pardon power of the Presidency to get Nixon off the hook, but because by then, the study of American History, Government and Economics was still fresh in my mind and I had developed a sense of political identity that had very little in common with Republicans. 

And no, my high school history and government teachers were not responsible for that.  If I were to guess, I'd say that both my high school government/economics teacher and my American history teacher were Republicans.  But they taught us to use our critical thinking skills, be observant, read, watch the news and make up our own mind.  I grew up in a small town, in a working class home where hard work applied to both making a living and what happened in school.  My Dad was an air conditioning mechanic who, like most of the people in our town, worked for the Department of Defense on a military base, but when he worked in the private sector, he was a union member.  On my Mom's side of the family, there were steel mill workers and carbon plant employees.  So there was that  

But it was the way Jimmy Carter lived out his Christian faith that made the difference for me. Few of the men who have served as President of the United States have identified so closely with an Evangelical faith, and Carter was only the second who was a member of a Southern Baptist church.  He clarified and presented himself as a "born-again" Christian, and the values he preached were also the values reflected in his life.  His challenge to those who have attended his Sunday School class at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains over the years has always been to live in such a way that faith does something to benefit others, not that its some kind of pie in the sky by and by.  

That was his Presidency in a nutshell, finding ways to benefit the people he believed he was elected to serve.  His faith motivated his actions, but he respected the conscience and religious liberty of others.  The Camp David Accords, which I consider to be his greatest achievement as President, a historic achievement, came about because those involved sensed the respect he had for their perspective and even though there were Arab and Israeli leaders who were skeptical, were willing to sit down with Carter and talk, and eventually come to an agreement that both sides signed, and which is still holding today, in spite of constant tensions in the region.  

It was the extremist Islamic regime in Iran's capture and holding of Americans as hostages that cost Carter the support he needed for re-election.  But what does it say about the strength and integrity of Carter's convictions and his Presidency that an extremist, radicalized Islamic dictatorship chose to make Carter the symbol of their hatred for America, and waited until Reagan was in office to release the hostages?  When did we ever evaluate a Presidency as 'failed' when it was opposed by a radical, extremist Islamic regime?  That is, as far as I am concerned, a sign of the effectiveness of the Carter Administration's foreign policy, and a sign that the radical Islamic regime in Iran saw Reagan as a pushover. 

Politics are a matter of opinion.  No President is perfect.  As I look back at Carter's administration, I don't see anything there that warrants calling him anything less than a good presidency, and considering its accomplishments and achievements, a great President.  After leaving office, he dedicated his life to helping others.  His work and contributions to Habitat for Humanity characterizes his challenge to his Sunday school class attendees to make their life count by giving someone else a hand up.  The work that has been done around the world through the Carter Center, which he established, and which he has financially supported, characterizes the man well beyond his political roles as Governor of Georgia and President of the United States.  

Thank you, President Carter for all you have done, and for the example you have set.  We love you.