When Ronald Reagan inflicted a humiliating defeat on Jimmy Carter in the landslide election of 1980, the latter looked set for “a postpolitical life in obscurity”, says The Conversation. After a tumultuous period, most Americans were happy to put the Carter years firmly behind them – a presidency marked by stagflation and persistent unemployment at home, and frightening events abroad.
The 1979 Iranian Revolution led to sharp increases in energy costs and the infamous American hostage crisis. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan the following year “contributed to the atmosphere of chaos”. Carter’s seemingly handwringing response didn’t help. He struggled to deal with Congress, while efforts to push for social reform fell short. In that year’s presidential debate, Reagan summed up a nation’s frustration with Carter’s long-winded style with a sound-bite. “There you go again…”
Jimmy Carter's 100th: a nod to his legacy
Forty-four years ago, few would have predicted the outbreak of national affection that greeted Carter’s 100th birthday on 1 October. True, he has made history as the first former US president ever to achieve that milestone. And there’s “a fundamental decency about him” that “stands as an important legacy” – some argue Carter achieved more with his charity work after the White House than he ever did in office.
MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Yet current events are also forcing a reappraisal of his time in power. Arguably the greatest achievement of a president who sought “to implement a human rights-based foreign policy” was the 1978 Camp David peace accords, which established “normal and friendly relations” with Israel and Egypt after 31 years of hostilities. Historian Rick Perlstein paints him as a subtle negotiator. “He knew just when to risk a scathing remark and when to say nothing at all; when to horse-trade and when to hold fast, ever reassessing the balance between the visionary and the pragmatic.”
By any standards, Carter has enjoyed an extraordinary life, says historian Dominic Sandbrook in The Times, “from his early days as a peanut farmer, submariner and nuclear engineer to a much-photographed kiss with Leonid Brezhnev, defeat by Ronald Reagan and the Nobel peace prize”.
Born in 1924 in Plains, Georgia, he grew up without electricity or running water. But his cleverness and ambition saw him join the US Naval Academy, where he worked on the nuclear submarine programme. Carter returned home to farm, married his local sweetheart and eventually entered politics – becoming governor of Georgia in 1971. When he ran for president five years later, commentators joked about his “weirdo factor”. But, in the aftermath of Watergate, he turned his “unfashionable Southern Baptist background” into an asset as the antithesis of government corruption.
What's next for the centenarian?
Carter inherited an economy still reeling from the oil crisis of 1973, and critics contend his ineptitude exacerbated the impact of the subsequent 1979 oil shock – when a crippling shortage pushed the US economy into what was then the most severe recession since the Great Depression. It’s a moot point, says The Wall Street Journal, but Carter did have “one significant economic success”. His “deregulation agenda” – which broke government regulatory monopolies in trucking, airlines, railroads, natural gas and communications – is often overlooked, but was a fundamental step towards “making the economy more efficient”.
Now confined to a hospice in Plains, the former president was last seen in public in November last year, when he attended his wife Rosalynn’s funeral. The Carter family reports Jimmy is still “emotionally engaged” and nurtures one final political ambition: to make it to election day. “I’m trying to live to vote for Kamala Harris.”
This article was first published in MoneyWeek's magazine. Enjoy exclusive early access to news, opinion and analysis from our team of financial experts with a MoneyWeek subscription.
-
Metals and AI power emerging marketsThis year’s big emerging market winners have tended to offer exposure to one of 2025’s two winning trends – AI-focused tech and the global metals rally
-
8 of the best houses for sale with beautiful fireplacesThe best houses for sale with beautiful fireplaces – from a 15th-century cottage in Kent to a 17th-century palazzo in Oxfordshire
-
Metals and AI power emerging markets
This year’s big emerging market winners have tended to offer exposure to one of 2025’s two winning trends – AI-focused tech and the global metals rally
-
King Copper’s reign will continue – here's whyFor all the talk of copper shortage, the metal is actually in surplus globally this year and should be next year, too
-
The coming collapse in the jobs marketOpinion Once the Employment Bill becomes law, expect a full-scale collapse in hiring, says Matthew Lynn
-
Luana Lopes Lara: The ballerina who made a billion from prediction marketsLuana Lopes Lara trained at the Bolshoi, but hung up her ballet shoes when she had the idea of setting up a business in the prediction markets. That paid off
-
Renewable energy funds are stuck between a ROC and a hard placeRenewable energy funds were hit hard by the government’s subsidy changes, but they have only themselves to blame for their failure to build trust with investors
-
The war dividend – how to invest in defence stocks as the world arms upWestern governments are back on a war footing. Investors should be prepared, too, says Jamie Ward
-
Did COP30 achieve anything to tackle climate change?The COP30 summit was a failure. But the world is going green regardless, says Simon Wilson
-
Who is Christopher Harborne, crypto billionaire and Reform UK’s new mega-donor?Christopher Harborne came into the spotlight when it emerged he had given £9 million to Nigel Farage's Reform UK. How did he make his millions?
