AFTER A PR ESIDENCY BESET BY CRISIS, A SINGULAR LEADER BECAME AN ICON OF SERV ICE
JIMMY CARTER 1924–2024
‘Jimmy Carter is the only person in history for whom the presidency was a stepping stone.’
—JAMES LANEY
Jimmy CarTer was noT a PresidenT of The first rank, but he managed by dint of unceasing effort to become an iconic world leader, with an inspiring, if often contentious, legacy as a dogged peacemaker. His presidency—beset by a horrible economy, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and the seizure of American hostages in Iran— was a stunning political failure but a greater substantive success than was recognized when he was crushed for re-election by Ronald Reagan in 1980. In today’s world of perpetual military intervention, it’s striking that not a single bomb was dropped or shot fired in combat by American forces on Carter’s watch. His leadership helped prevent at least five wars, and the Camp ...