Budowsky: Jimmy Carter: A great man, a good president, and a patriot

The state of American politics is not as uplifting these days as it once was. So this seems a good time to write about something more hopeful — one of the most noble and worthy political leaders ever to lift our nation.

Former President James Earl Carter (D) was a great president and is a great man. He is a devout Christian, a patriotic American, a devoted husband and father, a charitable neighbor, and a powerful voice for human rights and democracy around the world. He is a man who spends every day trying to make his country, community and world a better place.

I was a first-year law student when I first met then-Gov. Carter in late 1974, at the Democratic Midterm Convention in Kansas City. Carter was finishing his days as governor of Georgia, beginning a run for president and campaigning for other Democrats.

At that time, Carter was polling at less than 1 percent — a cautionary tale for those who already seem to think they can predict the nominees for 2024. When I saw that nobody else was interested in talking to him at that time, I introduced myself. He asked me to sit down with him and give him any ideas I had about what his priorities should be after he was to become president in 1977.

When I suggested a code of ethics for the post-Nixon years (sound familiar?), he took pages of notes and asked me to call him after he became president. And yes, he said it like that — he was 100 percent certain it would happen.

Carter is most admired for his humanitarian good works, but I believe that historians will ultimately rate him a good president as well. Carter was the first American president to make a comprehensive and passionate commitment to a national program to combat climate change, through a program to develop alternative energy sources. This extraordinary legacy, far ahead of its time, will be given great credit by historians and environmentalists.

Carter as president made a Herculean commitment to human rights and democracy around the world. He stood up for human rights whether they were being violated by Soviet communists or right-wing dictatorships. And he supported democratic values around the world as much as any president could in the 1970s.

Carter as governor and president was a strong supporter of civil rights and equal rights in what was then referred to as the “New South.” He was an example to, and supporter of, other enlightened Southern Democrats working to emerge from the days of segregation.

Carter successfully negotiated the Camp David peace accords, one of the landmark moments in the history of Middle East peace. For his work negotiating the Camp David accords and the Panama Canal Treaty, and supporting human rights, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.

A graduate of the United States Naval Academy who served our country in uniform as the executive officer of a submarine, he sought as president to heal the wounds of the nation after the Vietnam War.

He also battled poverty from the White House. And as a private citizen, he deserves many lifetime achievement awards for the good and lasting works he has done in communities across the nation and in nations around the world. Among the great and timeless gifts he has given the world are the homes he has built with Habitat for Humanity and other groups, as well as the people he has inspired to clothe the needy, feed the hungry, and provide shelter to those in need.

Jimmy Carter is a man for all seasons. His long life has made the world a better place in countless ways, in countless communities, in countless nations, for countless families.  

Carter is the epitome of the public service and integrity in public life that Americans both seek and honor. He is a testament to the power of faith, goodwill, and generosity of spirit. He was a good president, and he is a great man who blesses our country by his presence every day.

Budowsky was an aide to former Sen. Lloyd Bentsen (D-Texas) and former Rep. Bill Alexander (D-Ark.), who was chief deputy majority whip of the House of Representatives.