Note: This post was automatically generated from John’s weekly newsletter, The Daly Grind. If you encounter broken links or images, you can go here to read from the original newsletter: Read More
It was kind of overshadowed by the flood of major news stories this past week, but former U.S. president Jimmy Carter just turned a remarkable 100 years-old. I’m not going to do a deep dive into his biography, political career, or historical significance in today’s newsletter; there are lots of people far more qualified for that, and plenty of such pieces that were published this week to commemorate the milestone. Instead, I figured I’d offer some personal, anecdotal perspective on the man.
Simply put, Carter was the first president I remember. He wasn’t the first president of my lifetime (nor the second), but the first one for which I was old enough to understand what the presidency was, and who held the position. Thus it stands to reason that the first presidential election I recall was that of 1980, in which Carter lost his reelection bid to Ronald Reagan.
I was barely eight years old back then, but I still remember the hype of that race on television, radio, and newspaper and magazine covers.
In fact, I recall being completely enamored with this specific issue of Newsweek that I saw, I believe, in a grocery-store checkout lane:
“They’re running for president! Get it?” I excitedly told my father, who was with me.
My dad chucked, and said something to the effect of, “Carter should be back with the other guy.”
That “other guy” was independent candidate John B. Anderson (not Phil Donahue), and my dad’s remark wasn’t a political one; it was purely analytical. By that point in the race, Ronald Reagan was very much the front-runner, so my dad figured a more accurate representation would have been for Reagan to be leading the pack.
Anyway, America was ready for change at the time, which I could tell just from hanging out with elementary-school classmates on the playground. I recall friends singing a parody tune about Jimmy Carter “screwing up the U.S.A.” to the popular Oscar Meyer jingle — sentiments obviously echoed by their parents.
As we all know, there is no better indicator of things having gone south for someone than parody songs.
Still, I was surprised to wake up the morning after the election to learn that Reagan had won. A sitting president losing his job felt like a big deal, and in fairness, it’s still relatively rare. Two people who were not at all amused by the outcome were my grandparents on my mom’s side — lifelong partisan Democrats who believed til their dying day that Americans had made an enormous mistake that year.
History would suggest otherwise, but the point of this week’s newsletter isn’t to roast a guy (an American patriot no less) who just turned a century old. No, by virtually every account, Carter has been a profoundly decent man throughout his entire, extraordinary life. Whatever one thinks about his politics, Carter deeply cares about his country, and he deeply cares about people. He is a bona fide humanitarian who has dedicated much of his life and spirit to helping those in need.
In my mother’s home hangs a framed 8×10 picture of herself with the former president, of which she has long been very proud. She met Carter at a church (I can’t remember where) he used to deliver sermons at in his post-presidency.
Carter has long been known for making time for his fellow Americans, including in this endearing news clip from a few years ago when the former president personally greeted each and every fellow passenger on an airline flight from Atlanta to DC:
There’s another video circulating out there of Carter, on his birthday just a few days ago, being wheeled outdoors by his family. I’m not going to link to it here, because I frankly think it was a mistake for the family to put the former president on public display in his current physical and mental state (which is very grim) … especially being that it was done (at least in part) to make a political statement about the upcoming election.
But Jimmy Carter’s legacy, as a compassionate, well-intentioned human being, is one to be proud of. This American icon likely won’t be with us much longer. I wish him peace… now and beyond.
Ever met a U.S. president? Tell me who in an email or in the comment section below.
Fall in Colorado
Last week on our wedding anniversary, my wife and I spent a wonderful day in Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park. In addition to the beautiful Fall colors (more photos here), we were lucky enough, while on a hike, to see a family of moose.
The Hullabaloo
This week on the Daly Express podcast, I talked to historical fiction author, Jay G. Grubb, about his debut novel “Land of Sins and Promise.” We also got into history, music, and more. It was a good discussion.
Here’s a preview:
You can watch the full video versions on BernardGoldberg.com, or listen to the audio podcasts on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Random Thought
Obligatory Dog Shot
Rough night.
Catch Up on the Sean Coleman Thrillers
All of my Sean Coleman Thriller novels can be purchased through Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Books-A-Million, and wherever else books are sold.
Featured Vinyl
I was shocked when I recently found this one in a used bin at the local record store, being that I had no idea it had ever been released on vinyl.
Mad Season was a grunge-era super-group made up of members of Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, and the Screaming Trees. They released just one album, “Above,” in 1995. Its single “River of Deceit” was big hit, but I much preferred “I’m Above” and “I Don’t Know Anything,” which also received some radio play.
This 2-LP set was released in 2015 (20 years later) as an expanded version featuring three previously unreleased songs.
That’s all for now. Thanks for reading today’s Daly Grind.
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Take care. And I’ll talk to you soon!