term as president from 1977 to 1981, which was blighted by the iran hostage crisis. after he left the white house, he won the novel peace prize. from washington, gary o'donoghue looks back at this life. as a candidate and as a president, i'll never tell a lie. that was the essence ofjimmy carter. people may have questioned his ability, but not his honesty, sincerity and passion that propelled a peanut farmer to the presidency. he was born in the deep south, in plains, georgia. james earl carter cut short a promising naval career to come home after the death of his father. he turned to the family business around. growing peanuts made jimmy carter rich. then came the lure of politics. he served two terms in the state senate and one as georgia's governor before bringing his faith—based politics to washington and a run for the presidency. my name isjimmy carter and i'm running for president.

cheering and applause he campaigned on a platform to bind america's wounds after watergate and vietnam. i, jimmy carter, do solemnly swear... it was a presidency that would be marked by one lasting foreign policy high and marred by a number of lows. in 1979, joining hands with israel's prime minister menachem begin and egypt's anwar sadat, sealing the camp david peace accords, was his finest hour. it's still america's most significant peacemaking moment in the middle east. so let us now lay aside war. let us now reward all the children of abraham who hunger for a comprehensive peace in the middle east. at home, he was an environmental pioneer, preserving huge tracts of land in alaska and even installing solar panels at the white house. and an ardent feminist, he encouraged his wife to set up and run her own office

in the white house, appointed women to his administration and declared, "women's rights are the fight of my life." but an energy crisis saw long lines at the pumps, while inflation was rising sharply and his administration seemed listless, ill—equipped to cope. worse would follow with the iranian revolution and the interminable hostage crisis that followed at the us embassy in tehran. 52 americans were being held and the commander—in—chief seemed out of his depth. a botched rescue attempt left eight americans dead. against that background, there was no way he was going to win reelection. in the event, his loss to ronald reagan in 1980 was crushing. butjimmy carter was not about to disappear quietly into a gilded, corporate post—presidential life. he brought his prestigious energy to human rights issues, setting up the carter center

in atlanta, campaigning across the world for democracy and justice. 22 years after leaving office, he was awarded the nobel peace prize for his efforts. morning, everybody. morning! in plains, georgia, he carried on leading bible study classes. only when he was past 90 years would he tell a news conference — with his trademark humour, dignity and humility and without a shred of self—pity — that cancer had spread to his brain. i think i have been as blessed as any human being in the world with having become the president of the united states of america and the work at the carter center. everything's been a blessing for me, so i'm thankful. butjimmy carter carried on his work in the us and around the world, busy trying to make a difference right up to the very end. at his side for 77 years, jimmy carter said of his wife, rosalynn, "she was my equal

partner in everything." in their twilight, president biden made the pilgrimage to georgia to thank them both for their lifetime of public service. and when rosalynn died, her husband made a rare trip out of hospice care to pay his final, loving respects. jimmy carter's legacy has been hotly debated and often revised, but few would dispute that america's longest lived president gave, in his own words, his very best. joining me live now is douglas brickley, professor of history and race university and a presidential historian. welcome to you, thank you so much for being with us. i would like to begin by getting your reaction to the passing of president carter. i5

reaction to the passing of president carter. , ., ., ., , ~ carter. is extraordinary american life, 100 carter. is extraordinary american life. 100 years. _ carter. is extraordinary american life, 100 years, and _ carter. is extraordinary american life, 100 years, and we _ carter. is extraordinary american life, 100 years, and we don't - carter. is extraordinary american | life, 100 years, and we don't want to think of him just as a one term president, and we can talk about what he accomplished from 1977 to 1981, but this long american life that he had working on the rickover submarines and trading to agriculture policies in america and then of course the extraordinary x presidency where he fought against river blindness and people with leprosy, liver, guinea worm disease, and that he monitored free and fair elections, everywhere from nicaragua to china and even the palestinian two state solution, carter was everywhere. he was a very large american figure. find everywhere. he was a very large american figure.— everywhere. he was a very large american figure. everywhere. he was a very large american fiaure. �* ~ ., ., american figure. and we know that he was moved to — american figure. and we know that he was moved to hospice _ american figure. and we know that he was moved to hospice care _ american figure. and we know that he was moved to hospice care earlier- was moved to hospice care earlier this year and that his wife rosalynn passed away in november of 2023. i think they had one of the longest

presidential marriages, if not the longest. teamwork seems to really come through, didn't it?— come through, didn't it? there's no auestion come through, didn't it? there's no question about _ come through, didn't it? there's no question about it. _ come through, didn't it? there's no question about it. it _ come through, didn't it? there's no question about it. it was _ come through, didn't it? there's no question about it. it was his - question about it. it was his sweetheart since he was a kid, a teenager, and they had incredible shorthand. they were deeply in love. the love letters between but securely carter's navy years are just something to read, but she was there every step of the way, and as a first lady, she kind of pioneered... eleanor roosevelt was in the league of her own, but rosalynn carter was in on many key meetings, the last personjimmy carter would talk to, and then she found that she would campaign for people in prison that were falsely imprisoned, but also mental illness, the district —— getting rid of the stigma of that. she tried to educate people about that out of the white house, but they were just utterly

inseparable. you cannot write about one without writing about the other. indeed, i have read them of those letters myself. they are truly remarkable. going back to his birthplace, georgia, growing up there, somebody who grew up in agricultural setting, famously a peanut farmer, tell us a little bit about his childhood and his upbringing and how you think that that may have influenced his political convictions. remember, he was born in — political convictions. remember, he was born in a _ political convictions. remember, he was born in a rural— political convictions. remember, he was born in a rural georgia, - political convictions. remember, he was born in a rural georgia, sumter| was born in a rural georgia, sumter county, with no electricity, and his father, james carter, was a landowner, and he had tenant farmers and there wasjim crow racism in the south andjimmy and there wasjim crow racism in the south and jimmy carter's father was quite old south regarding race, but his mother, miss lillian, was one of the most progressive spirited people in the united states. she was all about eleanor roosevelt, she loved the integration of baseball when jackie robinsonjoined the integration of baseball when jackie robinson joined the the integration of baseball when jackie robinsonjoined the brooklyn

dodgers, when she was 80 years old, she went to india to help people that were suffering from illnesses, if you were black, you could walk in the front door of the carter home if miss lillian was around. so carter had to navigate both a progressive mother and a more conservative southern father, but when his dad died, jimmy carter recognised how many people loved his dad, everybody came to the funeral and told stories about when they were broke or had an event during the great depression, that hindered their development as a family or a business, there was james carter there to help, so carter had a great love for both his mother and dad, and he then got out of the navy... he was our only american president to be a graduate from the naval academy and he was in this admiral rickover class after world war ii of ourfirst this admiral rickover class after world war ii of our first nuclear submarines. he was off the shores of china. he is the longest military

career of any american president, carter. people forget that. and then when he ran, he becamejust a one term georgia governor but what a campaign in 1976. they called him jimmy who, a one term guy, but what carter had going for him was he was not part of the dysfunctional 60s the meeting he was not part of anything that was the vietnam war, supreme court appointees, henry kissinger�*s lies or whatever it might be. carter was like, don't blame me, like you said, i am a punic former in georgia, a navy guy, and once he won, he tried to get rid of the imperial trappings of the white house. in his inaugural, he walked instead of having a limo. he got rid of the presidential yacht and to china where in all of this. and he amassed a net ordinary winter. he got beat definitively in

1980, by ronald reagan, but when history adds up 1980, by ronald reagan, but when history adds uinmmy carter's accomplishment, it is quite a list. he created our apartment of education, department of energy, fema was his. he saved jesus million acres of wilderness, over 100 million acres of national parklands, carter, panama canal treaty, million acres of national parklands, carter, panama canaltreaty, he negotiated, the historic peace between bacon and set out, israel and egypt, give me an amazing accord that i feel carter should've won a nobel prize for, they did, begin and sadat did, but he would later win the nobel prize for his work critically on disease, river blindness and postproduction work at the carter center —— begin and sadat. a great institution that's the long shadow, the carter center in atlanta is that for the now

deceased president. i in atlanta is that for the now deceased president.- in atlanta is that for the now deceased president. i 'ust want to no back a deceased president. i 'ust want to go back a little h deceased president. i 'ust want to go back a little bit _ deceased president. i 'ust want to go back a little bit to _ deceased president. i just want to go back a little bit to the - deceased president. i just want to go back a little bit to the time - deceased president. i just want to go back a little bit to the time he | go back a little bit to the time he then stepped into the presidency, 1977 was his term to 1981, and the backdrop that he came into. you were mentioning there was the shadow of the vietnam war, there was the watergate scandal, and as i understand it, one of his first acts as president was pardoning vietnam war draft dodgers. yes as president was pardoning vietnam war draft dodgers.— war draft dodgers. yes it was, that was an epic — war draft dodgers. yes it was, that was an epic thing _ war draft dodgers. yes it was, that was an epic thing and _ war draft dodgers. yes it was, that was an epic thing and the - war draft dodgers. yes it was, that was an epic thing and the correct . was an epic thing and the correct thing to do. he called the memoir of his presidency keeping faith, meeting keeping faith in the united states, and gerald ford's memoir is called time to heal. they became closest of friends, and remain an inspiration that you can be an adversary and then later in life in adversary and then later in life in a more unified way bond. carter, it

became a 50—50 vote in the senate on the penn amount canal treaty, walter mondale broke the tie in the senate, and... that got him some detractors, particular conservative democrats got angry at carter, but it was really energy, carter put solar panels on the white house. he was talking about the need for alternative fuels. he started becoming not trusted by dam builders and developers, construction industry, not trusted by the oil and gas lobby, and hejust industry, not trusted by the oil and gas lobby, and he just started taking on critics. he once said, he became president, carter called his own party and all the trucks around his neck. he quickly alienated the ted kennedy wing of the democrat

party and the moderate conservative, stooge action, senator from washington, democrat, so it was kind of his own operator and yet he is able to come out in history upon his death having the words human rights synonymous with his name. 0nly death having the words human rights synonymous with his name. only in the nor rosewood has equal that in american history and that is... 0nce american history and that is... once people learn about carter, he is a truth teller, he has bedrock integrity, kindness, his born—again christianity has formed a lot of his life, and hence we have lost a great american, notjust a one term president or somebody who won a nobel. his whole life was inspirational. the person born in with no electricity to become a nuclear engineer, to be a southerner that hung martin luther king's portrait in the torture capital and made the cover of time magazine as governor saying, segregation is gone forever but we are getting rid of it, progressive on civil rights. he

is unusual one—off, an outlier in american history, and yet today, with so much dysfunction going on in washington and people so polarised, i think we're going to mourn carter as the kind of character america can