Former President Jimmy Carter has reached his 94th birthday today, and that is an event which should engender respect and applause, that we have been graced with his long life, only matched by former President George H. W. Bush on June 12 of this year.
Jimmy Carter has been out of office nearly 38 years, an all time record, and his Vice President, Walter Mondale, is still doing well as he nears 91 in early January.
Carter’s Presidency was controversial, due to the Iran Hostage Crisis; high inflation after the second Arab oil embargo of 1978-1979; and the Cuban Mariel Boatlift to Miami, Florida.
But Carter will always be remembered for the 40 year success of the Camp David Accords, the agreement of Israel and Egypt, to establish diplomatic relations, the first such agreement between any Arab nation and the Jewish state.
Carter is also remembered for the Panama Canal Treaty; the establishment of diplomatic relations with China; his promotion of Human Rights; his establishment of three new cabinet agencies (Education, Health and Human Services, Energy); and his great promotion of environmental protection, making him the third most accomplished in that field, after Theodore Roosevelt and Richard Nixon, and more recently challenged by Barack Obama.
He and his wife, Rosalyn, are on the road to being the longest Presidential marriage about a year from now, when they would surpass the length of marriage of George H. W. and his wife Barbara Bush. By that time a year from now, the Carters would be 95 and 91 years of age.
Let us hope that the Carters and Walter Mondale continue to live on, and grace us by their presence.
Jimmy Carter and George Bush—both 94 years.
They each were unseated after one term.
Given how long they have lived, and that Carter now holds the record for the most years having lived after the end of one’s presidency, I have reached the following conclusion: It’s not really so awful being a one-term U.S. president.
HAHA, D. I love your comment, LOL!.
You could also add Herbert Hoover, who lived longer in retirement than any other President except Carter, more than 31 years, dying at age 90 in 1964.
And Gerald Ford, after a partial term, lived nearly 30 years after retirement, dying at 93 in 2006.
And John Adams lived 25 years after leaving office in 1801, dying at age 90.
And John Quincy Adams lived 19 years after he left office in 1829, dying at age 81.
And Martin Van Buren lived 21 years after he left office in 1841, dying at age 79.
On the other hand, James K. Polk lasted only 105 days after retirement in 1849, the shortest retirement of any President, whether one term as he had, or two terms! Polk died of cholera, and had stomach ailments during his years in the Presidency, stressed by the Mexican War. It convinced him NOT to seek a second term!