Jimmy Carter was the first president I voted for who won. He was also the first president who shook my hand as I stood in a rally hall during the presidential campaign as an unemployed, college graduate trying to get a job in Congressman Steven Neal’s office.
Thank God Neal didn’t hire me. spinning for a politician is not my ideal job. But when you’re 21 years old that first job really matters.
I liked Jimmy Carter. He was one of our smartest presidents who wasn’t smart enough to lie to the American people. I respect him for that. He warned us about our energy consumption in the late 1970s. Thirty years later because we didn’t heed him we’re staring $4.00 a gallon gasoline.
But my respect for President Carter, the peanut farmer Gil Scott Heron dubbed “Skippy,” is superseded by his down-home family, First mother Miss Lillian and hilarious First brother Billy Carter. They named a beer after him.
Anybody who is Old School, and was of age, tasted Billy Beer at least once. I remember it leaving a bitter taste in my mouth.
After Billy Beer stopped production, because of poor sales, folks trying to make a quick buck offered Billy Beer cans for hundreds and even thousands a dollar per can. The current value of a can ranges from 50 cents to one dollar and you can still buy it unopened on Ebay.
Miss Lillian was a Southern charmer. On the day of Jimmy’s inauguration she was asked if she was proud of her son . She responded, Which one?
There’s not been as down-to-earth family in the White House or associated with the president since James Earl Carter. Certainly not as fun.
I’ve lived through 10 presidents in my lifetime from Eisenhower to a second Bush. Kennedy and Johnson helped civil rights along. Nixon started Affirmative Action. Black people flourished economically under Clinton.
But there’s something about Jimmy Carter ‘s honesty and decency that still appeals to an Old School blogger.
Who’s your favorite U.S. president?
Holler back.
