The Guardian’s Sunday magazine featured an interview with Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter this past weekend. The journalist, Carole Cadwalladr (no, that’s not a typo), is obviously way too young to have any personal memories of the Carter years, even the distanced memories that any Brit of a certain age might be expected to have, and it sets a very different perspective on the story than you might get from someone with a closer association. As a consequence, the piece is much more appreciative of the Carters as people and less as The Former President and First Lady. I think Jimmy Carter got about as much public rehabilitation as he was going to in this country a long time ago; it’s obvious that he’s true to himself and that sticking to his principles helped him regain some measure of esteem, but American politics has a harsh and unforgiving nature. So seeing him as people outside of that frame of reference see him is instructive. There’s decidedly a Mister Rogers vibe going on, too. You tell me that when Bill Clinton is 85 years old anyone will describe him as “twinkly” and “self-improving”.
