Jimmy Carter, the 39th US President, Has Died at 100

Jimmy Carter, America's 39th president, passed away Sunday at age 100. 

When he took the oath of office in 1977, James Earl Carter Jr. brought a breath of fresh air to Washington. The only Georgian to occupy the White House, Carter helped the nation recover from a government plagued by scandal. But his single term also suffered from a sick economy and serious foreign policy threats. 

A Southern Baptist Sunday school teacher and peanut farmer, the Georgia governor came from nowhere in 1976 to defeat President Gerald Ford. On Inauguration Day, when he shunned a limo and walked to the White House with his wife Rosalynn, it felt like times had really changed.

Almost overnight, scandal-weary Americans could put Watergate and the Nixon-Ford years behind them.  

At home, the Carter years saw the dawn of disco, and overseas, the promise of a vigorous new pope from Poland: John Paul the Second.

With Carter, many evangelicals were thrilled one of their own made it to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. He spoke their language, and there was hope he could turn the country around.

Before the '76 election, he talked to CBN Founder Pat Robertson, saying, "My faith in Christ has grown, with age and with responsibility."

As president, Carter faced a world full of danger. The Soviet communist menace lurked on every continent.  

In Iran, there was another type of serious trouble. A radical revolution led by an obscure cleric, the Ayatollah Khomeini, turned the country upside down. Suddenly an ally became an enemy, and in November 1979, Khomeini's followers took 52 Americans hostage. 

A failed rescue attempt in Iran ended in the deaths of eight U.S. Servicemen. Critics say Carter's Iran legacy continues to haunt us today.

While elected to control surging inflation at home, it grew even more during his term as interest rates soared and Americans lost jobs. 

In the summer of '79 he made his famous "malaise" speech, in which he seemed to blame the country's problems on the American people. "It is a crisis of confidence. It is a crisis that strikes at the very heart and soul and spirit of our national will," he said.

The terrible economy haunted the president's re-election campaign. He was challenged by Republican Ronald Reagan who told Americans it was time to change leaders. "Are you better off today than you were four years ago?" Reagan famously asked American voters.

After leaving the White House, the former president drew admiration for his charity work with Habitat for Humanity. He told CBN's Gordon Robertson it was his way of putting his faith in action. 

"I think it's important for us to actually do things to demonstrate our belief, as Jesus did His whole life. He didn't just preach, you know. His life was devoted to reaching out to the leper, who would be the AIDS victim nowadays, or to those who were in prison or those who were poverty-stricken or who had a different color skin like the Samaritans, as you know; or who were sinners," Carter said.

The 39th president was happily married to his wife Rosalynn for more than seven decades. Before she passed away on November 19, 2023, she was always at his side. In 2018, the couple had joined four other living presidents to say farewell to President George H.W. Bush who was born the same year as Carter. 

Two years prior, Carter announced he had melanoma that had spread to his brain and liver. But just months later, after surgery, radiation, and immunotherapy treatments, he announced he was cancer-free.
 
"A lot of people prayed for me and I appreciate that," he said.

He handled his battle with cancer with grace and thankfulness, leaning heavily on his faith. "I think I have been as blessed as any human being in the world," he said.

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