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Jimmy Carter forged a lifelong friendship with Ford but found no use for the Presidents Club

After leaving office, Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford, the man he defeated for president, grew so close that their friendship resembled a buddy movie. Road vacations were a part of their bond, but they never lasted long enough because they had so much to discuss.

But Carter’s relationships with the other presidents were far less cordial. Even after he left office, he continued to be an anomaly as an outsider president.

Nevertheless, this week’s state burial for Carter will bring together former and current office holders in what may be the largest gathering of the president’s club since five people showed up for George H.W. Bush’s funeral in Washington in December 2018.

Carter was in a unique position to perform significant work for his successors, irrespective of their party membership, because he was a member of this exclusive, unofficial club. His reputation as a humanitarian, mediator, and defender of democracy, as well as his close ties to world leaders, frequently allowed him to accomplish noteworthy outcomes, even with certain troublemakers.

However, you could never predict when Carter would act out. He was so sure of himself that he even said he was “probably superior” to the other former presidents who were still alive. He had a reputation for being obstinate when it came to following commands, which may sometimes be frustrating for the president in office.

“What an annoying cuss Carter could be,” Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy write in their book The Presidents Club, helped the other former presidents bond.

The other club members were brought together by Carter, the ambitious, self-righteous, impatient perfectionist, around the seemingly never-ending question: was Jimmy Carter worth the trouble?

Carter Achieved Achievements in Nicaragua and Haiti

Carter achieved notable achievements in Haiti and Nicaragua, according to historian and Carter biographer Randall Balmer of Dartmouth College.

Carter, for instance, mediated an agreement with the military coup leader of Haiti in 1994 that prevented an American invasion and aided in the restoration of democracy. “Any time you can avoid military conflict, you score that as a win,” said Balmer.

Carter was instrumental in bringing about peace in Nicaragua four years prior, averting regional violence. The Sandinistas were horrified by the electoral defeat, but he convinced Daniel Ortega, the communist leader, to concede it.

Former Missouri Republican Senator John Danforth accompanied Carter on missions to monitor and prepare for the 1990 election in Nicaragua. Once, while traveling through the town of Rivas on a dusty road, the Carter team came into Ortega’s motorcade. Then, in a garden with a rooster crowing at Carter’s feet, the two men bargained over the use of government trucks to transport election materials.

Danforth observed, “When we think of former presidents, the image is often aloof, even stuffy: men in dark suits and neckties photographed in formal poses as though they were deep in thought.” “I have a whole different impression of Carter. He’s in a Rivas backyard. At his feet is a rooster that is crowing. He has a serious look on his face. He’s talking about trucks, not statecraft.

A Man Able to Enrage Those in Authority

But Carter might also enrage the ruling class. For example, it was discovered that Carter had pushed foreign leaders and members of the U.N. Security Council to deny President George H.W. Bush’s call for the use of force following the U.S.-led Gulf War to drive Iraq out of Kuwait.

According to Gibbs and Duffy, Carter was granted a number of missions by President Bush after being mainly ignored by Ronald Reagan, although his involvement was reduced following the Gulf War.

Carter and President Bill Clinton also had a restricted and tense connection; Clinton was hesitant to visit Carter because of the recollection of Carter’s 1980 electoral loss. Carter was likewise against Clinton’s extramarital activity. But once Clinton was elected president in 1992, he sent Carter to North Korea, where he went over his authority and had unapproved conversations with Kim Il Sung, which he later talked about on television.

Carter’s Special Place in the President’s Club

President George W. Bush invited fellow presidents club members to the White House for lunch and pictures in January 2009. Notably, Carter was not part of the group and stood to the side. This revealed a lot about Carter’s standing in the club. “Jimmy Carter didn’t fit in with a lot of people,” Balmer said. He wasn’t someone who warmed up readily; in fact, he was an introvert.

Post-politics creates even odd bedfellows than politics itself. When erstwhile enemies turn into unusual partners, the ingrained animosities between Democrats and Republicans can end in the president’s club. Not with Donald Trump, though. During his first term, Trump had no use for other club members, regardless of their party, who detested him.

Trump said that Carter must be “the happiest man because Carter is considered a brilliant president by comparison” to Joe Biden when he celebrated his 100th birthday in October. Trump’s response to Carter’s passing, however, was more somber. He acknowledged the difficulties Carter experienced in his role as president and said, “For that, we all owe him a debt of gratitude.”

A Look for Common Ground Between Political Enemies

In the president’s club, political rivals have historically found common ground. For example, Republican Dwight Eisenhower was frequently consulted by Democrat Lyndon Johnson, who even asked him for guidance on what to speak before Congress following the assassination of John F. Kennedy. At one point, Reagan drew Bill Clinton away to demonstrate the correct way to give a military salute.

Later, Clinton and George H.W. Bush became good friends, going on boat excursions and playing golf together in Maine. Later, the two joined forces for a humanitarian effort to provide relief for Hurricane Katrina and to help nations ravaged by the 2004 tsunami.

There were also times when Obama and George W. Bush worked together, and Bush had a special bond with Michelle Obama.

Carter and Ford’s One and Only Friendship

However, Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford’s friendship was arguably the most noteworthy of all the presidents. Their relationship was special and long-lasting.

Two historians have described Carter’s connection with Ford as the most intimately personal of any two presidents in history, Carter said with pride. It all started in 1981 when President Reagan dispatched them to attend Anwar Sadat’s burial on behalf of the United States. Carter and Ford immediately bonded over their attempts to obtain money for presidential libraries after leaving office, despite the difficulty of having Nixon accompany them.

The wives of Carter and Ford, both Navy veterans with three sons and a deep religious faith, also grew close. Carter subsequently remarked, “The four of us learned to love each other.”

The two men collaborated on many projects and spoke frequently, choosing which events to attend or not. After Ford’s death, Carter noted in 2007 that “we hated to reach our destination when we were traveling somewhere in an automobile or airplane because we enjoyed the private times that we had together.”

Carter and Ford agreed that the eulogy would be given by the person who passed away first. This was a unique and moving instance of bipartisan unity.

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Source : apnews

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