FORMER PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER – THE LONGEST-LIVED PRESIDENT IN AMERICAN HISTORY – IS NOW RECEIVING END-OF-LIFE CARE AT HIS HOME IN GEORGIA.
FOLLOWING SEVERAL HOSPITAL VISITS, THE CARTER CENTER ANNOUNCED SATURDAY THAT AT 98 YEARS OLD, HE’S CHOOSING TO SPEND HIS FINAL MOMENTS IN HOSPICE WITH FAMILY RATHER THAN SEEK ADDITIONAL MEDICAL INTERVENTION
CARTER WAS A LITTLE-KNOWN GOVERNOR FROM GEORGIA WHEN HE LAUNCHED HIS BID FOR PRESIDENT AHEAD OF THE 1976 ELECTION. BILLING HIMSELF AS AN OUTSIDER, HE WENT ON TO DEFEAT THEN-PRESIDENT GERALD FORD IN THE WAKE OF THE VIETNAM WAR AND THE WATERGATE SCANDAL THAT DROVE RICHARD NIXON FROM OFFICE IN 1974
AS THE 39TH PRESIDENT – CARTER NEGOTIATED THE HISTORIC CAMP DAVID ACCORDS, WHICH BROKERED PEACE BETWEEN ISRAEL AND EGYPT – THIS AGREEMENT REMAINS FOUNDATIONAL IN MIDDLE EAST RELATIONS TODAY
BUT CARTER’S PRESIDENCY WAS ALSO MARKED BY DOUBLE-DIGIT INFLATION AND THE NOTORIOUS 444-DAY HOSTAGE CRISIS IN IRAN, DURING WHICH 52 AMERICANS WERE HELD HOSTAGE. THE EVENTS ERODED HIS PUBLIC SUPPORT, AND HE LATER LOST HIS RE ELECTION BID TO RONALD REAGAN IN 1980
DESPITE THIS SETBACK, CARTER CONTINUED TO MAKE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON THE WORLD. HE SPENT HIS POST-PRESIDENCY YEARS WORKING ON CAUSES SUCH AS BUILDING HOUSES FOR THE POOR, ELECTION MONITORING ABROAD, AND COMBATING GUINEA WORM DISEASE THROUGH PUBLIC HEALTH CAMPAIGNS THAT FOCUSED ON IMPROVING ACCESS TO SAFE DRINKING WATER IN AFRICA
HIS WORK AS A FORMER PRESIDENT AND THROUGH THE CARTER CENTER EVENTUALLY EARNED HIM THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE – RECREATING HIS IMAGE IN THE EYES OF MANY AMERICANS