Today, Jimmy Carter is 100 years old. Like every other political writer, I have written about him many times. (There is, for example, a lengthy section on him in my history of the Nobel Peace Prize.) But on his birthday — not just his centennial but each of his birthdays — I like to remember the speech that President Reagan gave at the opening of the Carter library in Atlanta. That was on October 1, 1986, when Carter turned 62.
Reagan began with his usual humor, poking fun at his age — his own:
I want you to know that I often get invited to library dedications. There aren’t that many people still around who knew Andrew Carnegie personally.
Reagan at the time was 75 and considered, by some, antique. (I might record, for the young, that Andrew Carnegie, the industrialist, donated many millions for the construction of libraries across America.)
More from Reagan:
None of us today need feel any urge, in the name of good will, to downplay our differences. On the contrary, in a certain sense we can be proud of our differences, because they arise from good will itself — from love of country; from concern for the challenges of our time; from respect for, and yes, even outright enjoyment of, the democratic processes of disagreement and debate. Indeed, from the time of Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, frank debate has been a part of the tradition of this Republic. Today our very differences attest to the greatness of our nation. For I can think of no other country on earth where two political leaders could disagree so widely yet come together in mutual respect. To paraphrase Mr. Jefferson: We are all Democrats, we are all Republicans, because we are all Americans.
Jimmy Carter’s life, said Reagan, is “a story that is distinctively American.” He elaborated on this for several paragraphs.
In one of its aspects, the story of President Carter is the story of the family in which he grew up. Jimmy Carter’s father taught him the virtues of hard work and self-discipline. From the time he was six, he knew that when the farm bell rang James Earl Sr. expected to see him out of bed and going to work with everybody else.
When Reagan said this, Carter, listening, said, “Amen.”
“And then there was Miss Lillian,” said Reagan (Carter’s mother),
exuberant Miss Lillian, who went to work for the Peace Corps in India at the age of 69. Miss Lillian taught Jimmy Carter charity and justice. She taught him to care for all, regardless of race, especially those weaker and less fortunate than himself. And she taught him to laugh.
The following part is crucial:
In another of its important aspects, the story of President Carter is a story of the South. For when Jimmy Carter was born on this date in 1924, many southerners knew only poverty, and millions lived lives that were separate and unequal because of the color of their skin. There’s a photograph inside the library that sets the scene: A little boy is drinking from a fountain. He is black. He’s drinking from that particular fountain because on a tree next to the fountain there’s a sign that reads: “Colored.”
Well, the world has changed now. It has changed because men and women like Jimmy Carter stood up in church to protest the exclusion of black people from worship, and it has changed because Jimmy Carter spoke these words in his inaugural address as governor of Georgia: “I say to you quite frankly that the time for racial discrimination is over. . . . No poor, rural, weak, or black person should ever again have to bear the additional burden of being deprived of the opportunity for an education, a job, or simple justice.”
Further on, Reagan said,
Mr. President, I cannot help thinking that, in perhaps its most important regard, yours is a story of dedication to so many of the fundamental values that made our nation flourish and grow great. Certainly the value of hard work is apparent throughout your life. There were those early days of manual labor on the family farm. Then came the years in the Navy, working for a man never known for being an easy taskmaster, Captain, later Admiral, Hyman Rickover. Jimmy Carter distinguished himself under Captain Rickover for his application to duty, for using his gifts — in particular, his superb intelligence — to the utmost.
Later, Carter “made political history,” said Reagan, “going from ‘Jimmy who?,’ to use the cartoonists’ phrase, to the 39th president of the United States.”
Winding up his speech, Reagan said,
I must tell you, Mr. President, that your countrymen have vivid memories of your time in the White House still. They see you working in the Oval Office at your desk with an air of intense concentration, repairing to a quiet place to receive the latest word on the hostages you did so much to free, or studying in your hideaway office for the meeting at Camp David that would mark such a breakthrough for peace in the Middle East. Others will speak today, Mr. President, of all phases of your political career and your policies. For myself, I can pay you no higher honor than to say simply this: You gave of yourself to this country, gracing the White House with your passion and intellect and commitment. And now you have become a permanent part of that grand old house, so rich in tradition, that belongs to us all. For that, Mr. President, I thank you, and your country thanks you.
Anything else?
There’s only one thing left to say. From the 40th president to the 39th, happy birthday! And, Mr. President, if I could give you one word of advice: Life begins at 70.