My favourite US President

They called him weak. History called him great.

He carried his own luggage. Taught Sunday school. Wore cardigans instead of power suits.

Washington never quite knew what to do with Jimmy Carter.

He was dismissed as a failure — and yet he saved countless lives by asking two sworn enemies one simple question:
“What will you tell your grandchildren?”

In September 1978, a quiet peanut farmer from Plains, Georgia, achieved what decades of power politics could not. He brought Egypt and Israel — enemies for more than 30 years — to the table and helped forge a peace that still holds today.

The Camp David Accords were not born from political brilliance or clever maneuvering. They happened because Jimmy Carter believed that peace was worth any personal cost — even his presidency.

And he paid that price.

His approval ratings collapsed. The Iran hostage crisis destroyed his chances of re-election. In 1980, he lost in a landslide.

Many would have grown bitter.

Carter did not.

He went home and asked himself a different question: “How can I keep serving?”

The answer wasn’t power — it was a hammer.

For decades, he built homes with Habitat for Humanity, well into his 80s and 90s. He founded the Carter Center, fighting disease, monitoring elections, and mediating conflicts worldwide. He lived modestly, taught Sunday school almost every week, and wrote dozens of books.

This wasn’t image repair. It was simply who he had always been.

A man who believed that service is the highest form of leadership.

At 90, he faced cancer with calm acceptance. At 100, he passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by family.

And time did what polls never could.

Today, the Camp David Accords remain one of the most important diplomatic achievements in modern history. His focus on human rights reshaped U.S. foreign policy. His post-presidency redefined what former leaders could be.

But perhaps his greatest legacy was the example he set.

In a world that often confuses cruelty with strength, noise with leadership, and cynicism with realism, Jimmy Carter stood quietly apart.

He chose principles over popularity. Service over status. Integrity over ambition.

He lost the presidency — but he kept his soul.

And in the end, he gained something far more enduring than a second term: a legacy of decency that only grows stronger with time.

That may be the highest achievement any leader can claim

Adapted from faces and facts

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