A revisionist study of a controversial and misunderstood president,
stressing the origins, nature, and central importance of his
beliefs. In this in-depth portrait of Carter, Morris
(Sociology/Univ. of Georgia) argues that Carter's unique moral
outlook was critical to his career as a politician, from his
election as governor of Georgia through his presidency to his
statesmanlike contributions to national and international policy
today. On July 15, 1979, Jimmy Carter gave his memorable "malaise"
speech (though that word was not used in the address). Ostensibly a
talk about the energy crisis, it became a sermon about a "crisis of
confidence" born of a national spiritual decay. It was, Morris
asserts, quintessential Carter, treating private morality as a
public problem. Morris uses this speech as a springboard for a
discussion of Carter's morality, which he believes animated many of
his actions as a politician. Carter's beliefs are a mixture, Morris
suggests, of concepts drawn from his fervent evangelical
Christianity and from an old-fashioned southern populism. As a
young man, his emerging racial liberalism estranged him from white
society in Georgia, and together with a fragmented family life,
fostered in him a yearning for community that, Morris argues,
propelled much of his political life. Morris traces the influence
of those close to Carter (most prominently Admiral Hyman Rickover,
who became a surrogate father to Carter during his years at
Annapolis) on his ideas and provides a succinct record of Carter's
career, from his days as a prosperous businessman through his
successful campaign for the presidency in 1976. Evaluating Carter's
approach to political problems, Morris argues that he consistently
attempted to use private spirituality as a moral basis for
addressing world problems, including poverty, human rights, and
world hunger. A penetrating analysis of the unique moral outlook
that animated an enigmatic president. (Kirkus Reviews)
Jimmy Carter has baffled the public from his first bid for elective
office in racially divided rural Georgia through his
post-presidential career as a global peacemaker and human rights
activist. Is he a moral visionary or a well-meaning but sometimes
misguided moralizer? More importantly, what might America learn
about itself by examining the life and legacy of this enigmatic
leader? In ""Jimmy Carter, American Moralist"", Kenneth E. Morris
aims to show readers that any conclusions about Carter's leadership
and its adequacy to his challenges as president cannot ignore the
moral quandary that vexed the American nation not only under Carter
but ever since. Through film and popular music, personality profile
and campaign summaries, poll findings and landmark court decisions,
the author attempts to shed light on the cultural forces that
shaped Carter and produced the troubled society that made him
president.
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