It’s frequently been said about Jimmy Carter that he made a much better ex-president than president.
The same, though, would not be true about his wife, Rosalynn.
She was terrific both as a first lady while her husband was in office and as a former first lady after the voters sent them home to Plains, Georgia, after just one term in the White House.
Rosalynn Carter, who died Sunday at the age of 96, became the most active first lady since Eleanor Roosevelt. As The Associated Press recounted in its obituary about Carter, “She flouted stereotypes of first ladies as hostesses and fashion mavens: She bought dresses off the rack and established and East Wing office with her own staff and initiatives ... .”
She used her platform to push for better treatment and destigmatizing of mental illness and for greater empathy and support for family “caregivers” — a term that she helped popularize to describe those who shoulder the responsibility of caring for family members who are young, disabled or elderly.
She seemed to like politics even more than her husband. She told interviewers after leaving the White House that she enjoyed being on the campaign trail and the intrigue of running for office, in which sometimes your opponents would later become your supporters and sometimes it would happen in just the opposite way.
Still, it stung in 1980 when U.S. voters handed her husband one of the worst defeats ever suffered by an incumbent president, as he lost 44 states to his Republican challenger, Ronald Reagan. The final electoral vote count was an embarrassing 489 to 49.
Rather than sulk home to Plains and wallow in bitterness for the rest of their lives, though, the Carters — to their immense credit — saw how much they could still do to help this country and the world even in forced political retirement.
In 1982, they established The Carter Center in Atlanta, which has focused on eradicating disease, defending human rights and monitoring elections around the globe to help ensure they are fair and democratic. They were dedicated volunteers for more than 35 years with Habitat for Humanity, greatly raising the profile of an organization that has done worlds of good to provide decent, affordable housing for those who might not otherwise have it.
For more than 77 years, the Carters’ marriage was a true partnership. She started by managing the books for her husband’s peanut farm. She joyfully campaigned with him — and sometimes in his place — when he ran for state office and later the presidency. She sat in on his Cabinet meetings and represented him on diplomatic missions. She co-founded The Carter Center with her husband and was just as heavily involved in its highly regarded work.
One of the few things that Rosalynn Carter did without her husband was exit this life, although Jimmy Carter, now 99 and on hospice, probably won’t be far behind.
As a couple, they showed the potential of what past presidents and past first ladies can accomplish. It’s been a remarkable legacy that may never have happened without both of them contributing their talents and their determination to see it through.
