Former U.S. President, Lifelong Public Servant And National Treasure Jimmy Carter Passes At 100
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Welcome to The Politocrat. I'm Omar Moore. It is Sunday, December the 29th, 2024. On this edition of The Politocrat, former President Jimmy Carter has passed away at the age of 100. Reflections, comments, and a speech that needs to be heard again from President Carter when he was in the Oval Office. All of that coming up

Dear listener, welcome to this brand new edition of the Politico-Rite Daily Podcast. Yours truly, Omar Moore here. And it really is a sad bit of news to put forth, but the former president of the United States, Jimmy Carter, has passed away at age 100. Jimmy Carter was the personification of decency and leadership. He always, I think, even certainly post-presidency, took the moral high ground and

exhibited that kind of mantle, as I think he was a standard bearer for decency in this country. Once he left the White House for the next, what, 40 odd years, he has and did show what decency and leadership and morality were all about. He was someone who took very careful looks at

the people he served. He really cared about the people that he served. He was someone who helped countless millions of people, built houses for people in the housing habitat for humanity housing that he did. He, of course, oversaw elections in other countries and he traveled the world after the presidency. He and Rosalind Carter, who passed away, I think earlier this year or last year,

really did that in tandem. And, uh, Jimmy Carter was, I think the last American president, um, who had aside from, uh, president Obama, who had a semblance of patriotism that you could really believe in and trust. Uh, he's somebody who believed in serving the country, serving the American public as he did and serving people across the world. He was a very, uh, very, uh, devout humanitarian, uh, a peanut farmer from Plains, Georgia. Um,

became an icon in America with his leadership, with his kind and gentle way, and with his selflessness. I think that's the thing for me about President Jimmy Carter that I will never forget is his selflessness, his decency, his sense of morality, and his leadership. I really was taken in a really deep way by his commitment to the human condition and improving it. Look,

Look, he had a very, I think, a very, in some ways, complicated presidency at times. Some things that I didn't agree with him on and some things that I did. You know, Jimmy Carter is going to go down, I think, at some point as one of the most respected presidents. He may not have been a perfect president. No one is. But I think he will go down.

in American law and in history as one of the most respected American presidents. And I think he wasn't perhaps respected during the time he was in office, but I think people began to appreciate him a lot more once he left office. And look, he should have won a second term and he didn't.

He gave the infamous, or I should say the famous, Debbie Downer speech. I'm actually going to play you some of that on this episode. But I do want to just sit and spend a few moments remembering the man. You know, President Jimmy Carter...

who left the White House in 1981. And of course, in his stead was Ronald Reagan. Oh my goodness, we still haven't recovered from that. Somebody who really did care about people. Once he left the White House, he exhibited all of those kinds of qualities that showed you how he was a decent person. He was authentic.

Even when he was in the White House, he was an authentic person. I think he struck an air of morality and a moral code when he talked about consumption and how Americans have been very selfish and greedy. He infamously mentioned those things and talked about them or famously talked about them in that Debbie Downer speech, which I do feel compelled to play. And I will play that in this podcast episode. Jimmy Carter...

Again, helped countless millions of people across the country and around the globe with Habitat for Humanity. He was in his 70s and 80s building houses, you know, banging in the wood with a nail, banging in the nail to the wood to build houses. He did this into his 70s. I mean, it was just and even into his 80s, I think.

And he and Rosalind Carter traveled the world together

sending a message of humanity and peace and also decency and selflessness. And both of them epitomize that. And I think President Jimmy Carter, who of course voted his final time in an election for the presidency with the vote he cast in October for Vice President Harris at his 100th birthday or thereabouts when he turned 100, was really a

an icon and a hero in this country to the very end. He really did epitomize that, I think. And look, John McCain was remembered that way. And I think deservingly so. He was an American patriot. Now, there's lots of things about John McCain that I didn't agree with. But one thing he did do is show an air of decency when he voted for

against repealing the Affordable Care Act, Obamacare, you know, against his very rival who, of course, beat him for the White House in 2008. So John McCain showed you some decency there and

I think that that is telling that the man who had the best health care anyone could have in America, if not the world, was selfless enough. And I know there were two other Republican senators, Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins, who did the same kind of thing when they voted it down as well, voted against the repeal. But someone who was dying in his last few months showed the decency to vote against repealing the Affordable Care Act.

And in that same way, I think Jimmy Carter, although not the same kind of context, showed decency in the many millions of people who he touched, whose lives he enriched, whom he helped and whom he inspired. Jimmy Carter, the former president of the United States, the 39th president of the United States, was an inspiration to many, many millions of people.

His indomitable spirit, he became somewhat a social media icon in some ways as well. People really praised him online and sang his praises, and rightly so. Jimmy Carter is someone who is going to be unforgettable. He wrote, what, at least 40 books, I think it was. I have one of those books.

which I can say was a tremendous book. And I loved it. It's called Our Endangered Values. It was written around 2004 or 2005. And by the way, that latter year was the year in which I met Jimmy Carter here in San Francisco, California. And I got to say hello to him. I got him to sign my book.

which was our endangered values, the Jimmy Carter book. And I asked him a question. I forget what it was now. I think it was around the Supreme Court. I asked him something to the effect of what do you think is going to happen with the US Supreme Court? And I don't remember what his answer was. It was almost 20 years ago now. So I don't quite remember that answer that he gave, but he gave me a smile. I do remember that.

And I think I did shake his hand. I remember that. And I do remember the signing of my book because I still have the book and his signature to prove it. But look, Jimmy Carter is someone, the oldest living former president in the history of this country. Somebody who...

gave a lot of people a lot of happiness and joy in his post-presidential years. Someone, I think, got maligned at some points in his presidency, somewhat unfairly at times, somewhat justified at other times. But overall, Jimmy Carter, who really got stumped by Ronald Reagan, who committed a crime, basically, when he

told the Iranians to, to, uh, not release the hostages, the U S hostages that it had until after the presidential election, uh, cause he promised a better deal. And the Iranians listened to a private citizen named Ronald Reagan, uh, who violated the Logan act in doing what he did. And that really hurt Jimmy Carter because Jimmy Carter had worked out a deal to release the hostages and they were all set to be released. And, uh,

many people would say, and I would join them, that had Jimmy Carter been able to have those hostages released during his time in the White House, he probably would have held on for a second term in the White House. But as it was, Ronald Reagan won the White House in that year, 1980. There was a lot of turmoil in the Democratic Party, especially at the

famous or infamous Democratic National Convention in New York at Madison Square Garden that year where Ted Kennedy, who was also running for the White House, and Jimmy Carter had a bitter, bitter fight on the convention, around the convention. It got very testy. And bottom line is the convention hall was divided and

And that division in the Democratic Party did not help the party, obviously, and it did not help Jimmy Carter's chances of repeating as president either. So that's another thing. But look, I want to get back to the man that is Jimmy Carter from Plains, Georgia. He was a peanut farmer. He was someone who really cared about people. He was married to Rosalind Carter, I think, for something like 70 years ago.

He served, I think, if memory mistakes me or doesn't mistake me, he served. If he didn't serve in the military, he definitely served the country in a lot of other ways. He was very much someone who I think was in trouble with the economy. There was the economic crises in the mid-1970s when he came in. I think that hurt him a little bit to say the least.

But look, the bottom line is Jimmy Carter, when you think about what he did, his influence on what he did, he brokered the deal, of course, if you remember between Anwar Sadat and Mahatma Gandhi, you remember that? And the White House lawn, if you have forgotten that, those of you of a certain age certainly should not have at this point when he and Mahatma Gandhi and Anwar Sadat

We're standing out there, all three of them clasped hands for a peace deal that was brokered by all three of them and chiefly by Jimmy Carter, the president. It was a tremendous moment in that particular situation.

when that happened. And there's lots of video about that. I'm sure you can find that on YouTube. But, uh, the bottom line is that President Jimmy Carter was somebody who this country will tremendously miss, miss awful. Uh, especially when, when you see what's coming, um, beginning next month, we have an absolute nightmare on our hands. Uh,

coming up on January the 20th, when the fascist regime takes over, thanks to the American voter, who thought it was a better idea to put a fascist in the White House than it was to put the black woman who had some very good plans and ideas and policies that would help everybody in the United States. And Jimmy Carter, against that backdrop, will be sorely, sorely missed in, uh,

these next four years and beyond. He really cared about people. He really cared about helping people. He was a genuine person, a real spirit, somebody who believed in decency, somebody who believed in taking care of people and being decent and kind to people. And he showed you the moral compass that this country never really has had since it was invaded and taken over by white men who invaded the country and

killed off millions of Native Americans and enslaved millions of black people. And so, look, the bottom line is that

This country has missed and lacked a moral compass for a long time. And all the people who have tried to give America or inject America with a spirit of morality have been either killed in young age or have died in old age. And so, I mean, I don't seem to mean to be that black and white about it, but quite frankly, that is where we are today.

United States of America has lost one of its greatest patron saints today in President Jimmy Carter, who died at the age of 100 years old. Wow. A sad loss. It was a loss that was inevitable. He was in hospice for the better part of the last year or so. And he really did exemplify leadership and moral integrity

moral authority in a number of areas, post-presidency in particular, and somebody who was well-respected, tremendously well-respected across the world, there's really not going to be anybody who

quite like Jimmy Carter who aspires to the White House. I can't think of another person who has aspired to the White House since Jimmy Carter with that same air of respect and decency. Somebody who commands respect, decency, and the moral high ground. I mean, some people might say Barack Obama.

But I really don't think there's been anyone quite like Jimmy Carter who has assumed the office of presidency of the United States of America with that same level of decency, compassion and humanitarian work and the spirit in which he worked and how he led will always impress me for the rest of my life. I really did think that Jimmy Carter evoked a special authentic spirit and heart that

that I think is unmatched in the office for president for people who have occupied that position. Again, I can't think of anybody in the last 50 years who has really embodied that kind of spirit in that way, in a genuine way, in a genuine way.

who comes across as authentic, who comes across as down to earth, not smug, not arrogant, because a lot of people who have occupied that White House do come across as very smug and arrogant and a whole lot worse than that. If you want to say Joe Biden is somebody who epitomizes a spirit of decency, yeah, for the most part, I think that's true, although he has had his stumbles as well, of course, over his career, like we all have in life. But

Perhaps you could say Joe Biden, someone with decency, and I think that's very true of him. He's probably the closest person that I can think of in that conversation about who has an authentic spirit of decency for the most part, despite some of the things I disagree with Joe Biden on. Gars is one of them, among other things, the crime bill. You know, those two things obviously would, I think, bring him down a peg. But the bottom line is, is that

President Jimmy Carter, the former president of the United States, I think like no other president that I can think of really has epitomized a spirit of decency, humanity, kindness, the importance of inspiring people, helping your fellow man and woman, your fellow person, and being kind. I think kindness is

kindness is one of the things that I will really take away from Jimmy Carter the the aspect of being a kind humane decent human being who wanted to better people's lives whether it was with a smile whether it was with a conversation whether it was with his long-standing work for Habitat for Humanity and all the great things he and Rosalind did together in building houses for people in in uh

giving people a new lease on life and renewing and invigorating the American spirit in reviewing, renewing and invigorating the spirit of humanity. That was what Jimmy Carter did in this country and beyond. He was someone who was well-respected as I said, across the globe. He was an ambassador, a flag bearer, um,

and someone who absolutely believed in doing the right thing and being decent. After he left the White House, there were so many different things he did. The Carter Center did a lot of excellent work under his name, of course, and they will continue to do that in his honor. Now that he has passed on and become an ancestor, President Jimmy Carter,

one of the, I think, one of the most decent people ever to become President of the United States, has left us and passed on at the age of 100. Rest in power, President Carter. It was an honor to meet you almost 20 years ago, and I am sure that you'll be meeting a lot of grateful people once you ascend to the blue yonder.

There is so much to say about President Jimmy Carter. And this, by the way, is the fourth day of Kwanzaa. And, you know, I normally would talk a lot more about Kwanzaa days three and four. I will, I think, do that in the next

podcast episode for tomorrow. But Jimmy Carter, this is a tremendous loss. And I think it's fair to say that we all knew this was coming because he had been placed in hospice care and had been there for over a year, if memory serves me. And when you are 100 years of age, you know, that's a special milestone to get to. There are very few people on this planet who have reached that milestone.

There are some who've gone a good deal longer than 100 years, and some of those persons are still alive at this moment. Jimmy Carter is and was the oldest living former president of the United States. And, you know, he exhibited the leadership qualities, the morality, I think, especially once he left the White House, you know,

that really I think I wished a lot more people in Washington DC who were in political office ever did you know he is a throwback he was a throwback you know um he really did care about people uh across the globe you know it's um it really is is important to reflect on him because um you really don't ever know sometimes you don't ever know what you've got until it's gone

And I do feel sad about Jimmy Carter passing away. You know, some people say, well, you know, he was 100. So, look, don't be too sad. But I am sad that President Carter has passed. And it's not because I got to meet him and was fortunate enough to meet the man. It's because the guy was a decent human being. And there are too many people who...

aren't decent human beings who are still around. I'm sorry. I mean, it's not to be nasty. It's to be honest and true to who I am and to how I see these things, dear listener. And Billy Joel once sang, only the good die young. But that's not true in the case of Jimmy Carter, who was 100 years of age when he passed earlier today. Jimmy Carter, the former president of these United States, the 39th president of these United States,

was really somebody who personified decency. And I was correct. He did serve in the military. He served as a naval officer. So, you know, look, this is, you know, he really, his whole life was devoted to service. And he did win a Nobel Peace Prize. I didn't even remember that he did, but he actually did.

You know, he personified decency. He really cared about human beings. You can't say that about too many people on this planet. Obviously, there are a number of people who do care about human beings. But President Carter, I think, is the last real person

global ambassador that the United States has. I mean, obviously the last living global ambassador that the United States has, obviously we have Colin Powell. And I know that there are people who disagree about Colin Powell and his legacy. Obviously you could call them a war criminal and that would not be incorrect to call them that. Um, but what happened after that is that he regretted what he did with, uh, George W. Bush. And he also, um, started to support candidates in the democratic side for president, um,

He also, I think, did a lot of good things post his time in the Bush administration. And the thing about Jimmy Carter, aside from Colin Powell being an ambassador of sorts, despite his transgressions, to say the least, in the Bush White House, is that Jimmy Carter was not somebody who...

committed any bad acts. I mean, certainly there's some things policy-wise that we might have some conversations about where I'd be inclined to say, yeah, that was a wrong move. And I would certainly argue that vigorously. But I think overall, if you look at President Jimmy Carter, he was a really good president, in many ways he was. But he wasn't popular at the time in the White House.

Not that that really counts for a whole lot, because I think a lot of times presidents of the United States, as with any leader of a country, they don't really get properly assessed until after they've left their political office. That's usually the case in any presidency, certainly any presidency of the United States. So I think the same now is said to be true about Jimmy Carter.

He has, I think, grown with more stature and respect every year since he left the White House. Each passing year since he departed the White House in 1981, Jimmy Carter's stature and legend has really grown. And his, you know, his habitat, you know, his work with Habitat for Humanity for me is a focal point. All the work he did at the Carter Center, you know,

He is somebody who is a national treasure. I would call him that. Jimmy Carter is a national treasure here in the United States. There are a lot of people in America, here in the U.S., who don't see him that way, who don't appreciate him or don't understand him and may not really have the kind of depth and breadth to understand and acknowledge that Jimmy Carter was just that, a national treasure.

But let me tell you, he was. He was a national treasure. He cared about peace. He cared about decency. He cared about helping people. And, you know, Jimmy Carter was a fighter. He had a lot of spirit. You know, he cared. He was an honest person, I think. Honest and decent person, you know. Jimmy Carter took a heavy defeat in 1980.

But one thing he and Rosalind Carter did is they worked, they worked for the American public way after his presidency. How many times have we seen a president of the United States once they leave office, not be seen again, basically, or at least only be seen in occasional situations. Um, George W. Bush is an example of that. Um, it's not to say that George W. Bush has not done any work, um,

since he's left the White House, but you don't really see him around. You don't hear about him. And it's not about being in the spotlight. It's about the work you do. I mean, he does a lot of self-portraits and paintings. That's what Jimmy, that's what George W. Bush does these days when he really should be in before the Hague. But the bottom line is, is that Jimmy Carter, the former president and former first lady, Rosalind Carter, they worked for the American public. And so they will be remembered and I'll be right back.

Ordinarily, dear listener, I would be talking to you about Kwanzaa. There are the days three and four. This is the fourth day of Kwanzaa. There are three more days to go, the 30th, the 31st, and New Year's Day, January 1st. And of course, the seven principles of Kwanzaa. The third one of them is Ujima, collective work and responsibility. And the fourth, which is today, is Ujamaa, cooperative economics, to build and maintain our economic infrastructure, our businesses, our

and our stores and things of that nature and to profit from our businesses and do that in a collective way, in a unified way, in a collective way, in a cooperative way. Ujima, as I said earlier, is collective work and responsibility to do the things that we can to build and maintain our communities and do that together and to solve the issues and problems in our community and to do that together. So look, I'll talk about those principles of Kwanzaa

on Monday or certainly Monday's episode of this podcast. But I do want to go back to former President Jimmy Carter, who passed away today at the age of 100. And as I promised you, I am going to now play the speech that I think he

certainly will be remembered for one of them, which is the crisis of confidence speech that he gave on July the 15th, 1979, which is often known as the Debbie Downer speech. Now, it's really, I think, a very honest speech that President Jimmy Carter gives in the White House from the Oval Office on that date in July. And he talks about America and Americans. And look,

Well, without any further ado, you can listen to the rest of it right now. Here now, as given in July 1979, July 15th, a primetime address to the American public by then President Jimmy Carter from the Oval Office, his speech, a crisis of confidence. Good evening. This is a special night for me. Exactly three years ago, on July 15th, 1976...

I accepted the nomination of my party to run for President of the United States. I promised you a president who is not isolated from the people, who feels your pain and who shares your dreams, and who draws his strength and his wisdom from you. During the past three years, I've spoken to you on many occasions about national concerns: the energy crisis, reorganizing the government, our nation's economy, and issues of war, and especially peace.

But over those years, the subjects of the speeches, the talks, and the press conferences have become increasingly narrow, focused more and more on what the isolated world of Washington thinks is important. Gradually, you've heard more and more about what the government thinks or what the government should be doing, and less and less about our nation's hopes, our dreams, and our vision of the future. Ten days ago, I had planned to speak to you again

about a very important subject: energy. For the fifth time, I would have described the urgency of the problem and laid out a series of legislative recommendations to the Congress. But as I was preparing to speak, I began to ask myself the same question that I now know has been troubling many of you: Why have we not been able to get together as a nation to resolve our serious energy problem? It's clear

that the true problems of our nation are much deeper, deeper than gasoline lines or energy shortages, deeper even than inflation or recession. So I want to speak to you first tonight about a subject even more serious than energy or inflation. I want to talk to you right now about a fundamental threat to American democracy. I do not mean our political and civil liberties. They will endure forever.

And I do not refer to the outward strength of America, a nation that is at peace tonight everywhere in the world with unmatched economic power and military might. The threat is nearly invisible in ordinary ways. It is a crisis of confidence. It is a crisis that strikes at the very heart and soul and spirit of our national will. We can see this crisis in the growing doubt about the meaning of our own lives today.

and in the loss of a unity of purpose for our nation. Our progress has been part of the living history of America, even the world. We always believed that we were part of a great movement of humanity itself called democracy, involved in the search for freedom. And that belief has always strengthened us in our purpose. But just as we are losing our confidence in the future,

We're also beginning to close the door on our past. In a nation that was proud of hard work, strong families, close-knit communities, and our faith in God, too many of us now tend to worship self-indulgence and consumption. Human identity is no longer defined by what one does, but by what one owns. But we've discovered...

that owning things and consuming things does not satisfy our longing for meaning. We've learned that piling up material goods cannot fill the emptiness of lives which have no confidence or purpose. The symptoms of this crisis of the American spirit are all around us. For the first time in the history of our country, a majority of our people believe that the next five years

will be worse than the past five years. Two-thirds of our people do not even vote. The productivity of American workers is actually dropping, and the willingness of Americans to save for the future has fallen below that of all other people in the Western world. As you know, there is a growing disrespect for government and for churches.

and for schools, the news media, and other institutions. This is not a message of happiness or reassurance, but it is the truth, and it is a warning. These changes did not happen overnight. They've come upon us gradually over the last generation, years that were filled with shocks and tragedy. We were sure that ours was a nation of the ballot, not the bullet, until the murders of John Kennedy and Robert Kennedy

and Martin Luther King Jr. We were taught that our armies were always invincible and our causes were always just, only to suffer the agony of Vietnam. We respected the presidency as a place of honor until the shock of Watergate. We remember when the phrase "sound as a dollar" was an expression of absolute dependability until 10 years of inflation began to shrink our dollar and our savings

We believed that our nation's resources were limitless until 1973 when we had to face a growing dependence on foreign oil. These wounds are still very deep. They have never been healed. Looking for a way out of this crisis, our people have turned to the federal government and found it isolated from the mainstream of our nation's life. Washington, D.C. has become an island.

The gap between our citizens and our government has never been so wide. The people are looking for honest answers, not easy answers. Clear leadership, not false claims and evasiveness and politics as usual. What you see too often in Washington and elsewhere around the country is a system of government that seems incapable of action. You see a Congress twisted and pulled in every direction,

by hundreds of well-financed and powerful special interests. You see every extreme position defended to the last vote, almost to the last breath, by one unyielding group or another. You often see a balanced and a fair approach that demands sacrifice, a little sacrifice from everyone, abandoned like an orphan, without support and without friends. Often you see paralysis and stagnation and drift. You don't like it.

And neither do I. What can we do? First of all, we must face the truth. And then we can change our course. We simply must have faith in each other. Faith in our ability to govern ourselves. And faith in the future of this nation. Restoring that faith and that confidence to America is now the most important task we face. It is a true challenge of this generation of Americans.

Our fathers and mothers were strong men and women who shaped a new society during the Great Depression, who fought world wars, and who carved out a new charter of peace for the world. We ourselves are the same Americans who just 10 years ago put a man on the moon. We are the generation that dedicated our society to the pursuit of human rights and equality.

And we are the generation that will win the war on the energy problem. And in that process, rebuild the unity and confidence of America. We are at a turning point in our history. There are two paths to choose. One is a path I've warned about tonight. The path that leads to fragmentation and self-interest. Down that road lies a mistaken idea of freedom. The right to grasp for ourselves some advantage over others. That path...

would be one of constant conflict between narrow interest ending in chaos and immobility. It is a certain route to failure. All the traditions of our past, all the lessons of our heritage, all the promises of our future point to another path, the path of common purpose and the restoration of American values. That path leads to true freedom for our nation and ourselves. We can take the first steps down that path

As we begin to solve our energy problem, energy will be the immediate test of our ability to unite this nation. And it can also be the standard around which we rally. On the battlefield of energy, we can win for our nation a new confidence. And we can seize control again of our common destiny. In little more than two decades, we've gone from a position of energy independence to

to one in which almost half the oil we use comes from foreign countries. At prices that are going through the roof, our excessive dependence on OPEC has already taken a tremendous toll on our economy and our people. This is the direct cause of the long lines which have made millions of you spend aggravating hours waiting for gasoline. It's the cause of the increased inflation and unemployment that we now face. This intolerable

dependence on foreign oil threatens our economic independence and the very security of our nation. The energy crisis is real. It is worldwide. It is a clear and present danger to our nation. These are facts, and we simply must face them. I will soon submit legislation to Congress calling for the creation of this nation's first solar bank, which will help us achieve the crucial goal of 20%

of our energy coming from solar power by the year 2000. These efforts will cost money, a lot of money. And that is why Congress must enact the windfall profits tax without delay. It will be money well spent. Unlike the billions of dollars that we ship to foreign countries to pay for foreign oil, these funds will be paid by Americans to Americans. These funds will go to fight, not to increase,

inflation and unemployment. I'm proposing a bold conservation program to involve every state, county and city and every average American in our energy battle. This effort will permit you to build conservation into your homes and your lives at a cost you can afford. I ask Congress to give me authority for mandatory conservation and for standby gasoline rationing. To further conserve energy, I'm proposing tonight an extra

$10 billion over the next decade to strengthen our public transportation systems. And I'm asking you for your good and for your nation's security to take no unnecessary trips, to use carpools or public transportation whenever you can, to park your car one extra day per week, to obey the speed limit, and to set your thermostats to save fuel.

Every act of energy conservation like this is more than just common sense. I tell you, it is an act of patriotism. Our nation must be fair to the poorest among us. So we will increase aid to needy Americans to cope with rising energy prices. We often think of conservation only in terms of sacrifice. In fact, it is a most painless and immediate way of rebuilding our nation's strength and

Every gallon of oil each one of us saves is a new form of production. It gives us more freedom, more confidence, that much more control over our own lives. So the solution of our energy crisis can also help us to conquer the crisis of the spirit in our country. It can rekindle our sense of unity, our confidence in the future, and give our nation and all of us individually a new sense of purpose. I do not promise you anything.

that this struggle for freedom will be easy. I do not promise a quick way out of our nation's problems, when the truth is that the only way out is an all-out effort. What I do promise you is that I will lead our fight, and I will enforce fairness in our struggle, and I will ensure honesty. Little by little, we can and we must rebuild our confidence.

We can spend until we empty our treasuries, and we may summon all the wonders of science, but we can succeed only if we tap our greatest resources, America's people, America's values, and America's confidence. In closing, let me say this. I will do my best, but I will not do it alone. Let your voice be heard whenever you have a chance.

Say something good about our country. With God's help and for the sake of our nation, it is time for us to join hands in America. Let us commit ourselves together to a rebirth of the American spirit. Working together with our common faith, we cannot fail. Thank you and good night.

That was President Jimmy Carter on July the 15th, 1979, in the crisis of confidence speech from the Oval Office in the White House. I think that that is the best speech he gave during his four years in the White House. Some people called it the Debbie Downer speech, but I do think

That that is unfair because what President Carter was doing in that speech was challenging each and every one of us who lives inside the United States of America to be much more considerate and mindful and more moral and be less selfish and less judgmental. I think he did something that very few presidents in the United States do, which is challenge the people whom he presides over as president in the White House.

or he's supposed to work for in the White House, to be better, to be better people, and to not covet material things. How many presidents do you know who have talked about that? How many American presidents can you think of who have directly appealed to the country and its citizenry and the people in the country to be less materialistic?

I've not known anybody now. President Obama talked about this in passing this year at the Democratic National Convention when he talked about people looking for retweets and likes. But that was nowhere near the kind of really direct assessment that President Carter made in that speech from the White House. He was in the Oval Office when he gave his speech. President Obama was at a convention center.

So there's a big difference there. President Carter challenged us to be better human beings. And that's exactly what part of that speech that you just heard the last 17 minutes that you just heard a crisis of confidence was largely about. That's part of what it was about.

for us to really be sensible about the decisions we made. You know, this is the same president, Jimmy Carter, who put solar panels on the roof of the White House only for the subsequent president, the very next president, President Ronald Reagan, to come in and take them off.

you know, this is Jeremy Carter. Jimmy Carter was somebody who cared about the environment. He obviously was deeply religious, devoutly religious, but he never allowed his own personal religion to get in the way of business in the white house. He never allowed the mixing of church and state in the white house. He never did. Um,

There's no doubt he was a deeply devout Christian. He talked about that. He's talked about that in his books. He's been very clear about where he stands on certain things in the Bible. And if you read his book, Our Endangered Values, America's Moral Crisis, which I spoke about earlier, a copy of which he signed for me nearly 20 years ago here in San Francisco, you will see that he makes very clear where he stands on a number of issues. And in that speech that you just heard,

He spoke back in 1979 about a number of things that still apply to this day in this country. He talks about the values being endangered. He thinks that civil rights and civil liberties weren't endangered, wouldn't be endangered. But that was 1979. Obviously, Jimmy Carter...

since then spoke out a lot about the endangerment of civil liberties. He spoke out about that a lot. He spoke about that very publicly. He criticized, uh, subsequent presidents like George W. Bush. He criticized, certainly criticized, um,

the person who's assuming the White House next month. He certainly did. He was not afraid to do that in his post-presidency. He was certainly not silent on those issues. And of course, as I've said earlier, he traveled across the world, around the globe with Rosalind Carter, his spouse of 70 plus years, seven zero plus years to talk about the things that matter, not just talk about them, do the things that matter, to be the humanitarians that they both were. And certainly,

Jimmy Carter was somebody who, as again, I'll say this again, he was a national treasure. And that speech really should not be thought of infamously. I know I mentioned that earlier. It really is, for me, a famous speech of his.

And I really regard that speech very highly. And I think that speech will endure. And I hope it gets a lot more respect because, again, Jimmy Carter, when he was president, I don't think got the full respect of the American public that he should have. Yes. Did he make mistakes in his presidency? Absolutely. Did he take some chances? Absolutely. Did he do some good things? Yes, he did. Was he always on point? No.

Did he actually preserve some decency in the office that he held post Gerald Ford and post Nixon before him? He absolutely did. Obviously, both Nixon and Ford were disasters for very different reasons. Because as you know, Ford basically, not basically, Ford did really uphold the criminality of Richard Nixon by pardoning him. Let's be honest about that. And, you know,

Quite frankly, I think Jimmy Carter came along into the White House at a time where I don't think America deserved him, really. And, you know, we know that out of the 1976 Republican National Committee convention, there was a lot of dissension in the Republican Party, a lot of clashes between Reagan and Ford supporters because there are a lot of people dissenting.

who wanted Reagan to run for president in 1976 and be the presidential choice. And he ran in 76, did Reagan. But, you know, through numerous brokered agreements in the brokered convention in Kansas City in 76, Gerald Ford, um,

you know, got the nod over Reagan. Reagan's time wasn't quite at hand. But just four years later, it was when there was dissension in the Democratic ranks, as I've told you earlier. And lo and behold, we had a nightmare presidency. Ronald Reagan was that nightmare. And we are still, still some 45 years later, digging out from under at least 44 years later, digging out from under.

with Ronald Reagan and his policies and his voodoo economics and all the rest of it, and his Reaganomics and all the rest of it that have really doomed this country and set this country back. And now you're going to have a dictator slash tyrant coming in. So, you know, the American public votes for things that it doesn't understand or does so out of fear or ignorance or a profound lack of education. And

And when there are good presidents and decent human beings in the White House who are present, such as a la Jimmy Carter, Americans, you know, by and large, with obvious exceptions, but by and large, just don't appreciate these kinds of decent people. They just don't. You know, they don't. They don't mind having a dictator in the White House.

in the White House. They don't mind having a war criminal in the White House. They voted for a war criminal twice, George W. Bush. You know, that was the majority popular vote in 2004 before this one 20 years later last month.

For people who do horrible things, for people who have shown you they've done horrible things, for people who really should never be anywhere near the White House. George W. Bush should never have been in the White House. And obviously we know that the tyrant who's returning to the White House should never have been anywhere near it.

And had we had a better education system here in the United States, had we had a corporate news media that actually cared about informing people and telling people about the horrors of this piece of orange nonsense, and had we had a Democratic Party that actually dealt singularly and squarely with their base properly by actually making overtures to them every single day of the campaign, then

It's very clear that Donald Trump wouldn't be walking into the White House next month. He wouldn't be anywhere near that White House. He wouldn't even have been the White House the first time around. But, you know, again, this is what the American public has voted for. And, you know, most of them voted for this guy. Most of them voted for him. And yes, was there some voter suppression? Most likely, yes.

Clearly, there had to have been some, I had imagined, right? I'm not saying the election was fixed. That's not what I'm saying. That's different from saying that there was probably voter suppression. And quite frankly, there's voter suppression in every one of these presidential elections. I mean, let's be honest about that. Certainly, we'll have to see about actual evidence of it. But I wouldn't be shocked if it happened. But the bottom line is, is that even with all of that, Vice President Harris should have won this election. Jimmy Carter, of course, put his vote in with Vice President Harris, of course, and

And look, the bottom line is it didn't work out that way. And Jimmy Carter, in my view, is the last decent human being to have been president of the United States. You want to say Barack Obama? Yeah, there's an argument to be made there.

For Barack Obama. However, you know, there's still some I have some quibbles with him in terms of decency. You know, there's there's some things that he did in his day in the White House that were not decent things, you know, and Joe Biden as well. Even though I think Joe Biden has a semblance of decency in him. Look what he did with Gaza.

So that makes him a functional war criminal in a way. Certainly makes him someone who authorized genocide and is a genocider. I mean, people might not want to hear that, but it's the truth. And it's just like what Jimmy Carter said. This is the truth. I say these words, as he said in the crisis of confidence speech that you just heard, not to comfort or to assuage. I'm just paraphrasing. I'm saying this because it's the truth.

And that's what Jimmy Carter did in the White House. He told you what you needed to hear, not what you wanted to hear. And so there were people in the Washington Beltway media who mocked that.

who called it Debbie Downer, you know, who tried to mock that by, you know, in a sexist way, by using a female name to try to trivialize and diminish the importance of what it was that Jimmy Carter was speaking about in that White House Oval Office address. He was really addressing the moral compass of the United States of America. He was really addressing the morality and the moral compass of Americans, right?

That's what Jimmy Carter was addressing in that speech, a crisis of confidence. That's what he addresses in the book that I had signed by President Carter called Our Endangered Values, America's Moral Crisis. He writes chapters on this in that book, which I do strongly, highly recommend. I encourage you to read. It's a relatively quick read. I'm going to be rereading that book now.

in light of the passing of President Jimmy Carter, the former president of the United States, the 39th president of the United States. And again, it's a very valuable book, as are all of the books that he wrote. He wrote, I think, between at least 40 books, maybe even 50 books, including a book called 90, N-I-N-E-T-Y, 90, The Age of 90. He wrote that book at 90 years old, reflecting on hitting that milestone.

There's lots of his books that are still available. You can rent, you can buy them or rent them out at the library if you still have a public library in your area. I strongly encourage you, though, to read Our Endangered Values. I think that is a really pertinent book because I think what he says in that book still applies in 2025, where we're heading.

in that next few days will be in 2025. I think that still applies very much to this very moment in 2024 as we are leaving this year shortly. I think that what he said in that speech is reflected, some of it at least in the book, Our Endangered Values, which was published, I think around 2004 or 2005. And so I do, dear listener, encourage you and highly recommend the book. And I have actually posted a

the cover of the book on a number of the social media channels that I can be found on, as well as his autograph, his signature, uh, of one of the inside cover pages of the book as well. So you can see that if you go to all the platforms, including, uh, threads.net forward slash popcorn, R E E L. If you go to spoutable.com forward slash popcorn, R E E L. If you go to fan base.com,

dot A-P-P four slash popcorn R-E-E-L. If you go to, uh, blue sky popcorn, R-E-E-L dot B sky dot social. Um, if you go to spill, which I'm on as well at popcorn, R-E-E-L, you will find, um, certainly for the most part, those, uh, those, uh, signature pages of the book, um,

Our Endangered Values, America's Moral Crisis by former President Jimmy Carter. It was really an honor to meet him just about almost 20 years ago now here in the city of San Francisco at a book signing. He couldn't have been more nicer, more decent. And as I say, I think he's the last sincerely decent person

that we've had in the White House as a president that I can remember for an awfully long time. And again, you want to add President Obama to that list? Perhaps you could. Perhaps you could. That would be debatable, though, I think, among some, including myself, actually, to a degree. But certainly Jimmy Carter was that. He was someone who was genuine. He was real. He was authentic.

He was honest, a very honest person. And, you know, he cared about people. He genuinely cared about fellow human beings. And he did the work to prove that, too. All across the world, he helped millions and millions of people. He built homes for people, along with his spouse, Rosalind Carter, who did the same. They worked, as I said, in Habitat for Humanity for many a decade. And again, they were global citizens and they were well-respected everywhere.

And Jimmy Carter certainly leaves this planet with a whole lot of respect and admiration. It is very sad. I do find it sad. I know some people I've spoken to, perhaps they don't feel so sad about him passing because they look at his age and think, well, look, he lived a long life. But I am sad about him passing. You know, I do find it to be very sad because, again, we're seeing...

The last few really decent, honest people in public service on a large scale, federal level, national level like this around. Now, of course, there are lots of people, I think, who are in Congress who are actually genuinely decent people, you know, that I can probably think of.

who really do care about people. There are some, I would say they're in the Democratic Party, if any. And then there's some who are formerly in the party who are no longer in it. And there are people who aren't in the public eye

or the public gaze who have been former politicians and who I think are decent people. And then we've had some in the past who care about people. Adam Clayton Powell, the third, who is no longer with us, cared when he was the House of Representatives member for Harlem in 2010.

New York City. He cared. He cared about people. He did a whole lot of great things in legislation for the average person, for his constituents, for people. He really did genuinely care. Adam Clayton Powell was a very

Very confident, very strong, very resolute person who actually cared about human beings. And you can't say that about a lot of people in politics. Now, there are people on the local levels who do care. Some of them, people on the federal level who do, on the state level, who I think genuinely do care.

And we have to be part of that ourselves, whether we choose to run, whether we choose to get involved locally in politics. I think that's what we should be doing, all of us, in some small way, shape or form. As the calendar year comes to an end and the new one begins, we have to start getting involved. I think Jimmy Carter would have expressed similar sentiments and to get involved and to roll up your sleeves. I think that's one thing that Jimmy Carter would have said to us.

and I think has said to us, we need to become a part of the global village, but really the part of the local village is what I would say. And we need to get involved here and absolutely roll up our sleeves. I must say that the passing of Jimmy Carter will reverberate not only around the country, but across the globe.

He is already sorely missed. And yes, he lived to 100. He lived a very long, solid life and a very decent life and someone who really cared about the earth. He cared about people. He cared about people's lives. He really did. And he touched many, many, many millions of people's lives in the 100 years he was on this planet. He...

was entirely devoted to service, service of country, service of people. That is what you think, at least what I think when I think about Jimmy Carter, the former president of the United States. A lifetime of service, a lifetime of devotion to the people, a lifetime of devotion and service to the country, and a lifetime of humanitarian causes. That was Jimmy Carter.

Jimmy Carter passed away today at the age of 100. My deepest, most profound condolences, most heartfelt condolences to the Carter family, to the Carter Center, and to everyone who is close to the former president and who...

will continue on with his legacy and live on, uh, and survive him. And again, it's obviously a very sad time for them. And again, uh,

My deepest and most profound condolences to all of those members of the Carter family and to the Carter Center and those who are very close as well otherwise to the former president of the United States, the oldest living former president in the history of the United States. Jimmy Carter passed away today at the age of 100.

You can find this podcast on numerous podcasting platforms, including Apple and Spotify and numbers of other podcasting platforms. I've already told you about the social media outlets, so I won't repeat them now. Thank you very much for listening to this edition of The Politocrat. I'm Omar Moore.