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Thank you, Jimmy Carter
He sparked my obsession with politics
My memories of Jimmy Carter’s election and subsequent single term are a little different from most people’s. When he was elected in 1976, I was enraged that the country was going to be led by a peanut farmer. For some reason, I thought that we would become the laughingstock of the world.
For the record, I was equally mortified when we replaced the peanut farmer with a B-list Hollywood actor in 1980.
I was irrationally convinced that I could have prevented this catastrophe if only I had voted. At the time, I rarely voted. I was too cool to be seen standing in line at my local polling place.
That never happened again. Since that election, I have voted in every single election, whether it was for president or dog catcher. I realized that if I wanted to have any say in my own government, I needed to vote.
That is also why you frequently see articles from me on New Jersey politics. They may not interest anyone else, but they are as intensely interesting to me as national politics.
Carter’s single term doesn’t really stand out in my mind except for the energy crisis following the Iranian revolution that resulted in long lines at the gas station like the oil crisis of 1973. And who can ever forget Rosalyn crying because…
