Jimmy Carter

== 1976 presidential campaign ==
{{main|Jimmy Carter 1976 presidential campaign}}{{Further|1976 Democratic Party presidential primaries|1976 United States presidential election}}
[[File:Carter and Ford in a debate, September 23, 1976 (cropped).jpg|thumb|alt=A monochrome picture of Carter and Ford, both standing at podiums during a debate.|Carter and President [[Gerald Ford]] debating at the [[Walnut Street Theatre]] in [[Philadelphia]], September 1976]]

On December 12, 1974, Carter announced his presidential campaign at the [[National Press Club (United States)|National Press Club]] in Washington, D.C. His speech contained themes of domestic inequality, optimism, and change.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/address-announcing-candidacy-for-the-democratic-presidential-nomination-the-national-press |title=Address Announcing Candidacy for the Democratic Presidential Nomination at the National Press Club in Washington, DC |website=The American Presidency Project |last1=Peters |first1=Gerhard |last2=Woolley |first2=John T. |date=December 12, 1974 |access-date=August 30, 2021 |archive-date=August 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816181829/https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/address-announcing-candidacy-for-the-democratic-presidential-nomination-the-national-press |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=CG0zAAAAIBAJ&sjid=3DIHAAAAIBAJ&pg=6942%2C5857919 |title=Carter a candidate for the presidency |publisher=Lodi News-Sentinel |date=December 13, 1974 |access-date=August 30, 2021 |archive-date=May 21, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210521142244/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=CG0zAAAAIBAJ&sjid=3DIHAAAAIBAJ&pg=6942,5857919 |url-status=live }}</ref> Upon his entrance in the Democratic primaries, he was competing against sixteen other candidates, and was considered to have little chance against the more nationally known politicians like Wallace.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=E. Zeizler|first1=Julian|date=September 7, 2015|title=17 Democrats Ran for President in 1976. Can Today's GOP Learn Anything From What Happened?|url=https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/09/2016-election-1976-democratic-primary-213125/|access-date=September 1, 2021|website=Politico|archive-date=October 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211015022313/https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/09/2016-election-1976-democratic-primary-213125/|url-status=live}}</ref> His name recognition was two percent, and his opponents derisively asked "Jimmy Who?".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.manythings.org/voa/history/220.html|title=American History: Jimmy Carter Wins the 1976 Presidential Election|access-date=September 1, 2021|archive-date=June 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210616094954/https://www.manythings.org/voa/history/220.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In response to this, Carter began to emphasize his name and what he stood for, stating "My name is Jimmy Carter, and I'm running for president."<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Setterfield |first1=Ray |date=December 31, 2020 |title='My Name is Jimmy Carter and I'm Running for President' |url=https://www.onthisday.com/articles/my-name-is-jimmy-carter-and-im-running-for-president |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210521142231/https://www.onthisday.com/articles/my-name-is-jimmy-carter-and-im-running-for-president |archive-date=May 21, 2021 |access-date=September 1, 2021 |website=On This Day {{!}} OnThisDay.com}}</ref>

This strategy proved successful. By mid-March 1976, Carter was not only far ahead of the active contenders for the presidential nomination, but against incumbent Republican president [[Gerald Ford]] by a few percentage points.<ref>{{cite book |last=Shoup |first=Laurence H. |title=The Carter Presidency, and Beyond: Power and Politics in the 1980s |url=https://archive.org/details/carterpresidency0000shou/page/70 |year=1980 |publisher=Ramparts Press |isbn=978-0-87867-075-8 |page=[https://archive.org/details/carterpresidency0000shou/page/70 70]}}</ref> As the Watergate scandal was still fresh in the voters' minds, Carter's position as an outsider, distant from Washington, D.C. proved helpful. He promoted government reorganization. In June, Carter published a memoir titled ''Why Not the Best?'' to help introduce himself to the American public.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/07/16/archives/choice-of-mondale-helps-to-reconcile-the-liberals-choice-of-mondale.html |newspaper=The New York Times |first=Charles |last=Mohr |title=Choice of Mondale Helps To Reconcile the Liberals |date=July 16, 1976 |access-date=August 30, 2021 |archive-date=May 31, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210531062839/https://www.nytimes.com/1976/07/16/archives/choice-of-mondale-helps-to-reconcile-the-liberals-choice-of-mondale.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Carter became the front-runner early on by winning the [[Iowa caucuses]] and the [[New Hampshire primary]]. His strategy involved reaching a region before another candidate could extend influence there, traveling over {{convert|50000|mi|km|abbr=off}}, visiting 37 states, and delivering over 200 speeches before any other candidate had entered the race.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/carter/#transcript |title=Jimmy Carter |series=The American Experience |publisher=Public Broadcasting Service |date=November 11, 2002 |access-date=June 23, 2020 |archive-date=June 26, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200626060507/https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/carter/#transcript |url-status=live }}</ref> In the South, he tacitly conceded certain areas to Wallace and swept them as a moderate when it became clear Wallace could not win it. In the North, Carter appealed largely to conservative Christian and rural voters. Whilst he did not achieve a majority in most Northern states, he won several by building the largest singular support base. Although Carter was initially dismissed as a regional candidate, he would clinch the Democratic nomination.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Broder|first1=David|author-link1=David Broder|date=December 18, 1974|title=Early Evaluation Impossible on Presidential Candidates|page=16|work=Toledo Blade|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=yMgwAAAAIBAJ&pg=7214%2C2087680|access-date=January 3, 2016|archive-date=February 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204092325/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=yMgwAAAAIBAJ&pg=7214%2C2087680|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1980, Lawrence Shoup noted that the national news media discovered and promoted Carter, and stated:

{{Blockquote|What Carter had that his opponents did not was the acceptance and support of elite sectors of the mass communications media. It was their favorable coverage of Carter and his campaign that gave him an edge, propelling him rocket-like to the top of the opinion polls. This helped Carter win key primary election victories, enabling him to rise from an obscure public figure to President-elect in the short space of 9 months.<ref>{{cite book |last=Shoup |first=Laurence H. |title=The Carter Presidency, and Beyond: Power and Politics in the 1980s |url=https://archive.org/details/carterpresidency0000shou/page/94 |year=1980 |publisher=Ramparts Press |isbn=978-0-87867-075-8 |page=[https://archive.org/details/carterpresidency0000shou/page/94 94]}}</ref>}}

During an interview in April 1976, Carter said, "I have nothing against a community that is... trying to maintain the ethnic purity of their neighborhoods."<ref name="Time 1976-04-19">{{cite news |url=http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/printout/0,8816,914056,00.html |title=The Campaign: Candidate Carter: I Apologize |magazine=Time |date=April 19, 1976 |volume=107 |issue=16 |access-date=July 13, 2018 |archive-date=March 23, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190323002443/http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/printout/0,8816,914056,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref> His remark was intended as supportive of [[open housing]] laws, but specifying opposition to government efforts to "inject black families into a white neighborhood just to create some sort [[Racial integration|of integration]]".<ref name="Time 1976-04-19" /> Carter's stated positions during his campaign included public financing of congressional campaigns,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=SFOYbPikdlgC&dat=19741213&printsec=frontpage |title=Carter Officially Enters Demo Presidential Race |work=Herald-Journal |date=December 13, 1974 |access-date=August 30, 2021 |archive-date=November 19, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211119213258/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=SFOYbPikdlgC&dat=19741213&printsec=frontpage |url-status=live }}</ref> his support for the creation of a federal consumer protection agency,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=8_tS2Vw13FcC&dat=19760810&printsec=frontpage |title=Carter Backs Consumer Plans |newspaper=Toledo Blade |location=Toledo, Ohio |date=August 10, 1976 |access-date=August 30, 2021 |archive-date=December 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211212140455/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=8_tS2Vw13FcC&dat=19760810&printsec=frontpage |url-status=live }}</ref> creating a separate cabinet-level department for education,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=32680 |title=Bardstown, Kentucky Remarks and a Question-and-Answer Session at a Town Meeting. (July 31, 1979) |website=The American Presidency Project |quote=THE PRESIDENT. Could you all hear it? The question was, since it appears that the campaign promise that I made to have a separate department of education might soon be fulfilled, would I consider appointing a classroom teacher as the secretary of education. |last1=Peters |first1=Gerhard |last2=Woolley |first2=John T. |access-date=August 30, 2021 |archive-date=November 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107014653/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=32680 |url-status=live }}</ref> signing a peace treaty with the [[Soviet Union]] to limit nuclear weapons,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=8_tS2Vw13FcC&dat=19761014&printsec=frontpage |title=Carter Berates Lack Of New A-Arm Pact |newspaper=Toledo Blade |location=Toledo, Ohio |date=October 14, 1976 |access-date=August 30, 2021 |archive-date=August 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816013118/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=8_tS2Vw13FcC&dat=19761014&printsec=frontpage |url-status=live }}</ref> reducing the defense budget,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=8_tS2Vw13FcC&dat=19761003&printsec=frontpage |title=Carter Positions on Amnesty, Defense Targets of Dole Jabs |first=Frank |last=Kane |newspaper=Toledo Blade |location=Toledo, Ohio |date=October 3, 1976 |access-date=August 30, 2021 |archive-date=August 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816100742/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=8_tS2Vw13FcC&dat=19761003&printsec=frontpage |url-status=live }}</ref> a tax proposal implementing "a substantial increase toward those who have the higher incomes" alongside a levy reduction on taxpayers with lower and middle incomes,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=SFOYbPikdlgC&dat=19760919&printsec=frontpage |title=GOP Raps Carter On Tax Proposal |date=September 19, 1976 |access-date=August 30, 2021 |work=Herald-Journal |archive-date=October 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211011183951/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=SFOYbPikdlgC&dat=19760919&printsec=frontpage |url-status=live }}</ref> making multiple amendments to the [[Social Security Act]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=7035 |date=December 20, 1977 |access-date=August 30, 2021 |publisher=American Presidency Project |title=Social Security Amendments of 1977 Statement on Signing S. 305 Into Law |archive-date=October 19, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019060428/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=7035 |url-status=live }}</ref> and having a balanced budget by the end of his first term of office.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=SFOYbPikdlgC&dat=19760904&printsec=frontpage |title=Carter Would Delay Programs If Necessary |date=September 4, 1976 |access-date=August 30, 2021 |work=Herald-Journal |archive-date=August 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816085328/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=SFOYbPikdlgC&dat=19760904&printsec=frontpage |url-status=live }}</ref>[[File:ElectoralCollege1976.svg|thumb|upright=1.35|alt=Map of the 1976 presidential election. Most western states are red whilst the majority of eastern states are blue.|The electoral map of the 1976 election]]

On July 15, 1976, he chose U.S. senator [[Walter Mondale]] as his running mate.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=8_tS2Vw13FcC&dat=19760715&printsec=frontpage |title=Carter Nominated, Names Mondale Running Mate |newspaper=Toledo Blade |location=Toledo, Ohio |date=July 15, 1976 |access-date=August 30, 2021 |first=Frank |last=Kane |archive-date=August 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816164136/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=8_tS2Vw13FcC&dat=19760715&printsec=frontpage |url-status=live }}</ref> Carter and Ford faced off in three televised debates,<ref name="Howard, Adam NBC News" /> the first [[United States presidential debates]] since 1960.<ref name="Howard, Adam NBC News">{{cite news |last1=Howard |first1=Adam |title=10 Presidential Debates That Actually Made an Impact |url=http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/2016-presidential-debates/10-presidential-debates-made-impact-n650741 |publisher=NBC News |date=September 26, 2016 |access-date=December 31, 2016 |archive-date=May 4, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210504003847/https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/2016-presidential-debates/10-presidential-debates-made-impact-n650741 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Kraus, Sidney; Great Debates">{{cite book |last1=Kraus |first1=Sidney |title=The Great Debates: Carter vs. Ford, 1976 |date=1979 |publisher=Indiana University Press |location=Bloomington |page=3 |url=https://www.questia.com/read/94445794/the-great-debates-carter-vs-ford-1976 |access-date=December 31, 2016 |archive-date=January 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170101162639/https://www.questia.com/read/94445794/the-great-debates-carter-vs-ford-1976 |url-status=live }}</ref>

For the November 1976 issue of ''[[Playboy]]'', which hit newsstands a couple of weeks before the election, [[Robert Scheer]] interviewed Carter. While discussing his religion's view of pride, Carter said: "I've looked on a lot of women with lust. I've committed adultery in my heart many times."<ref>"The Playboy Interview: Jimmy Carter." Robert Scheer. ''Playboy'', November 1976, Vol. 23, Iss. 11, pp. 63–86.</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Psu5UNg1jEUC&pg=PA216 |title=A Year in My Pajamas with President Obama, The Politics of Strange Bedfellows |last=Casser-Jayne |first=Halli |publisher=Halli Casser-Jayne |isbn=978-0-9765960-3-5 |page=216 |access-date=March 21, 2022 |archive-date=July 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230705115615/https://books.google.com/books?id=Psu5UNg1jEUC&pg=PA216 |url-status=live }}</ref> This response and his admission in another interview that he did not mind if people uttered the word "fuck" led to a media feeding frenzy and critics lamenting the erosion of boundary between politicians and their private intimate lives.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/frenzy/carter.htm?noredirect=on |title=Washingtonpost.com Special Report: Clinton Accused |first1=Larry J. |last1=Sabato |year=1998 |access-date=August 30, 2021 |newspaper=The Washington Post |archive-date=June 27, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200627042800/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/frenzy/carter.htm?noredirect=on |url-status=live }}</ref>

Carter began the race with a sizable lead over Ford, who narrowed the gap during the campaign, but lost to Carter in a narrow defeat on November 2, 1976.<ref name="Toledo Blade-1976">{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=8_tS2Vw13FcC&dat=19761103&printsec=frontpage |title=Carter Appears Victor Over Ford |newspaper=Toledo Blade |location=Toledo, Ohio |date=November 3, 1976 |access-date=August 30, 2021 |archive-date=November 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211122194136/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=8_tS2Vw13FcC&dat=19761103&printsec=frontpage |url-status=live }}</ref> Carter won the popular vote by 50.1 percent to 48.0 percent for Ford and received 297 [[United States Electoral College|electoral votes]] to Ford's 240.<ref name="Toledo Blade-1976" />

=== Transition ===
{{Main|Presidential transition of Jimmy Carter}}

Preliminary planning for Carter's [[United States presidential transition|presidential transition]] had already been underway for months before his election.<ref name="Burke">{{cite journal |last1=Burke |first1=John P. |title=The Contemporary Presidency: The Obama Presidential Transition: An Early Assessment |journal=Presidential Studies Quarterly |year=2009 |volume=39 |issue=3 |pages=574–604 |doi=10.1111/j.1741-5705.2009.03691.x |jstor=41427379 |issn=0360-4918|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="Voxtransition1">{{cite web |last1=Skinner |first1=Richard |title=Jimmy Carter changed presidential transitions forever |url=https://www.vox.com/mischiefs-of-faction/2016/10/5/13142390/jimmy-carter-changed-presidential-transitions |website=Vox |access-date=February 4, 2021 |language=en |date=October 5, 2016 |archive-date=March 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210311161151/https://www.vox.com/mischiefs-of-faction/2016/10/5/13142390/jimmy-carter-changed-presidential-transitions |url-status=live }}</ref> Carter had been the first presidential candidate to allot significant funds and a significant number of personnel to a pre-election transition planning effort, which then became standard practice.<ref name="burke2004">{{cite book |last1=Burke |first1=John P. |title=Becoming President : The Bush Transition, 2000–2003 |date=2004 |publisher=Lynne Rienner Publishers |location=Boulder, Colo. |pages=12, 18 |isbn=978-1-58826-292-9}}</ref> He set a mold that influenced all future transitions to be larger, more methodical and more formal than they were.<ref name="burke2004"/><ref name="Voxtransition1"/>

On November 22, 1976, Carter conducted his first visit to Washington, D.C. after being elected, meeting with director of the Office of Management [[James Lynn]] and United States secretary of defense [[Donald Rumsfeld]] at the [[Blair House]], and holding an afternoon meeting with President Ford at the [[White House]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=8_tS2Vw13FcC&dat=19761122&printsec=frontpage |title=Carter in Washington, Meets Lynn, Rumsfield |newspaper=Toledo Blade |location=Toledo, Ohio |date=November 22, 1976 |access-date=August 30, 2021 |archive-date=November 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211126211046/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=8_tS2Vw13FcC&dat=19761122&printsec=frontpage |url-status=live }}</ref> The next day, he conferred with congressional leaders, expressing that his meetings with cabinet members had been "very helpful" and saying Ford had requested he seek out his assistance if needing anything.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=8_tS2Vw13FcC&dat=19761123&printsec=frontpage |title=Ford Promises Carter Transition Cooperation |newspaper=Toledo Blade |location=Toledo, Ohio |date=November 23, 1976 |access-date=August 30, 2021 |archive-date=December 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211212140500/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=8_tS2Vw13FcC&dat=19761123&printsec=frontpage |url-status=live }}</ref> Relations between Ford and Carter were relatively cold during the transition.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Eksterowicz |first1=Anthony J. |last2=Hastedt |first2=Glenn |title=Modern Presidential Transitions: Problems, Pitfalls, and Lessons for Success |journal=Presidential Studies Quarterly |year=1998 |volume=28 |issue=2 |pages=299–319 |jstor=27551861 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27551861 |access-date=May 18, 2021 |issn=0360-4918 |archive-date=January 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122000357/https://www.jstor.org/stable/27551861 |url-status=live }}</ref> During his transition, Carter announced the selection of numerous designees for positions in his administration.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1350&dat=19770119&id=UQxPAAAAIBAJ&pg=6092,1318484 |title=Carter Announces Nominees For 6 More Top Posts |newspaper=Toledo Blade |location=Toledo, Ohio |date=January 19, 1977 |access-date=August 30, 2021 |archive-date=November 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211109062316/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1350&dat=19770119&id=UQxPAAAAIBAJ&pg=6092%2C1318484 |url-status=live }}</ref> On January 4, 1977, he told reporters he would free himself from potential conflicts of interest by leaving his peanut business in the hands of trustees.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=4pF9x-cDGsoC&dat=19770104&printsec=frontpage |title=Carter to quit peanut business |newspaper=The Register-Guard |location=Eugene, Oregon |date=January 4, 1977 |access-date=August 30, 2021 |archive-date=August 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817013657/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=4pF9x-cDGsoC&dat=19770104&printsec=frontpage |url-status=live }}</ref>