Former President Jimmy Carter has passed away at age 100. The man was most notable for his humanity. He was elected President in the aftermath of President Nixon’s resignation in disgrace. And he became most admired for his post-Presidency. Rather than retiring from the spotlight, or focusing on lucrative business efforts, he focused on diplomacy and humanitarian causes.
At the same time, Carter was a better President than many give him credit for. While he won only one term, he left a significant legislative legacy including airline deregulation, and deregulation of railroads, trucking and energy. He nominated Paul Volcker as Chairman of the Federal Reserve, and it was Volcker who was most responsible for taming inflation in the United States.
These moves set the stage for U.S. prosperity in the 1980s, though they were aided by the bipartisan Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 at the start of the Reagan administration which lowered rates and broadened the tax base (it passed 89-11 in the Senate).
What I will always remember President Carter for is this video of the former President walking through economy on Delta Air Lines in 2017, taking the time to greet everyone on board.
Jimmy Carter is on my plane to DC from ATL and just shook every hand of every passenger. #swoon #atl #delta pic.twitter.com/y6otolbhPj
— James Parker Sheffield (@JayShef) June 8, 2017
The effort was hardly a one-off, either, though if you were a United Airlines or American flyer you probably didn’t know it. The former Georgia governor was a regular on Delta Air Lines and its partners.
Jimmy Carter flew commercial. Here he is on a 2013 Delta flight from Atlanta to New York, shaking the hand of every passenger before we took off. pic.twitter.com/eianMDRtww
— Rachel Bachman (@Bachscore) December 29, 2024
My Delta pilot dad often took, developed, and snail-mailed pictures of passengers who wanted to sit in his captain’s seat.
When he asked this couple where he could send the pictures, President Carter replied, “Just write ‘Jimmy Carter, Plains, GA.’ They know where to find me.” + pic.twitter.com/xx5XZktE0l
— Chris Davis (Bluesky same handle) (@RevChrisDavis) July 9, 2021
Carter didn’t just help to give us airline deregulation, which brought lower fares and democratized travel, but also the deregulation of beer. One of his later acts was the 1979 change to permit the sale of malt, hops, and yeast to home brewers for the first time since prohibition. That change led not just to home brewing but led to the development of micro beweries, craft beer festivals, and a culture that supported better beer overall.
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