Jimmy Carter

“The sad duty of politics is to bring justice to a sinful world,” Reinhold Niebuhr once wrote; it's no coincidence that the deeply religious Jimmy Carter, who admired Niebuhr's work, brought an almost evangelical fervor to his presidency. Ranging from human rights issues to peace in the Middle East, Carter's policies at home and abroad were motivated by a strong sense of justice that defied conventional wisdom. Still, being a humanitarian did not make him either an effective or popular politician (Carter rejected any whiff of quid pro quo; as then vice president, Walter Mondale, points out, “the way to kill your chance [with Jimmy] was to say, 'this would be good for you politically'”). In this three-hour portrait from PBS's acclaimed The American Experience series, viewers will see how factionalism within the Democratic party, Washington realpolitik, the stagnating economy, and yes, Carter's own stubborn sense of mission, caused the peanut farmer from Plains, Georgia to lose popularity even before the disastrous Iranian hostage-taking situation sealed his political fate. Interviewees include journalists, scholars, former Cabinet officials, and members of the political team that launched Carter from the senate to the governorship to the presidency, and that gentle-voiced steel magnolia, former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, who adds her thoughts and perspective. In fact, the only minor flaw in this production is the absence of Carter himself; given that he alive and well, it's a shame the documentary lacks his reflections on his presidency and life since 1980. Highly recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (R. Reagan)