Rosalynn Carter. Thanks.

Rosalynn Carter turns 96 today

She is spending the day quietly at home with her husband of 77 years, former president Jimmy Carter.

Best wishes and happy birthday. Thank you, Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter.

It will be a quiet birthday with her husband, who is now in hospice. She said she will eat a cupcake and have some peanut-butter flavored ice cream. She will release a burst of butterflies in the garden from the home where she was born in 1927. She has always loved butterflies.

Bill Clinton and Barack Obama had every right to get rich after their presidency. And they did. Former president Gerald Ford was appointed to the board of Citibank after his presidency, and I got to shake his hand and nod a greeting when he was a "featured guest" at a convention at the Greenbriar resort, held as a reward event for some of Citibank's Financial Advisors. Gerald Ford also held board positions at American Express and Primerica, as well as 20th Century Fox. The companies were cashing in by having him as a headliner for events like the one I attended. He was cashing in because he could. He was a celebrity.

Harry and Bess Truman took the train back to Independence, Missouri after his presidency to return to their modest home. He had no income beyond a small Army pension. Seeing his situation, Congress decided to award a pension to former presidents. Harry Truman declined offers of board positions, consultancies, and endorsement opportunities. He said that the office of the president belonged to the people, not to him.  

"I could never lend myself to any transaction, however respectable that would commercialize on the prestige and dignity of the office of the presidency." 

The Trumans and Carters seem quaint. The New York Times reported that Bill Clinton received $150,000 per speech and earned $40 million in the years immediately after his presidency. Ronald Reagan gave two 20-minute speeches in Japan immediately after leaving office. He was paid $2 million for them. George W. Bush has given some 200 paid speeches at fees of about $150,000. He is available now, with speeches arranged by the Washington Speakers Bureau.

Washington Speakers Bureau

Democrat, Republican -- they all do it. Except Jimmy Carter. 

I do not blame or condemn the Clintons and the Obamas. Cashing in on celebrity is legal. It is so easy to cash in on celebrity that even very troubled people like Hunter Biden can do it. It is considered so normal that there is barely need for disguise or subterfuge. Jared Kushner was the White House liaison handling Middle East negotiations between the U.S., Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt. The Qatar government, using the vehicle of an American hedge fund, Brookfield Property Partners, purchased a 99 year lease on Jared Kushner's distressed property, 666 Fifth Avenue. Kushner desperately needed a sale and Qatar paid far above market price, bailing him out. It looks bad, but it is legal. The public notices. Senators complain but the deal goes through. It becomes part of the accepted way of doing things. The public's cynicism grows. It sets the stage for normalizing other examples of high-dollar dealmaking. Immediately after leaving the White House the Saudi government invests $2 billion in Jared Kushner's brand new hedge fund with annual fees of 1.25%, plus 20% of profits as a bonus, if there are profits. Sweet. It looks bad, but it is legal. Public cynicism grows more, with thoughts like these going through heads:

All politicians are corrupt. Politics is corrupt. Cheat if you can. It is a fixed game. Don't be a sap. Don't be a goody-goody. Everybody does it.

I fully expect grift and avarice from the Trumps. It is their brand. His standard is not whether it is or looks ethical. His standard is the lowest possible one: Is it clearly, provably so very illegal that even Lindsay Graham will refuse to defend him. 

We had an opportunity to hope for something different from Obama. His book sales were big enough to set the family up for life. He could have stopped with that. He could have renewed the Truman-Carter norm. It would re-affirm that the honorable path is not set by markets and self-interest, but by the public interest that shows that high office is about service. George Washington could have been king or dictator, but he declined it in favor of the common good of a republic. People who remember that history honor it. As Commander in Chief Obama called on others to risk themselves and sacrifice for the common good. People see the revolving door of political office to corporate cash, and it feeds their belief that politics is corrupt. The Obamas saw the effect of the Goldman Sachs speeches on Hillary Clinton's reputation. He was warned. Obama is still young. There is time for Obama to shape his legacy. 

Jimmy and Roslyn Carter did it right. Jimmy Carter rarely got speaking fees. When he did, he donated them to charity. "We give money. We don't take it," he said. He and Roslyn live in the ranch style house they owned back in 1961. They live simply and well.

I honor the Carters. 

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