I don't like raw pineapple. It is too acidy.
That is why every New Year I resolve not to eat it, even when it is available.
It gets my resolutions off to a fast start.
It is my expectation, not a resolution, to broaden the scope of this blog a little in the year ahead. Less politics, more other stuff. We will see how well I do.
Each turning of the year puts me in a mood to reflect on absence. Things I didn't do. People who died. Jack Mullen sent me this reflection yesterday, and it fits this mood. Jack and I grew up in the same place, thinned pears on the same crew, and worked for the same U.S. representative, Jim Weaver. Jack will be watching this afternoon's Duck football game with his wife Jennifer in their home in Washington, D.C.
Guest Post by Jack Mullen
I feel lucky to have experienced heady times when Oregon’s May presidential primary, coming shortly before California's, placed my home state in the nation’s limelight. Every four years from 1960 to 1976, Oregon played a crucial role in either party’s nomination process.
If I hadn't been a participant in the 1960 Rogue Valley Pear Blossom Festival as a trombone player in the Hedrick Junior High marching band, I never would have listened to John Kennedy’s campaign speech in Hawthorne Park when he said, “I may never become president of the United States, but at least I can say I was the grand marshall of the Rogue Valley Pear Blossom Festival.”
As the candidate walked from one end of Hawthorne Park to the other, I shook hands with the next president of the United States. He looked me straight in the eye with that famous Kennedy stare that made you feel important.
Every four years since, I made it a point to listen and observe the candidates as they slogged through Oregon. I saw Nelson Rockefeller at the Medford airport on his quick stop in 1964. In 1968, I attended speeches by Richard Nixon, Eugene McCarthy, and Robert Kennedy at the University of Oregon.
My political interest paid off in 1976 when I worked in the Eugene office of Congressman Jim Weaver, just as slew of Presidential candidates came to town. I was able to meet and greet Morris Udall, Frank Church, Jerry Brown, Birch Bayh and Fred Harris. However, I never felt the warmth of a candidate that I had for JKF until I heard Jimmy Carter speak at Eugene’s City Center. After years of Richard Nixon, his promise not to lie to the American people spoke volumes.
Jimmy Carter was different from the other candidates. His promised unorthodox approach to the presidency resonated with me, but may have been his political downfall. Once in office, he ignored special interests, be it the oil and gas industry, or pet Congressional boondoggles. The latter caused an uneasy relationship with Congress and split the Democratic party, as many Democrats turned to Ted Kennedy in the 1980 primary, leading the way for a Ronald Reagan win.
Jimmy Carter made the mistake of being a man ahead of his time. Although his legislative achievements rank him high among modern presidents, most have been turned back by succeeding administrations. His energy conservation programs fell flat in the Reagan Administration. His major post-Watergate ethical reforms are being chipped away. His successes in the fields of education and consumer protection are often overlooked and are now fading away.
Once the Iranian crisis exploded, his accomplishments in foreign affairs became minimized. History, however, does give him credit on how he ended the five wars between Israel and Egypt with the Camp David peace accords. I like the fact that he put human rights at the forefront of his foreign policy, which led to a resurgence of democracy in Latin America and Africa, as he did not kowtow to brutal dictators. He diplomatically combined soft and hard power on both the Soviet Union and China better than any modern president. The nuclear arms race lessened during his presidency.
Jimmy Carter was more than a just a man of faith and a decent human being. He spoke to the country and the world about America’s decency as reflected in his policies and life he lived. Unfortunately, at the time and again now, not enough people cared. I did.
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2 comments:
A fine tribute to a fine human being and public servant. He was a good role model whose moral fiber made it unnecessary to declare him above the law.
Happy New Year! May it defy our expectations.
Back in the 1960s, I had a girlfriend who, like me, didn’t like cantaloupe. When she was asked why she didn’t like cantaloupe, she would reply, “Because it tastes too much like cantaloupe.”
Clever, funny gal…
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