Jimmy Carter was, in his pursuit of some fairly consistent objectives, truly the very opposite of a politician. His causes and his work were maintained long after they had any payoff in terms of votes, or lack of them. These became lifetime objectives. In some ways, that’s unique in contemporary America–that you’re not going for the quarterly or even the four-year objective, but aiming for a set of very targeted and very principle-driven positions. Neither Woodrow Wilson nor Teddy Roosevelt nor Jimmy Carter tolerated dissent very gracefully. They were all quite self-righteous. I’m sorry the Nobel chief said the award was a kick at President Bush. It makes it partisan. Still, I’m not going to say Carter dislikes any hammering on the administration’s position, because he does think it’s disastrously wrong. And does he believe he deserves the prize? Doggone right. Why not?
