“White House Diary” by President Jimmy Carter excerpts a journal he kept during his White House years, the entire contents being available at the Carter Library, so there is no revisions, as George Washington did on occasions.
Furthermore, Carter adds comments to clarify and expand upon his notes and to reflect upon them.
For those who enjoy history, it is like being the proverbial fly on the wall, watching things evolve on a day to day basis. We know what is coming; he doesn’t.
Here is one of hundred excerpts of interest and edification:
JOURNAL ENTRY: “February 2 [1979]: I went to New York for the memorial service for Nelson Rockefeller. It was very moving, and Happy was very friendly and attractive. The only person who was emotional and weeping openly was President Ford. I presume he felt bad having kicked Rockefeller out of the White House as he prepared for reelection. Rockefeller’s contributions were indeed impressive in politics, business, art , and public service.”
RETROSPECTIVE COMMENT: “…There is little doubt that Ford’s decision to replace Rockefeller with Bob Dole on the 1976 Republican ticket – a decision made largely due to pressure from right-wing southern Republicans – was a fatal political mistake. Dole was a flop on the campaign trail, and he alienated the African American community, which would have supported the Republican ticket if it included Rockefeller, who was their hero for his generosity to them. The shift to Dole also cost the Republican New York, and a win there could have given a Ford-Rockefeller ticket the victory in 1976.”
The extraordinary breadth of Carter’s intellect, the ferociousness of his work habits, and his commitment to his duties are both awesome and humbling to behold.
Really interesting excerpt. History is no doubt filled with decisions that could have changed the direction of the country in significant ways.
The first campaign I worked on in high school was for the slate of Nelson Rockefeller for Governor, Jacob Javits for Senate and John Lindsay for Mayor. I think it was the latter who got me interested. Lindsay was a progressive Republican who was also nominated by the Progressive Party.
Javits was the first senator to introduce the decriminalization of marijuana (although that issue was not on my radar when I was in high school.) The country would be much better off today if those types of Republicans still existed. But, now we have Democrats who are more conservative than Nixon, including Obama.
But, the labels conservative and liberal really don’t work any longer. It now comes down to corporatists vs. anti-corporatists. The latter includes Republicans like Ron Paul and would probably have included many of the Tea Party Republicans before they were manipulated so expertly by the Republican Party into supporting candidates who oppose their beliefs.
Unfortunately, both parties are controlled by concentrated corporate power, especially Wall Street and the military-industrial-complex, who have the system rigged so that the candidates that come out of the primaries are consistent with their interests in corporatism and militarism.
And, it is not only the Tea Party folks who are manipulated into voting against their interests, most Americans are. Democracy has become mostly a mirage that gives people a false sense of choice.