A good deal of Jimmy Carter's appeal when he ran for President in 1976 was his outsider-ness. It was a bare two years since the hideous Richard Nixon had had to resign in disgrace, and Washington needed fresh blood.
Another reason was that Carter famously promised the American people, "I will never lie to you." And gosh, you know what? He never did. How amazing that seems now, with Donald Trump fibbing a thousand times a day, every day.
Today, Carter officially became the longest-living US President ever, having just passed George H.W. Bush, and we hope he'll rack up many days more. Since he's brain-cancer-free now and fixated on celebrating the death of the last guinea worm, we say: Aim for 100, Mr. President!
It sure is satisfying to see Jimmy Carter — who, thanks to the Republicans' relentless revisionism, was a much better President than he gets credit for — outlive all those GOP clowns who ridiculed and belittled him. And how wonderful that he, and not Ronald "Tear Down this Wall" Reagan, received the Nobel Peace Prize. We're sure that rankled Ronnie and Nancy to their bitter ends.
True to form, the Carters had no big celebrations today. But we cats wish him and Mrs. Carter health and happiness for years to come. And of course we PURR.
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