Small-town peanut warehouser's son of a good but obscure name One day soon to be president and a man of international fame For he's commander-in-chief of history's tried army and he does whatever he will Soldier of fortune from the great war, the war on Calvary hill There will be times of utter frustration, tears of rage, compromise and much pain A wicked, vile and corrupt congress will utterly oppose everything that is sane Though he promotes peace and goodwill, displays courage and gives sound advice He will lose popularity in the polls and be utterly reviled in the press But there is an overall battle plan, a whole lot bigger than one would ever guess For the last will someday be first and the vain and proud will soon be much less He has been chosen to be an example of what a truly great leader should be One who fears God with all his heart and who seeks peace through humility He will promote peace through social justice, helping the poor find shelter and bread For without a vision we the people perish and without works, our faith is dead On history's great ancient rock he will build a solid Human Rights foundation One that stands for peace and goodwill, for every tongue and for every nation And like wise James of old who wrote history's little book of true revolution He will go down in the pages of time as one who knew and practiced the solution Among often violent and corrupt modern rulers, he transcends the rest as being most wise * President James Earl Carter---Twentieth Century Nobel Peace Prize ** Small-town peanut warehouser's son of a good but obscure name One day soon to be president and a man of international fame For he's commander-in-chief of history's tried army and he does whatever he will Soldier of fortune from the great war, the war on Calvary hill Holding earth's kings and pawns in his hand, he does whatever he will Soldier of fortune from the great war, the war on Calvary hill Soldier of fortune from the great war, the war on Calvary hill Habitat for Humanity International *FootNote: While being interviewed on national television, Walter Cronkite was asked, out of all of the 20th Century's political leaders he had personally met and talked with, which one in his opinion had the best grasp on issues and overall solutions to the most pressing modern problems facing our country and our planet. Without a moment's hesitation, Mr. Cronkite answered, "President Carter". Several years after the Carter administration, even Newt Gingrich admitted that most of what President Carter tried to push past an unbending, uncaring and self-serving congress was a good idea, fundamentally correct and in the long-term best interest of the American people. One of the most unfortunate realities of modern American politics is that sitting presidents are often blamed for problems created by long since passed administrations and the ever-recalcitrant members of congressional malfeasance. The watch of President Carter bore the downside brunt of the immeasurably costly (in many ways) results of the war in Viet Nam and an oil crises without precedent and beyond his control (thus double-digit inflation); the war, of course, occurred several years before President Carter was elected and the selfishness of OPEC had not previously been exposed as a significant global problem. The skill in which the Carter administration reacted to the oil crises and dealt with OPEC spared America much future grief and ultimately brought the price of oil under control for decades to follow. **FootNote II: Written before President Carter was finally awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in October 2002, more than twenty years after he should have already received what should be the planet's highest honor, although several recent nominations have brought the credibility of the Nobel Prize itself into serious question. |