The Promise of Character
We Need Decency from our Leaders Now More than Ever
Welcome to the Civic Way journal, our quick take on the relevance of current events to America’s future governance. The author, Bob Melville, is the founder of Civic Way, a nonprofit dedicated to good government, and a management consultant with over 45 years of experience improving public agencies.
Character…is destiny. – Heraclitus (ancient Greek pre-Socratic philosopher)
Most of us believe that character matters, at least in our personal lives. We try to treat others as we hope to be treated. We teach our children solid values like honesty and respect. We surround ourselves with friends of character we admire. We make decisions every day based at least in part on our perceptions of the character of others.
President Carter’s death was a poignant reminder of a time when character mattered in American politics. For as long as most of us can remember, a candidate’s character was important. We may not have known everything about a leader’s supposed character, and what we knew may have been only one factor in our vote, but character was something we considered. More often than not, character issues derailed candidacies and nominations.
In 1976, Democrat Jimmy Carter, a one-term governor from Georgia, challenged Republican Gerald Ford for the presidency. Ford, the 38th President, had assumed the office after Richard Nixon’s resignation. Character wasn’t the only factor in the 1976 election, but, in the aftermath of Watergate, many voters sought this quality in their next president, and Ford and Carter both offered it. Carter, after defeating Ford in a hard fought election with just over 50 percent of the popular vote, became the 39th President in January 1977.
Carter’s one-term presidency had its highs and lows. One of the highlights was in 1978 when Carter negotiated the Camp David Accords, an historic peace treaty framework signed by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin. Sadat and Begin even shared the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize. However, in 1980, the Carter administration succumbed to inflation, unemployment, energy disruptions, and the Iranian hostage crisis.
In 1981, after Carter lost his reelection bid, Sadat was assassinated. Ford and Carter traveled together to Egypt for Sadat’s funeral, setting the stage for a life-long friendship that overcame their political rivalry. Carter and Ford became close friends and agreed to deliver eulogies for one another. In 2006, President Carter gave a heartfelt eulogy for President Ford. When Carter died in December 2024 at the age of 100, Ford’s son Steve delivered the eulogy that his father had written for Carter. Excerpts of Ford’s eulogy—shown below—give us a glimpse into the character and decency of both men.
“Jimmy and I forged a friendship that transcended politics. For Jimmy Carter, honesty was not an aspirational goal; it was part of his very soul. Jimmy pursued brotherhood across boundaries of nationhood, … tradition, and … caste… Now the time has come to say goodbye … May God bless and watch over this good man … whose life was lived to the fullest with a faith demonstrated in countless good works ... Jimmy, I’m looking forward to our reunion. We have much to catch up on.”
Most historians give Carter’s presidency mixed marks. However, few historians—or Americans for that matter—doubt Carter’s character. It was during Carter’s long, gallant post-presidential career that his exemplary character revealed itself time again. Through the Carter Center, he worked for peace, justice and democracy around the globe. Through Habitat for Humanity, he built homes for the poor. Through his church, he shared his faith. Through his marriage and family, he showed his love.
If we try to define character, Jimmy Carter would be a good place to start. His qualities were the very embodiment of good character. Integrity, compassion, kindness, grace, modesty, humility and dignity. A man of faith who lived his faith. We don’t have to agree on the merits of his presidency, but we should agree on the content of his character. And we should continue to seek it in ourselves and others.
That brings us to today’s politics, and our seeming amnesia about the need for character in our leaders. People without any semblance of character get elected or appointed to important public offices. Racism, misogyny, sexual assault, drunkenness, bullying, abusive behavior and dishonesty are no longer disqualifying flaws. Instead of character or even professional qualifications, we demand personal loyalty. The portrait of a lackey instead of a profile in courage.
Trump’s political resilience, if it has proven anything, it has shown that, for many American voters, rancid character is no bar to public office. He lacks every virtue that Jimmy Carter possessed, especially decency. Consider Trump’s kneejerk approach to tragedy. Blame the devastating LA wildfires on liberal policies and Governor “Newscum.” Blame the New Orleans New Year’s Day terrorist attack on immigration[i]. Blamed the January 29th Potomac River air disaster on Obama-Biden’s “horrible” diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies[ii]. Shameful and inexcusable.
During the 1950s, another character-challenged public figure foreshadowed Trump. Senator Joseph McCarthy, in a desperate quest for attention and power, led a sensational, mendacious campaign to smear supposed Communists and homosexuals in the federal government. In 1954, McCarthy, like Trump a devotee of Roy Cohn[iii], turned his smear campaign on the Army. It was then that McCarthy went too far and exposed his utter lack of character.
During the televised Army-McCarthy hearings, McCarthy launched an entirely gratuitous personal attack on a young colleague of the Army’s Chief Counsel, Joseph Welch. McCarthy surprised Welch with an attack on the young attorney’s patriotism[iv]. Watching McCarthy advance his cause at the expense of a young man’s career was too much for Welch. Interrupting McCarthy’s disgraceful rant, Welch angrily rebuked McCarthy, "Until this moment, Senator, I … never really gauged your cruelty or … recklessness… Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?”
Regrettably, we know that, in politics, decency can be a scarce commodity, and that character is not always destiny. Donald Trump’s ascendency (and return to power) certainly make that point. But is this what we really want from our future political leaders? Do we really want to live in a nation where our political leaders view character and decency as weaknesses?
No democracy can long survive without a deep, widely shared public faith in our civic institutions and the men and women who run them. There is little doubt that our faith in the federal government has been declining for decades. There is even less doubt that fundamental change is overdue. However, if such change comes at the expense of decency and character, won’t the cost be too high?
The agreement to do each other's eulogy's is so very touching.
In praise of character and decency. May it yet ascend again. Soon.
Please tell us why Evangelicals voted for this man. If they know the Bible they should know about the Antichrist. Trump fits the description perfectly.