The party was in full swing at my house, celebrating my election as lieutenant governor in 1978. I didn’t hear the phone ring; so my son picked it up.
“This is the White House calling.” Peter recalled every word. “President Carter would like to speak to Madeleine Kunin.”
‘Hello,” I breathed into the phone, breathless. “It’s great to be a Democrat,” were the only words I remember saying.
The president had called to congratulate me, in the days when there weren’t that many women elected and even not that many Democrats. That call marked the height of my admiration for Jimmy Carter.
I had twice attended the Democratic National Convention where he was nominated. I had come to the Convention with Esther Sorrell (later a state senator) who was the first Vermonter to back an unknown peanut farmer, Jimmy Carter. She predicted he would be elected president, when few people did.
When President Carter was going through a soul-searching process about his presidency, he invited me and my husband, Arthur, to a White House dinner. We were just 20 people and ate in the president’s private dining room, upstairs. A man from Oakland, California came up to my husband and asked,”What city are you the mayor of?” My husband set him straight.
Carter seemed pensive. He was struggling to get the Senate votes to approve the Panama Canal treaties. It was clear he hated the wheeling and dealing of politics, pointing out one senator who exacted a high price from him who was particularly obnoxious. It turned out that Carter’s perseverance over the Panama Canal treaties was one of his major and barely recognized achievements, which strengthened our relationship with Central and South America.
It was a memorable evening. I took notes. A few of us wondered if wine would be served because it was known that Carter didn’t drink. We had wine.
Rumors followed Jimmy but he dismissed them. He came across as an honest, serious president — totally unpretentious — who was doing his utmost to do the right thing for his country.
History has been appropriately more kind to him than it was during his presidency. Today he is honored for a remarkable post-presidency, which has saved millions of lives and made the world a better place.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Madeleine Kunin: Remembering President Jimmy Carter.