Peter Baker

At least 15 dead and dozens injured. The FBI says they're investigating this as a potential act of terrorism.

Yeah, it's really interesting, Michael, because, you know, I've spent the last few years writing Jimmy Carter's obituary, and I know that sounds a little weird, but that's something we do at the newspaper, right, to be prepared for these big moments.

Yeah, it's really interesting, Michael, because, you know, I've spent the last few years writing Jimmy Carter's obituary, and I know that sounds a little weird, but that's something we do at the newspaper, right, to be prepared for these big moments.

And researching and reflecting on his legacy, I've concluded that it's really hard to imagine anybody like Jimmy Carter ever being elected president again. I mean, he was a very unusual man, and it was a very unusual presidency.

And researching and reflecting on his legacy, I've concluded that it's really hard to imagine anybody like Jimmy Carter ever being elected president again. I mean, he was a very unusual man, and it was a very unusual presidency.

Well, first of all, we should know that Jimmy Carter, it's the American story in the sense of our mythology, how we believe in ourselves. He comes from very humble beginnings in rural Georgia, you know, as a peanut farmer. He wore blue jeans and had dirty fingernails. You know, his childhood home had no running water or electricity. And he was openly religious. He talked about the Bible a lot.

Well, first of all, we should know that Jimmy Carter, it's the American story in the sense of our mythology, how we believe in ourselves. He comes from very humble beginnings in rural Georgia, you know, as a peanut farmer. He wore blue jeans and had dirty fingernails. You know, his childhood home had no running water or electricity. And he was openly religious. He talked about the Bible a lot.

He liked to quote verses from it. By the time he's running for president of the United States, he'd basically been a one-term governor with no connections to Washington. And that meant that he was running a campaign as an outsider.

He liked to quote verses from it. By the time he's running for president of the United States, he'd basically been a one-term governor with no connections to Washington. And that meant that he was running a campaign as an outsider.

Now, I mean, today that's kind of a cliche, right? A lot of people run for president these days as an outsider, but he really was an outsider in every possible sense of that word. It defined his identity, and it defined his campaign, and ultimately it would define his presidency.

Now, I mean, today that's kind of a cliche, right? A lot of people run for president these days as an outsider, but he really was an outsider in every possible sense of that word. It defined his identity, and it defined his campaign, and ultimately it would define his presidency.

And he was the man that was right for that moment, it felt like, because the country was hungry for an outsider.

And he was the man that was right for that moment, it felt like, because the country was hungry for an outsider.

I hope you share it. You know, in 1976, when he was running for president, you know, America had been through these multiple traumas. The war in Vietnam, which killed roughly 50,000 American troops and divided the nation. And the angry and often violent reactions to the civil rights movement. And you had Watergate, the scandal that forced a president to resign for the first time.

I hope you share it. You know, in 1976, when he was running for president, you know, America had been through these multiple traumas. The war in Vietnam, which killed roughly 50,000 American troops and divided the nation. And the angry and often violent reactions to the civil rights movement. And you had Watergate, the scandal that forced a president to resign for the first time.

You know, things that are really sort of tore apart our society in a lot of ways as we struggle with who we were and what we wanted to be. And so Carter shows up at this particular moment is kind of a theoretically at least an antidote to some of that. And he tells the country, I'll never tell a lie.

You know, things that are really sort of tore apart our society in a lot of ways as we struggle with who we were and what we wanted to be. And so Carter shows up at this particular moment is kind of a theoretically at least an antidote to some of that. And he tells the country, I'll never tell a lie.

I will never lie to you at a moment when that really matters. And unlike a lot of politicians, people really thought he may have meant it. He might have actually been telling the truth about telling the truth. He might have actually been telling the truth. Now, it's really hard for a politician to not lie, ever. But he was committed to that.

I will never lie to you at a moment when that really matters. And unlike a lot of politicians, people really thought he may have meant it. He might have actually been telling the truth about telling the truth. He might have actually been telling the truth. Now, it's really hard for a politician to not lie, ever. But he was committed to that.

And he wins the election.