Peter Baker

And he wins the election.

He beats an incumbent president, Gerald Ford, who was Nixon's former vice president, and in many ways the final shadow of the Watergate era. And pretty much from the get-go... Carr begins redefining the presidency as an institution. You know, he banned the playing of Hail the Chief when he walked in the room. He sold the presidential yacht called the Sequoia.

He beats an incumbent president, Gerald Ford, who was Nixon's former vice president, and in many ways the final shadow of the Watergate era. And pretty much from the get-go... Carr begins redefining the presidency as an institution. You know, he banned the playing of Hail the Chief when he walked in the room. He sold the presidential yacht called the Sequoia.

He carried his own bags onto Air Force One when he traveled. Good evening. Tomorrow will be two weeks since I became president. He gave these fireside chats once, most famously, of course, in a Corrigan sweater, very casual looking from the White House, something we were not used to in a president.

He carried his own bags onto Air Force One when he traveled. Good evening. Tomorrow will be two weeks since I became president. He gave these fireside chats once, most famously, of course, in a Corrigan sweater, very casual looking from the White House, something we were not used to in a president.

He was really trying to be something different than we had seen in the White House before.

He was really trying to be something different than we had seen in the White House before.

Exactly. And in the process, demystifying, in a way, the presidency. But in some ways, that doesn't go over well. You know, he brings this Georgian style to Washington, but he also brings this small coterie of Georgia advisors to Washington who didn't know the place very well, didn't know Congress, didn't know how it worked, didn't know national politics, and didn't seem to want to adjust to it.

Exactly. And in the process, demystifying, in a way, the presidency. But in some ways, that doesn't go over well. You know, he brings this Georgian style to Washington, but he also brings this small coterie of Georgia advisors to Washington who didn't know the place very well, didn't know Congress, didn't know how it worked, didn't know national politics, and didn't seem to want to adjust to it.

Certainly he didn't. And so even though Carter has this really powerfully strong Democratic majority in Congress, he ends up misplaying his relationship with them from the get-go. How so? Well, one of the very first things he does is he attacks a ritual that lawmakers really love, bipartisan, by the way, local water projects.

Certainly he didn't. And so even though Carter has this really powerfully strong Democratic majority in Congress, he ends up misplaying his relationship with them from the get-go. How so? Well, one of the very first things he does is he attacks a ritual that lawmakers really love, bipartisan, by the way, local water projects.

These are pork barrel spending things that allow them to go home to their constituents and say, I built this and I built that. And he basically tried to pull the plug on them. And he just refused to curry favor with lawmakers. He didn't schmooze or dine with them. He wasn't like an LBJ or a FDR. He just didn't, it wasn't his style of governance.

These are pork barrel spending things that allow them to go home to their constituents and say, I built this and I built that. And he basically tried to pull the plug on them. And he just refused to curry favor with lawmakers. He didn't schmooze or dine with them. He wasn't like an LBJ or a FDR. He just didn't, it wasn't his style of governance.

One time, the Speaker of the House, Tip O'Neill, shows up at the White House for a breakfast with the congressional leadership, with Carter, and all there are are pastries. And he's mad that there's not a hot breakfast. Small as that is, he feels like he's disrespected. And that's the kind of thing Carter disdains. He disdains that sort of what he thinks is kind of a pomposity of Washington.

One time, the Speaker of the House, Tip O'Neill, shows up at the White House for a breakfast with the congressional leadership, with Carter, and all there are are pastries. And he's mad that there's not a hot breakfast. Small as that is, he feels like he's disrespected. And that's the kind of thing Carter disdains. He disdains that sort of what he thinks is kind of a pomposity of Washington.

Why should I have to serve you a hot breakfast because you're so full of it? And instead of adjusting, right? Another politician would just simply adjust, serve him some breakfast, serve him some eggs, whatever. He stands on principle. And what we learn about Carter here is he's actually very stubborn, really stubborn as a Georgia mule, if you will. And he's very certain of his own rectitude.

Why should I have to serve you a hot breakfast because you're so full of it? And instead of adjusting, right? Another politician would just simply adjust, serve him some breakfast, serve him some eggs, whatever. He stands on principle. And what we learn about Carter here is he's actually very stubborn, really stubborn as a Georgia mule, if you will. And he's very certain of his own rectitude.

As the guy who's the outsider, he has the mandate, he believes, to shake up Washington. And that's all well and good, but it means he's not playing the game and the game players don't want to help him get his agenda through. And there's a cost to that stubbornness.

As the guy who's the outsider, he has the mandate, he believes, to shake up Washington. And that's all well and good, but it means he's not playing the game and the game players don't want to help him get his agenda through. And there's a cost to that stubbornness.

And the problems began to mount. And they were the problems of his own creation and the problems that were not of his own creation.