Photo credit: Janet Donovan
Carter in Oscarland by Douglas Brinkley.
“As Argo puts Carter in the spotlight, historians have begun to recognize him as a flawed, but visionary president,” writes Brinkley.
Brinkley is an author, professor of history, a history commentator for CBS and contributing editor to numerous publications. Oh, and he was born in Atlanta, Georgia.
Hollywood on the Potomac had a chance to sit down with Brinkley when he celebrated his official book launch for “The Quiet World: Saving Alaska’s Wilderness Kingdom”
Hunter Biden, Ben Barnes and David Brinkley
While the above book has nothing to do with Carter, Brinkley’s understanding of history is incredibly perceptive as discussed in his piece today for The Daily Beast. Will history take on a renewed interest in President Carter because of Argo…….and even more so if it wins Best Picture? Carter fans sure hope so.
“Carter’s face won’t be chiseled on Mt. Rushmore someday. Few presidents are. But wise decisions that he made—like issuing an executive order granting amnesty to Vietnam draft dodgers in 1977—are starting to come into sharper focus.
And say what you want about Carter’s bungling of the Iran Hostage Crisis, eventually each of the 53 captives came back alive (not just the ones featured in Argo). He wisely refused to be goaded into an unnecessary Middle East war. Although I’m pulling for Lincoln to win the Oscar, it will give me great pleasure to know that if Argo wins, Jimmy Carter will be smiling a fine elder statesman smile that doesn’t seem discomfiting anymore.”
Barbara Blum, Special Assistant to President Carter, may want to also thank Argo. During our Inaugural Series she talked to us about what it was like to work with Carter and what she thought about his place in history.
Barbara Blum
It’s also evident that she feels he got a bum rap to which to this day she regards as a sad moment in history regarding the Iran hostage situation. “He was good,” she told us. “He was a really good man who got a bum rap.
When Carter went out of office, finally the plane took off and the announcement was made that the hostages had been released. They were waiting until he was gone. They didn’t want him to have any, any sense of place or sense of pride in having negotiated any of the hostages release – which he had done and his administration had done. It was sort of sad.”
Whether or not Argo wins, there is sure to be renewed debate about The Iran Hostage situation and the role of President Carter.
