Carter: Magnanimous in defeat, hopeful for future

By Stan Hastey

Without question, one of the highlights of my career as a working journalist was the interview conducted with former President Jimmy Carter on Sunday, May 24, 1981, four months after he left the White House. Arranged by Robert L. Maddox, one of Carter’s speechwriters and special assistant to the president for religious outreach, the interview was conducted at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Ga. My co-interviewer that day was Alvin C. Shackleford, then editor of the Baptist & Reflector, the weekly news journal of the Tennessee Baptist Convention.

As Baptist Press bureau chief in Washington and director of information services for the Baptist Joint Committee, I remember an acute sense, in roughly equal measures, of anticipation and anxiety that began the day Maddox called to say the now-former president had agreed to an interview with Baptist journalists. After all, this would be Carter’s second sit-down with reporters following his departure from the nation’s capital the previous January 20 with the inauguration of his successor, the former governor of California, Ronald Reagan. Only Helen Thomas, chief White House correspondent for United Press International and the dean of the White House press corps, had been invited to Plains for an interview before ours.

On the appointed day, we sat with former first lady Rosalynn Carter near the front of the sanctuary of Maranatha church and listened as President Carter taught the day’s Sunday school lesson to a full house. He then joined us on the pew for the worship service, including a sermon by the church’s pastor, the Rev. Bruce E. Edwards. Then, after church, we were led to the interview site, a children’s classroom. There, sitting in three-quarters-size chairs, the built-up anxiety I’d sensed over the previous days and weeks quickly dissipated as we settled in. President Carter’s easy demeanor saw to that, as did Rosalynn’s warmth.

Preparing for the encounter, Shackleford and I had decided I would lead off with a series of questions having to do with political and public policy matters. He, in turn, would ask questions about the president’s future plans, including any anticipated involvement in denominational affairs.

Having covered the rise of what then was called the Religious Right over the previous few years, beginning roughly with the rise to prominence of the Rev. Jerry Falwell and his so-called Moral Majority, I was aware that exit polls following the 1980 election showed that whereas four years earlier — when Carter narrowly defeated incumbent President Gerald R. Ford — Southern Baptists this time had flipped their support from Carter to Reagan. In 1976, two-thirds had voted for their fellow Southern Baptist; in 1980, two-thirds had rejected him in favor of the California governor.

Since learning of this unexpected opportunity to interview the now-former president, I’d known what my first question had to be: “How significant was the role of the Religious Right in your defeat?” Given the numerous issues that had plagued his presidency — including severe oil shortages with long lines at gas stations, soaring inflation and interest rates, and above all, the hostage crisis in Iran — I’d wondered if he might downplay the impact of the movement on his defeat.

Instead, his answer was immediate and forceful. The Religious Right, he declared unequivocally, had “a very profound effect” on the election results. He quickly added that he harbored no “bitterness or ill feeling” toward leaders of the movement, some of whom had bitterly denounced him. “I think that there is too much wisdom present in the collective body of Christians for that sort of distortion to prevail more than a short period of time,” he said. “I think they are deeply committed Christians who are sincere in their belief, who let prejudice get the best of them for a while.”

Forty years later, sadly and menacingly, that has not turned out to be the case, as an ever more vitriolic brand of what we now call Christian nationalism has taken deep root in the body politic, threatening liberties we once thought unassailable. By the time of Carter’s death at age 100, he certainly knew the force that figured so largely in his defeat was greater than anyone could have imagined back in 1980.

Yet defeat did not undo him. As our interview concluded, he described Jan. 20, 1981, the day of his successor’s inauguration, as “one of the happiest days of my life.” He was referring to the long-awaited release that day of the remaining 52 hostages who had been held in Tehran for an agonizing 444 days.

“So I didn’t go out of office at all with a feeling of despair or anguish or even of thanksgiving for the relief of burdens,” he declared. “I enjoyed the presidency and I appreciated every day the chance to serve.”

In this 1981 photo taken in Plains, Ga., the Rev. Dr. Stan Hastey (far right) is pictured with (left to right) Al Shackleford, editor of the Baptist & Reflector; former President Jimmy Carter; and Bob Maddox, former presidential liaison to the religious community. This photo by Joe Thompson ran in the July-August 1981 edition of Report from the Capital.

The Rev. Dr. Stan Hastey served on the BJC staff and was a reporter and news analyst in the Washington bureau of the Baptist Press news service from 1974-1988. He later served as the first executive director of the Alliance of Baptists.

Click here to read a reflection by J. Brent Walker on President Carter’s interactions with BJC over the years.

This article originally appeared in the spring 2025 edition of Report from the Capital. You can view it as a PDF or read a digital flip-through edition.