Tuesday open thread: In memoriam Rosalynn Carter

Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter were my first First Couple. 

What shone through to me as a young boy was their innate decency. President Carter chose politics to help people, and his wife supported him.

But Mrs. Carter was much more than simply an adjunct to a powerful man. 

Before her, with the exception of Eleanor Roosevelt, First Ladies took up causes which were suitable for "ladies who lunch," be it Ladybird Johnson's beautification program, or Jackie Kennedy redesigning the White House grounds.

Of course, I didn't ingest this at the time, but Mrs. Carter's championing of mental health was a marked departure in the role of the First Lady. She dug into something which adversely affected millions of Americans. She wasn't content merely to be at her husband's side; she wanted to use the "office" into which she had been thrust for positive change. Where Rosalynn Carter led, Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush and Michelle Obama and now Jill Biden followed. Far from being a position suitable only for planning state dinners, it became a position with heft, one in which its occupant used the—dare I say?—bully pulpit to bring attention to things of concern to the nation.

But let's not forget the great love story at the center of her life. 

The love she and Pres. Carter had for each other is a love you don't find often. It was a love based on equality and mutual admiration. It was a love which lasted most of their lives, as they had been childhood neighbors. I can only hope that my marriage to my wife is half as deep and affectionate as theirs.

People like Rosalynn Carter are bright flames who illuminate the world around them. Being in their presence makes you think that there is more to life than what we've been led to expect. That faith, charity, and love are not weakness, but ultimate strengths. 

As Jimmy Carter awaits the time when he can soon be with his beloved, I hope that the outpouring of love for her on her passing comforts him. She was a special, rare human being, whose like comes along too rarely.

This is your open thread.

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