To Tell the Truth, Mr. President – II

by Bill Doughty

A young U.S. Naval Academy submarine officer sat in front of then-Capt. Hyman Rickover, head of the Navy's highly secret nuclear program. Near the end of the interview the young man faced a question that could hurt this chance of promotion to a key position. Rickover asked, "Did you always do your best?"

Jimmy Carter writes in his memoir "A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety" (Simon & Schuster, 2015) that he responded honestly: "No sir, I didn't always do my best." He knew he could have studied more, participated in more class activities and tried harder for advancement. Carter was sure he had failed the interview, but his truthful response earned him a position developing the first nuclear reactors for the Navy's submarines.

Later, as Governor of Georgia and while campaigning for president, Carter would remember the Rickover interview.

"One of the earliest and most persistent questions when I began campaigning was 'If elected, will you tell us the truth?' Having served as a legislator and governor, I knew how difficult it was to keep this promise, especially when facing influential constituents who held opposing opinions on subjects important to them. Nevertheless, I decided to make the commitment, and would tell my small audiences that I would make the same declarations to them and to all my other listeners. Often I would close by saying, 'If I ever lie or even make a misleading statement, don't vote for me.'"

Carter and Rickover. (NHHC)

Carter remembers how he and Rickover "established a close friendship from the beginning of my presidency." He remembers a visit aboard what was then the Navy's newest nuclear submarine:

"In May 1977 Rosalynn and I flew down to Cape Canaveral and spent the day with Rickover on the nuclear submarine USS Los Angeles. He and the captain put the new ship through extreme maneuvers, and he pointed out that the U.S. atomic-powered ships would stretch for more than ten miles if lined up stem to stern and that there had never been a nuclear incident that caused any damage or injured a person. I was surprised when I asked him how he would react to a total elimination of nuclear weapons – and nuclear power production – from the earth. He said it would be one of the greatest things that could happen."

First Lady Roaalynn Carter and President Jimmy Carter, along with Admiral Hyman G. Rickover (far right), visit USS Los Angeles in 1977. (Public Domain)

Rickover helped Carter plan and institute safety measures at American nuclear power plants in the wake of the Two Mile Island accident in March 1979. The measures were "patterned after those he maintained in navy ships." With Congress, Carter also successfully navigated the nation away from implementing breeder reactor nuclear power plants.

Yet, Carter says, "I remain convinced of the efficacy of nuclear power generation, especially as an alternative to the extremely threatening prospect of global warming caused by excessive consumption of coal, oil, and other fossil fuels." He adds, "There will have to be an emphasis on simplicity and safety of design and highly trained personnel to operate the reactors."

President G.H.W. Bush with former presidents Reagan, Carter, Ford and Nixon. (Navy)

Like other presidents, Carter eschewed nuclear weapons and worked toward nonproliferation. "I wanted to maintain peace and to reduce the world's nuclear weaponry as near to zero as possible."

Carter writes clearly and honestly about this relations with former presidents, including a deep friendship with Gerald Ford and strained relationship with Ronald Reagan. He says that, as the first president to install solar panels atop the White House, he was disappointed Reagan removed them after coming into office. In a conservationist initiative, Carter also championed protection of Alaska lands from commercial development.

"A Full Life" includes Carter's views on controversial issues like national intelligence, racial discrimination, abortion, drugs, poverty, peace in the Middle East and relations with Iran, China, Soviet Union and North Korea.

"Progress on the Korean Peninsula (toward reunification) was frustrated by reluctance among both the Koreans and some of my own military leaders," Carter notes. "As a submariner during the Korean War, I had felt frustrated when it ended with an arbitrary line drawn between North and South Korea plus merely a cease-fire and not a permanent peace treaty."

Lieutenant James Earl (Jimmy Carter) in the main control room of USS K-1. (NHHC)

He offers a fascinating and in some cases harrowing description of life aboard the submarines USS Pomfret and USS K-1 during the Cold War – and earlier aboard the battleships USS Wyoming and USS Mississippi. He considers the experience satisfying, rewarding and character-building.

"In "A Full Life" Carter also includes personal reflections on religion, charity work, painting, woodworking and writing post-presidency. 

He is the author of more than thirty books, including "Why Not the Best" (1975), "Keeping Faith: Memoirs of a President" (1982), "Always a Reckoning, and Other Poems" (1995), and "Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence, and Power" (2014).

Remembering his interview as a young naval officer with taciturn Rickover, Carter reveals that some of the surprising questions during the interview involved his taste in music (jazz, country and classical) as well as books. Carter and Rickover discussed novels by William Faulkner and Ernest Hemingway, plays by Shakespeare and especially the naval novel "The Caine Mutiny" by Herman Wouk.

While president, Carter would read founding documents and continue to strive to always tell the truth.

"I tried to honor my campaign pledges, to make our government 'as good and honest and competent as the American people,' and to understand this challenge I paused on occasion to read the U.S. Constitution, and also the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a simpler but more complete description of the goals to which we were committed."

This memoir ends with a hopeful note in "restoring the trust, admiration and friendship formerly enjoyed among other peoples."

"Our government should be known to be opposed to war, dedicated to the resolution of disputes by peaceful means, and, whenever possible, eager to accomplish this goal. We should be seen as the unswerving champion of human rights, both among our citizens and within the global community. America should be the focal point around which other nations can rally against threats to the quality of our common environment. We should be willing to lead by example in sharing our great wealth with those in need. Our own society should provide equal opportunity for all citizens and assure that they are provided the basic necessities of life."

He says the United States still has the capability of being a "sterling example" for others.

(Note: The first "To Tell the Truth, Mr. President" essay on Navy Reads is a review of Jon Meacham's "The Soul of America" and focuses on President Truman's contention that autocratic dictators lie in order to stay in power.)

BANGOR, Wash. (May 29, 2015) Former President Jimmy Carter is piped aboard during his arrival at the change of command ceremony for USS Jimmy Carter (SSN 23) at Naval Base Kitsap - Bangor. (U.S. Navy photo by MC1 Kenneth G. Takada/Released)