It’s early January and I am writing this column in the week following the passing of former president Jimmy Carter. It is the lull after the holidays, I’m prepping for the coming semester. The news is constantly on in the background, and I’ve been struck by a sentiment I’ve heard more than a few times as experts, journalists, political reporters and consultants, and friends of President Carter reflect on his presidency and post-presidency.

Often, they say something along the lines, “Jimmy Carter ended up being right,” and the reporter or interviewer will pause, ask what is meant by that, and there will be a few minutes’ discussion casting an event from the Carter presidency in a new light. It is a bit of a strange moment for a listener, to hear the notion that Carter was a failed president suddenly come up for reconsideration, as if the historical narrative told to us born after his presidency was suddenly up for revision.