Jimmy Carter was different from other U.S. presidents.

He was an outlier in all sorts of ways.

Kai Bird is author of the book, The Outlier, the Unfinished Presidency of Jimmy Carter.

He grew up, you know, in very Spartan circumstances, no running water, an outhouse.

He sort of, you know, was a president still from the 19th century.

And then as a politician, he was a southern white man who was a liberal. And yet he was also a politician who cared not for the political consequences of his decisions. He just always wanted to do the right thing.

Carter's efforts to do the right thing led to political decisions that are still unpopular in some circles today,

like negotiating the treaties that would eventually give control of the Panama Canal and surrounding land back to Panama.

The U.S. had controlled the canal since its construction.

Here's Carter, speaking after signing the agreements in 1977.

They marked the commitment of the United States to the belief that fairness and not force should lie at the heart of our dealings with

the nations of the world. But perhaps his promise always to tell the public the truth is what

distinguishes him from today's political climate. I'll never tell a line. I'll never make a misleading

statement. I'll never betray the trust of I'll never make a misleading statement.

I'll never betray the trust of those who have confidence in me.

And I will never avoid a controversial issue.

In 1979, in the midst of an energy crisis on soaring inflation,

Jimmy Carter told the truth as he saw, about what was happening to the country.

It's clear that the true problems of our nation are much deeper, deeper than gasoline lines or energy shortages,

deeper even than inflation or recession. And I realized more than ever that as president,

I need your health. Consider this. As we continue to remember the life and legacy of Jimmy Carter, we look back at the speech that some historians refer to as the

crisis of confidence or Males speech and what that speech tells us about his presidency.

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