That Jimmy Carter smile

Drove down to Plains, Georgia, the other day, hoping to sit in on a Jimmy Carter Sunday school class. It was more than a bucket-list thing. It was a pilgrimage. No President we’ve had has been more honest — that was part of his downfall — and no ex-President has ever been so active or less self-interested. We wanted to shake his hand.

But Mr. Carter wasn’t feeling well. He and Rosalynn stayed home. We settled for a substitute teacher, some classically weak church coffee from a big urn, and glimpses of an old, well-used truck that bore an uncanny resemblance to him and a giant, grinning peanut with which Plains honors its best-known son.

It was worth the trip.