Jimmy Carter

On January 20, 1981, Jimmy Carter left Washington, D.C. for Plains, Georgia. Ronald Reagan had won the Presidential election in November, 1980 and at noon on January 20 he became the President of the United States.

Think about it. One day you are the most powerful person in the world, the next day you are a defeated, humiliated citizen of Plains; a town of some 600 citizens in Southwest Georgia.

Carter was shunned by his Democratic colleagues for a number of years. No one wanted to be seen with him or identified with him.

To make matters worse, his brother, Billy, who had managed his wealth in a blind trust, had lost everything.

What did Carter do? He made furniture, wrote, spoke, and volunteered for Habitat for Humanity. Eventually Carter made his way back into the public sphere. In 2002, he won the Noble Peace Prize.