The Iran Hostage Crisis will always be remembered as President Carter's Waterloo. I'm sure he has put that all behind him in light of all of the praise for his work after leaving office. However, there is one part of his term in office that Jimmy will take to his grave : his visit to Oakland. This is from the Washington Post:

April 10, 1977
Carter Gilmore, the black politican who was the butt of a Billy Carter racial joke Friday night, asked for a formal apology yesterday from the President's younger brother.

But Billy, 39, dressed in a tan leisure suit and crowned with a green and yellow Oakland A's baseball cap, said no. " I will not apologize," said the feisty First Brother, before tossing out the first ball of the Oakland A's season opener against the Minnesota Twins here today.

Fueled by at least a half-dozen sweating cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon and a glass of bourbon and water, Billy joked friday night that the reason his last name matched the first name of the Oakland City Council candidate, who also happens to be a local NAACP official, was: "We all left a nigger in the woodpile somewhere."

Now this wasn't unsolicited. Councilman Carter Gilmore asked him directly about that happenstance, even though it was totally irrelevant, and Billy responded in typical Billy fashion. I'm sure thoughts of fratricide went through the President's mind upon watching this play out. City officials were irate with the councilman for his role in it. long halter formal gowns

Like I always say : only in Oakland!