Jimmy Carter wasn’t just the best former president. He was the most successful | Peter G Bourne

Critics often imply his time in the White House was a failure, but Carter got more done in four years than most presidents accomplish in twice the time

Jimmy Carter has died. He is sometimes referred to, especially by Republican critics, as America's best former president - implying that his time in the White House was, by contrast, a failure. In fact, he was by most measures a highly successful one-term president, getting more done in four years than most presidents accomplish in twice the time.

It is true that his post-presidency accomplishments were unprecedented - a fact attested to by, among other things, his receipt of the 2002 Nobel peace prize for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development".

Peter G Bourne served in the Carter White House as special assistant to the president. He is the author of Jimmy Carter: A Comprehensive Biography from Plains to Post-Presidency and a visiting senior research fellow at Green Templeton College, University of Oxford