The above adjective, "saintly," represents an absolute triumph of Public Relations over reality. Jimmy Carter is mean, vindictive, outrageously partisan little man. To cross him when he was Governor of Georgia (a whole 'nother story) meant you would be hounded until the last day of your possibly very much shortened life. The only thing this Bible-Beating Baptist Bunko Artist has ever been able to manage is a vendetta.
He presided over a very corrupt state government, from which anything was available for a price. Venezuelans suffer to this day from his endorsement of Chavez, and in this country we suffer from a succession of Jimmy Carter Jerk Judges, which are his true legacy. The Iranians and the world suffer from his abandonment of the Shah, a true ally, in exchange for championing the cause of the Ayatollah Khomeini, an enemy of mankind.
The only "good" thing this creep ever did was manage to so outrage the Democrat voters that they rose up, voted for Reagan, and threw his shabby carcass from office. Short of a miracle, that may not happen to his protegé, Chavez.
Behind the "saintly," folksy image is a bitter hateful man who has sworn to get even with the people who removed him from office.