President Carter

Jimmy Carter was elected president of the United States in 1977. Before moving into the White House, Mrs Carter was anxious to discover whether the chef there could cook the kind of meals the Carters enjoyed at home in the South. "Yes, madam," the chef replied. "We have been fixing that kind of food for the servants for a long time."

Because of the serious rise in inflation and his own vacillations, Carter was unable to carry out the ambitious social reforms he had promised in his campaign manifesto. In the spring of 1979, he was asked whether his young daughter, Amy, ever boasted about her father's presidential status. Mindful of the heavy criticism his administration was attracting, he replied, "No, she probably apologizes."