Mike Luckovich cartoon marks Jimmy and Rosalynn Carters’ milestone anniversary

Readers are reacting to an editorial cartoon by Mike Luckovich about the 75th wedding anniversary of Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter.

The cartoon, which appeared in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Tuesday, is also a nod to the Carters’ long support of the homebuilding charity, Habitat for Humanity. It depicts the Carters, homebuilding tools in hand, looking at a finished house with a label “Carters’ 75yr Marriage” across the roof. Luckovich captioned the cartoon “Built to last.”

The former president and first lady were married July 7, 1946, in their hometown of Plains while Carter was serving in the Navy. Visiting dignitaries, including former President Bill Clinton, former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and media entrepreneur Ted Turner joined hundreds of the Carters’ neighbors for a 75th wedding anniversary reception Sunday in Plains.

The cartoon was published on page 11, the Voices page, in the print and ePaper editions on Tuesday. It also appears on the ajc.com Opinion page.

“I just thought that is such an amazing thing,” Luckovich said of Carters’ long marriage. “One of the stories in the AJC about the Carters talked about how only like 6 percent of couples make it to their 50th anniversary. And they don’t even keep statistics for people who’ve made it to their 75th.”

Luckovich, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist, said he used a home-building theme because images of the Carters building homes for Habitat are “connected closely to their post-presidency.” The house in the cartoon is based on the Carters’ actual home in Plains.

“That was a fun cartoon for me to draw,” he said.

Watch the video at the top of this story to hear Mike Luckovich describe his thinking behind this cartoon.

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Readers commented and shared the cartoon on Tuesday.

“Made me tear up a little, it’s beautiful and we need that more than ever. Thanks,” said Twitter user Newsthyme. Another commenter, Jeanneenabottle said, “Love this! The house that Love built.”

Habitat for Humanity tweeted, “Incredibly grateful that we’ve been a part of 37 of these years.”