There is actually a long history of public and political activity from former presidents. Washington was recalled to lead the army (and thereby support the Fede

There is actually a long history of public and political activity from former presidents. Washington was recalled to lead the army (and thereby support the Federalists) in 1797. Taft was a supreme court justice, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Johnson and Tyler went to Congress. More recently Carter of course is a public figure for Habitat for Humanity and other causes, and negotiated with Hamas. Ford called for recognizing the PLO in 1981 and for removing Saddam Hussein in 1991, and support Carter on the Panama Canal treaty. I know both Clinton and Carter started public policy think tanks, not sure how they could be more overt at wanting to influence future politics. Prior to the current primary system, an endorsement at a party convention wasn't just pageantry, it did carry more political capital than it does today.