I served on the first two Nimitz-class aircraft carriers (as well as the JFK). AWESOME doesn’t even begin to describe these ships. there used to be a poster out (can’t find it now) showing a bow shot of one of these carriers with the caption: “90,000 Tons of Diplomacy”.
If a ship had to be named after Carter, a submarine, IMHO, was the best choice. By their very nature, no one ever hears about or sees a sub, unless the ship screws up dramatically. Also take into account that Jimmah was a submariner and one of Adm. Rickover’s “boys”.
A submarine in the shape of a “crazed” duck! (Or was it a rabbit?)