Jimmy Carter

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matedog
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Jimmy Carter

Post by matedog »

I was trying to pin my new boss' political affiliations down the other week. I was asking him about what presidents he has liked (loved Reagan, liked Clinton) and he fucking HATES Jimmy Carter. I missed out on his presidency but did some reading up and it seems as though his presidency wasn't THAT bad and that most blunders and mishaps weren't really his bad. It seems also to be a matter of having a skewed opinion by living through it versus having historical perspective. Any other opinions?

After watching Religulous yesterday, I had that topic on the mind and realized Carter was far more Christian in his actions as president than Bush ever was. He promoted self sacrifice and human rights over nationalism. I'm not saying it always worked, but in terms of Christian values, I see it a lot more in his presidency than others.
Look, you have to establish context for these things. And I maintain that unless you appreciate the Fall of Constantinople, the Great Fire of London, and Mickey Mantle's fatalist alcoholism, live Freddy makes no sense. If you want to half-ass it, fine, go call Simon Schama to do the appendix.

101Walterton
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Re: Jimmy Carter

Post by 101Walterton »

"loved Reagan, liked Clinton" tells you all you need to know about the bloke.

eumaas
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Re: Jimmy Carter

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Rather telling that one of our least realpolitik presidents is so hated.
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Dr. Medulla
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Re: Jimmy Carter

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A much better ex-president than he was a president. A fair amount of the reason for the failure of his presidency was that he was the wrong guy for the times. He embodied the emerging evangelical movement in America, but his personal responsibility schtick was way out of place for the culture of shameless selfishness.

Carter does get his share of blame for the current conflict with radical Islam. Part of that was his support for the shah of Iran, but it was under Carter that Muslims in Afghanistan were armed in an effort to lure in the Russians for their own Vietnam. Afghanistan was where a guy named bin Laden found his calling and learned how to take on an imperial power.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

matedog
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Re: Jimmy Carter

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Dr. Medulla wrote:A much better ex-president than he was a president. A fair amount of the reason for the failure of his presidency was that he was the wrong guy for the times. He embodied the emerging evangelical movement in America, but his personal responsibility schtick was way out of place for the culture of shameless selfishness.

Carter does get his share of blame for the current conflict with radical Islam. Part of that was his support for the shah of Iran, but it was under Carter that Muslims in Afghanistan were armed in an effort to lure in the Russians for their own Vietnam. Afghanistan was where a guy named bin Laden found his calling and learned how to take on an imperial power.
In the cold war though, would any president NOT have done the same? Perhaps to a greater degree even?
Look, you have to establish context for these things. And I maintain that unless you appreciate the Fall of Constantinople, the Great Fire of London, and Mickey Mantle's fatalist alcoholism, live Freddy makes no sense. If you want to half-ass it, fine, go call Simon Schama to do the appendix.

Dr. Medulla
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Re: Jimmy Carter

Post by Dr. Medulla »

matedog wrote:
Dr. Medulla wrote:A much better ex-president than he was a president. A fair amount of the reason for the failure of his presidency was that he was the wrong guy for the times. He embodied the emerging evangelical movement in America, but his personal responsibility schtick was way out of place for the culture of shameless selfishness.

Carter does get his share of blame for the current conflict with radical Islam. Part of that was his support for the shah of Iran, but it was under Carter that Muslims in Afghanistan were armed in an effort to lure in the Russians for their own Vietnam. Afghanistan was where a guy named bin Laden found his calling and learned how to take on an imperial power.
In the cold war though, would any president NOT have done the same? Perhaps to a greater degree even?
Tough to say because Vietnam complicates things. Pre-Vietnam, definitely, all kinds of Cold War by proxy states. But Vietnam soured people (citizens more than politicians) on adventurism and possible failure. But Carter still went ahead with it, even on as small a scale as it was initially—I think it was Brzezienski's baby, but it really took off under Reagan and Casey—and deserves his share of the blame, just as Reagan, Bush, and Clinton do, for setting off the dominos that led to 11 Sept.

(Domestically, Carter, like Nixon, deserves a lot more credit than he's received, and will likely improve in estimation as time passes.)
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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