[Miss Marple]

The more I think about it, I am certain I am right. We were all driven to despair by Jimmy Peanut, and just like those homeless crazy people that go around dressed as the Queen of Sheba or the Emperor of France, we were all wearing our funny suits in order to inflate our crushed national confidence.

And I won't even discuss the decor of the period. Shag carpet and flocked and foil wallpaper!!!

All Carter's fault, if you ask me.

[Carolinamom]

"It's all Carter's fault, if you ask me." There you go reminding me of all those horrors we endured. LOL

[EmilyGeiger]

I do believe a Presidency sets the tone for fashion. During Reagan we had the wonderful preppy, clean cut clothing. Clinton, we had grunge. Bush the styles are slowly reverting back to modesty...hope it continues.

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

We were all driven to despair by Jimmy Peanut

If you think about it, the last three Democratic presidents have been the worst presidents in history - each one worse that the last.

• Tough to be worse than LBJ, with his "Great Government" (well, yes - he called it "Great 'Society'", but government is always what socialists mean when they say "society") program which wasted several trillion dollars and made the problems it addressed worse.

  And that was on top of LBJ's Vietnam policy which, so far as America was concerned, is best summarized as:

  • starting it,
  • getting lots of folks killed in it, and
  • (politically) losing it.

• Tough to be worse than Carter, for reasons you have mentioned and others that we repress the thought of:
  • Pardon of draft dodgers,
  • Shah of Iran replaced by the Ayatolla; our embassy taken over twice.
  • Weak negotiation with Iran and the humiliating failure of the rescue mission, followed by no effort to upgrade the equipment that failed us,
  • no leadership against the price controls and overtaxation which were strangling the economy,
  • "odd or even" gas lines,

• But then there was Clinton, with
  • Whitewater,
  • Filegate,
  • FBI Filegate,
  • Black Hawk Down, OKC bombing, TWA 800, Embassy bombings, the Cole,
  • Chinese political contributions,
  • White House Coffeegate and "no controlling legal authority,"
  • Travelgate,
  • Cattlegate,
  • Vince Foster,
  • Waco,
  • Elian,
  • Hubbelgate,
  • Gorelick's Wall,
  • Monicagate,
  • VRWC Smeargate,
  • "the meaning of 'is',"
  • Pardongate . . .

    Clinton has the distinction of being the only president arrogant enough to make me entertain the thought that he might refuse to leave office at the end of his term.

[mountainfolk]

Aside from memories of trying to keep our cars tanked up, school aged kids needing transportation plus work, I remember Carter as the poor mouth of the south. Articles about styrofoam cups and other money saving at the White House. Billy beer and first daughter Amy, legs tucked under her, reading a book during a state dinner. Thank God the Reagans, classy people, got back to good china and good manners. I still dislike drinking from styrofoam and plastic coffee cups so I will just heap that on Carter too.