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Reflections on the Legacy of Jimmy Carter
American Thinker ^ | 01/05/25 | Carole Hornsby Haynes

Posted on 01/05/2025 9:05:34 AM PST by SeekAndFind

With the passing of Jimmy Carter at the age of 100, there is a scurry to rewrite the history of our 39th president. According to the popular narrative, Carter faced economic and foreign policy challenges, yet his accomplishments, such as the Camp David Accords, are remembered, as well as his lifelong dedication to humanitarian efforts and winning the Nobel Peace Prize.

Carter’s true legacy is quite different. He was a godly man who was unprepared to serve as leader of the world’s superpower. His good — but naïve — intentions too often created disastrous results for our nation. His administration was soundly rejected by the American people, with a landslide loss for re-election. Voters were fed up with high inflation, gas prices that doubled, and a scarcity of gas with rationing and long lines at stations to fill tanks.

On the international stage, our enemies deemed Carter weak and took advantage of his nice-guy policy of “co-existence.” The Soviet Union stormed Afghanistan, while Islamic revolutionaries took control of Iran and held Americans prisoner for the remaining 444 days of Carter’s presidency.

In his post-presidency, Carter undermined American leaders in foreign policy. He wrote letters to Arab leaders to persuade them to abandon support for the United States. In North Korea, he undermined the efforts of our leaders to stop the buildup of a nuclear arsenal. In the Middle East, he befriended PLO terrorist leader Yasser Arafat, condemned Israel, and embraced Hamas.

One of Carter’s most infamous domestic policies was the creation of the Department of Education. Its establishment was a marriage of political expediency and dissatisfaction with Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty, which failed to end poverty despite massive government spending — more than 23 trillion dollars to date.

(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: bloggers; jimmycarter; legacy
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1 posted on 01/05/2025 9:05:34 AM PST by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

My reflection: Good riddance.


2 posted on 01/05/2025 9:11:44 AM PST by Michigan Bowhunter
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To: SeekAndFind

Carter was not unlike most Democrats. If necessity or circumstanes requires a decent, rational person to spend considerable time with a Democrat, the underlying mental illness of the Democrat soon becomes apparent. No person as pathological as Carter should ever be President again.


3 posted on 01/05/2025 9:12:26 AM PST by allendale
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To: Michigan Bowhunter

Beat me to it!


4 posted on 01/05/2025 9:18:00 AM PST by Jaysin (Trump can't be beat, unless the democrats cheat)
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To: SeekAndFind

“there is a scurry to rewrite the history of our 39th president”

Of course there is because he was another failed Democratic President. I don’t remember them trying to rewrite Reagan’s Presidency.


5 posted on 01/05/2025 9:21:19 AM PST by antidemoncrat ( )
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To: SeekAndFind

Some of what we’re hearing in the media is because of a desire to not speak ill of someone who just died.

The tone of a lot of coverage has been, how he had a difficult presidency , lost his re-election , but look at what a great humanitarian he was , etc.


6 posted on 01/05/2025 9:24:13 AM PST by Dilbert San Diego
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To: SeekAndFind

The world is a much worse place because of Jimmy Carter

He did much damage and is responsible for much suffering


7 posted on 01/05/2025 9:32:06 AM PST by rdcbn1 (TV )
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To: antidemoncrat

Stagflation
Iranian crisis
Panama
Brother Billy
21% interest rates
Gas embargo from OPEC
Odd-even gas rationing
Total lockup and incompetence from all departments
National 55 mph speed limit
Moratorium on drilling for oil
One term President

Im sure there is more, but that’s what I remember going through.


8 posted on 01/05/2025 9:37:02 AM PST by DownInFlames (P)
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To: SeekAndFind

He was the reason that I got out of the Air Force after 9 years.


9 posted on 01/05/2025 9:47:51 AM PST by pfflier
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To: SeekAndFind

Carter had his own foreign policy and energy policy ideas (mostly bad), but in domestic policy, he was more of a front man for what the Democrat leadership in Congress wanted. Like Obama and Biden.


10 posted on 01/05/2025 10:01:20 AM PST by x
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To: SeekAndFind
Voters were fed up with high inflation, gas prices that doubled, and a scarcity of gas with rationing and long lines at stations to fill tanks.

This is what I will always remember about Carter - especially the gas lines.

Every year, I buy an official White House Christmas ornament for my Christmas tree.

This year it was an ornament to honor Cater. I passed for the first time in 20 years.

11 posted on 01/05/2025 10:23:03 AM PST by Bon of Babble (You Say You Want a Revolution?)
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To: DownInFlames; AntiDemocrat

Remind us again what the GDP growth and unemployment rate was under Jimmy Carter was compared to Gerald Ford and Richard Nixon…


12 posted on 01/05/2025 10:24:24 AM PST by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind
One of Carter’s most infamous domestic policies was the creation of the Department of Education. Its establishment was a marriage of political expediency and dissatisfaction with Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty, which failed to end poverty despite massive government spending — more than 23 trillion dollars to date.

$23 trillion ... to date. When we are bankrupt at least we'll know where the money went.

And the Department of Education. Ever since its establishment educational achievement in the country has fallen annually.

13 posted on 01/05/2025 10:29:49 AM PST by Rummyfan ( In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man.)
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To: SeekAndFind

My favorite assessment of the Carter Presidency was a cartoon during that time that showed him riding a red, white, and blue motorcycle. However, his feet didn’t reach the pedals; but he was still mouthing something like “Vroom! Vroom!”

I remember during the Carter years that I got a Certificate of Deposit that paid me (paid me!) 16.55% interest. However, I remember friends trying to close on a house. Between the time that they started to close and the finishing date, their interest rate rose from about 8 or 9% to 18%. It was a disaster for them.

I think that Carter was well meaning. He was just in over his head. I, as a social conservative, didn’t even agree with some of his social policies, much less his fiscal and foreigh affairs policies. However, he did set a good example in after years with Habitat for Humanity. I’ll try to remember that part and not speak too ill of the dead.


14 posted on 01/05/2025 10:35:31 AM PST by Engraved-on-His-hands
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To: SeekAndFind; SaveFerris

I always think of the line from the movie “Top Secret!”

Hillary Flammond: My uncle was born in America.
Nick Rivers: Oh, really?
Hillary Flammond: But he was one of the lucky ones. He managed to escape in a balloon during the Jimmy Carter presidency.


15 posted on 01/05/2025 10:39:48 AM PST by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: Engraved-on-His-hands

I was Investment Officer at a county government at the time. This one year a guy in the budget office commented on our earning $9,000,000 in interest. I said we didn’t earn that much. Instead, it represents how much purchasing power our income lost during the year.


16 posted on 01/05/2025 10:45:14 AM PST by Retain Mike ( Sat Cong)
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To: SeekAndFind; Michigan Bowhunter; allendale; Jaysin; DownInFlames; Bon of Babble
“his accomplishments, such as the Camp David Accords, are remembered, as well as his lifelong dedication to humanitarian efforts and winning the Nobel Peace Prize.”

Even the above is nonsense. Here s the letter I sent every year for over two decades on the anniversary of peace between Egypt and Israel.

Jimmy Carter: Egypt and Israel Peace Treaty

We will recognize March 26 as the anniversary of peace between Egypt and Israel for which Anwar el-Sadat and Menachem Begin won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1978. Concurrently we will applaud Jimmy Carter's 2002 Nobel Peace Prize for decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts such as that.

Nevertheless, we should remember the truly worthy recipient of the three was Anwar Sadat. Through three wars Arab leaders had used Egyptian blood and treasure for vicarious satisfaction of their Jewish hatred which had invigorated their despotic regimes. By conclusion of the 1973 war, Sadat was certain Egypt's price for Arab victory would not only include countless military deaths, but also destruction of the Aswan Dam leading to 100,000's of Egyptian flood victims and catastrophic infrastructure damage.

Sadat brought an end to this waring cycle and looming national catastrophe with his historic trip to Jerusalem on November 7, 1977, and thereby began a process he formalized by signing the Camp David Accords the following September, and the peace treaty of 1979. For his extraordinary statesmanship, the Arab League suspended Egyptian membership. Two years later Sadat was assassinated by an amalgam of Islamic radicals including Ayman al-Zawahiri who came from the Muslim Brotherhood and became a leader of al-Qaeda.

In comparison, Begin risked nothing politically, and Carter just served milk and cookies.

The Nobel Peace Prize 1978 Anwar al-Sadat, Menachem Begin

http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1978/press.html

The Nobel Peace Prize for 2002

http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2002/press.html

Ayman al-Zawahiri

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayman_al-Zawahiri

Anwar Sadat

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anwar_Sadat

17 posted on 01/05/2025 10:47:11 AM PST by Retain Mike ( Sat Cong)
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To: SeekAndFind

The media narrative has been Carter was the best x-president. They have been working on it since he left office. I never trust the MSM.


18 posted on 01/05/2025 10:53:32 AM PST by alternatives?
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To: SeekAndFind

Well, he did live long enough to see that he wasn’t the worst president and ex-president in history.


19 posted on 01/05/2025 10:54:12 AM PST by wjcsux (On 3/14/1883 Karl Marx gave humanity his best gift, he died. )
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To: SeekAndFind

When Biden meets his demise the rats will be glorifying him and his rotten record as the best thing since swiss cheese, because that’s what these lying sacks do


20 posted on 01/05/2025 11:06:08 AM PST by ronnie raygun
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