Ford called Carter a 'disaster'

AP on Yahoo ^ | 1/12/07 | AP

[AdvisorB]

I thought his (Carter's) biggest nightmare was when he was attacked by the killer rabbit.

[Radix]

I do not care about how many accolades Ford gets because he is now dead.

I disrespect him because of his involvement with the Warren Commission Report, and his proclamation that Poland was not dominated by the Soviets.

He gave us a load of BS concerning the assassination of a President, and he gave us Jimmy Carter.

Thanks for nothing.

[presidio9]

But two years later, he praised Carter's performance on the Panama Canal treaty

???

[Argus]

LBJ-Nixon-Ford-Carter was the worst succession of leaders since Nero-Galba-Otho-Vitellius.

[basil]

Off subject, but does anyone know how much longer we are going to "mourn" Mr. Ford. I'm tired of seeing the flag flying at half mast. Enough, already!

[Tallguy]

I think Paul Volcker became Chairman of the FED under Carter. Volcker proceeded to hold interest rates high & keep the money supply tight. This broke the back of an inflationary spiral that had gotten started under LBJ when he decided to fight Poverty & Vietnam by borrowing. Carter paid the political price for Volckers tight monetary policy.

Reagan's contribution, of course, was his tax cutting policies which added dynamism to the economy that really hadn't been there before. Can anybody imagine the go-go '80's under the old tax system? I can't.

[GOPJ]

In 1981, Ford said: "I think Jimmy Carter would be very close to Warren G. Harding. I feel very strongly that Jimmy Carter was a disaster, particularly domestically and economically. I have said more than once that he was certainly the poorest president in my lifetime."

Great quote.

[rockthecasbah]

"It makes me very irritated when Reagan's people pound their chests and say that because we had this big military buildup, the Kremlin collapsed,"

Reagan did more than build up the military to precipitate the Kremlin's collapse. He persuaded the Saudis to open their taps and flood the market with oil. The resulting oil price collapse crippled the Soviets since they were one of the largest exporters of crude in the 80s and oil was their largest source of hard cash.

The Saudis benefited from the price collapse by increasing their market share of the world oil market. They also became an unofficial protectorate of the United States in the event of an invasion threat by Iraq, Iran or even the Soviets. The Reagan economy reaped dividends from low oil prices persisting through the late 80s.

[tioga]

Carter is still a walking disaster.

[Lexinom]

. In a separate interview, he said Reagan "was just a poor manager, and you can't be president and do a good job unless you manage."

Well... this is no doubt why, in the late seventies up to the 1980 election many intellectuals ruminated about the presidence being "just too big for one man." For Carter, yes - it was too big. Carter managed everything down to scheduling of the White House tennis courts. His rather dour re-election TV ads tout this as an asset (see 4president.tv).

Reagan succeeded because he didn't try to micromanage every minute detail. No, he didn't have Carter's IQ but he had a different kind of smarts: inspired leadership, getting the most from people by making us feel good about ourselves as Americans. Reagan didn't HAVE TO do it all precisely because of his leadership skills.

[G Larry]

Is it somehow assumed that we respect Ford's assesment of anything?

Are we supposed to agree with both his opinion of Carter AND Reagan?

[oyez]

I sometimes wonder of Ford were elected over Carter, if he would have been asleep at the wheel while Iran and the Shah went down the tubes.

As I remember that election I wasn't impressed with Ford or Carter so I pulled the Libertarian lever.

[samtheman]

Very nice post, Vigilanteman. It put a smile on my face.

[weegee]

Media Schadenfreude and Media Shenanigans PING

...and had mixed opinions of Carter, who defeated Ford in 1976.

In 1981, Ford said: "I think Jimmy Carter would be very close to Warren G. Harding. I feel very strongly that Jimmy Carter was a disaster, particularly domestically and economically. I have said more than once that he was certainly the poorest president in my lifetime."

MIXED OPINIONS? AP is being TOO KIND.

[x]

Reagan challenged Ford in 1976 in part because of Ford's plans to return the canal to Panama. The proposed treaty was a big issue in the primaries, so it's not strange that Ford praised Carter for putting the treaty through.

[ChuckHam]

The man is dead and he was certainly entitled to his opinion. At least he had the decency to not talk about former Presidents while they were in office. He did what he had to do, nothing more, nothing less. Let the man rest and don't tarnish him with these comments I'm reading here. RIP President Ford.

[Buck W.]

"...Gerald was indeed a Ford, not a Lincoln."

And Ford has a better idea.

[pgkdan]

Proves what I've always thought of Gerald Ford. For that little man to criticize Ronald Reagan and Reagan's accomplishments is the height of chutzpah. Ford couldn't hold a candle te Reagan in any measure, shape of form. It also says much about the man that he didn't have the guts to speak these criticisms while alive, but only after his death.

Chevy Chase was too kind to the man.

[Dog Gone]

I disrespect him because of his involvement with the Warren Commission Report, and his proclamation that Poland was not dominated by the Soviets.

I attended the debate in San Francisco where he made that statement, except that it wasn't about Poland. He said, "Eastern Europe is not dominated by the Soviet Union."

I was covering the debate as a college newspaper reporter, so I had a press pass and was rubbing shoulders with national reporters in the press room. Roger Mudd with CBS told me that he thought that remark would cost Ford the election, and you should have seen Hamilton Jordan laughing it up with reporters. He was practically orgasmic.

I'm embarrassed to admit I shook Jimmy Carter's hand that night after the debate. I've washed it since.

[Dolphy]

Sure, he talked them out of the Cold War at Helsinki. ROFL!

Beats me, after listening to Kissinger, Cheney and Rumsfeld, Ford did a lot more than what I had ever seen him credited with in terms of establishing significant groundwork. From all I have read though, the Ford team had no use for the Reagan team, and the feeling was mutual. Reagan, reportedly, never once invited Ford to the White House.