It's been a 'trip' with Jimmy...
Posted on 01/04/2009 3:54:37 PM PST by melt
He suffers from an egregiously unfair reputation. His record, though, shows he was quite a good president
Oakton, Va. - In this season of new resolutions, Americans would do well to rethink their perceptions of Jimmy Carter. President Carter has suffered the misfortune of having his legacy almost entirely shaped by his political enemies rather than by objective reality or a basic sense of American fairness.
Today, Carter is caricatured as a weak-kneed, sweater-wearing puritan who struggled with lust in his heart, presided over a malaised America, and micromanaged even the scheduling of the White House tennis courts. More recently, he's taken heat for his blunt portrayal of Israeli policies toward the Palestinians.
What an egregiously undeserved reputation. Carter wasn't just a "good man who got in over his head," as critics say. He was in fact quite a good president.
He kept us out of endless wars. He protected the Alaskan wilderness (Sen. Gaylord Nelson (D) of Wisconsin once told me that "Carter was the greatest environmental president the country ever had.") He promoted a visionary energy policy. He countered the Soviet military threat. And since he left office, he has persistently promoted the cause of peace around the world. The landmark Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty he fashioned remains in force today.
Against the backdrop of an unnecessary trillion-dollar war in Iraq, it is instructive to recall how Carter avoided a similar morass when he negotiated the Panama Canal treaties, for which he was excoriated by Ronald Reagan's Republicans. When he left office, he was able to say with Thomas Jefferson "[D]uring the period of my administration not a drop of the blood of a single citizen was shed by the sword of war."
In the public mind, Carter continues to be judged as "ineffectual."
(Excerpt) Read more at csmonitor.com ...
It's been a 'trip' with Jimmy...
L
Jimmah let the mullahs rule in Iran, gave away the Panama canal, and gave us 18% inflation. Great president.
Worst until the Magic Hero that is.
But he meant well. Doesn’t that, alone, make him great? :{)
Where’s the BARF ALERT??
“[D]uring the period of my administration not a drop of the blood of a single citizen was shed by the sword of war.”
444 hostages and numerous dead servicemen don’t count?
Our soverign embassy over run, etc?
Worst President EVER!!!
“He countered the Soviet military threat.” By cancelling the B1A bomber, the neutron bomb and watching them brutalize Afghanistan and build their military might.
If there’s one thing worse than Carter’s record as president, it’s the record of everything he’s done since.
“In this season of new resolutions, Americans would do well to rethink their perceptions of Jimmy Carter. President Carter has suffered the misfortune of having his legacy almost entirely shaped by his political enemies rather than by objective reality or a basic sense of American fairness.”
YHGTBSM. I lived through the Carter presidency. What a total debacle.
Sorry, but I was there in that White House, so I ain’t buyin’ it...
We conservatives are just so damned “outcome based”
If by 'good' you mean cowardly then he was quite good.
**In the public mind, Carter continues to be judged as “ineffectual.”**
Actually WORTHLESS and DANGEROUS came immediately to mind. followed quickly by Jew Hating anti Semite. and quickly after that, economic NIGHTMARE, and Anti Military.
Other than that, his presidency was ... a political equivalent to a ... TRAIN WRECK!
Delusional Crack Smoker ALert
My recollection of the Carter years, my city mired in multi-thousand job cut announcements monthly, many hand me down clothes that had 2-3 previous owners, spaghetti dinners with no meat and Wonder Bread, parents that had an 18% mortgage, hostages in Iran and Canadians doing more to bring them home than the President.
Yes, I’m so fond of Jimmah. The writer may try and burnish his tarnished image but he’s a fool of a man and a failure as a President.
This fella took the wrong drugs as a druggie of the '70's.
How else can his article be explained??
How about accurate portrayal?
To Jimmy’s credit, he popularized the term “nukular.”
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