Former President Jimmy Carter passes
A well meaning and sincere President with a complex legacy. One can be sincere, and well meaning and still be very wrong.
I was just a teenager during the Carter years. The memories are vivid though - the country was in a post-Vietnam psychological funk and nothing was working. Carter seemed to be the answer to “The Man” and the early swamp in DC.
Jimmy Carter, despite being a passionate evangelical Christian, just looked at the same problems everyone else was looking at and came up with counter-intuitive solutions.
Carter was the original Virtue Signaller, which explained his odd conclusions
The Soviets are on the march, therefore we’ll limit our strategic weapons.
We have an energy shortage, therefore we’ll limit American energy production and put on a sweater.
America has supported Military Governments in Central and South America, therefore we’ll hand over the Panama Canal and walk away from the Americas.
The Iranians seize our embassy, therefore we’ll agonize and then eventually lash together an ad hoc force out of a hollow military in a very high risk operation to rescue them.
The Soviets invade Afghanistan, therefore we won’t go to the Olympics.
He meant well - but he certainly didn’t inspire pride or exude America First Values, he seemed to apologize for them.
Carter did accomplish several good things. The Camp David Peace Accords were historic. Much of the credit though should go to Egyptian President Anwar Sadat who bravely sought a historic pivot, and was shortly assassinated by early al-Qaeda for his noble stand. Carter also deregulated the airlines, which was a good thing.
This piece by the CATO Institute focuses on that last success to push Carter into the Conservative World. An odd characterization.
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I’m thankful for Carter. He cured me of being a democrat.
As nice a piece as a conservative man can write for a Jimmy Carter Presidency 😊. I lived during that period knowing it was a strange place in time. 1976 the Erica Meinhoff (Baader- Meinhoff gang) terrorizing Germany ( I just happened to be living there during that time.) The Olympics were weird also. I knew it as I got up every day this was a awkward period of life. People were fatigued not as much as we are from this ordeal but Jimmy Carter being President was a resignation of the thought someone just do something. He made some of the worst decisions someone in charge could make. He trusted too much. Prayer works but our participation is important. Andwar Sadat’s assassination was extremely sad. Everyone had hope. Hope is powerful to a war filled region.