Statement on President Carter’s Health • Hacker News Board

Re: Statement on President Carter’s Health

#21

Post by cldellow » Sat, Feb 18, 2023, 10:01 PM UTC

fortran77 wrote: post #9

code_runner wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you elaborate a bit on this claim?

https://www.adl.org/resources/news/anti-semitic-reactions-ji...

That link doesn't seem to support your claim that Carter wants to erase Israel.

The link describes what a bunch of white supremacists think about the book. Some (many?) of them likely haven't read it, and are reacting to the title alone.

I will admit that I also haven't read it. But I know it contains this paragraph:

> The security of Israel must be guaranteed. The Arabs must acknowledge openly and specifically that Israel is a reality and has a right to exist in peace, behind secure and recognized borders, and with a firm Arab pledge to terminate any further acts of violence against the legally constituted nation of Israel.

That doesn't sound like erasing to me?

Re: Statement on President Carter’s Health

#22

Post by syzarian » Sat, Feb 18, 2023, 10:02 PM UTC

doktorhladnjak wrote: post #5

wkat4242 wrote: post #2

I have a lot of respect for Carter. Not only did he really seem interested in world peace instead of the warmongering from the MIC, he also remained active for all these years furthering humanitarian causes. And he was a brilliant nuclear engineer who cleaned up a nuclear accident with this team in Canada. I know he wasn't popular in the US which I don't really understand. It sounds to me like he fought the vested bi…

Great person but he was unpopular as a president at the time because he failed to stop high inflation and to resolve the Iranian hostage crisis. The latter especially sunk his chances of re-election. So much of politics is about what happens when you’re in office, but also how you deal with what happens.

What I don’t understand about narrative that Carter failed on Iran is that Regan never got enough blame for blatantly violating U.S. laws and negotiated with Iran despite saying we don’t negotiate with hostage takers. Carter got far too much blame and Reagan far too little.

https://www.vox.com/2016/1/25/10826056/reagan-iran-hostage-n...

Re: Statement on President Carter’s Health

#23

Post by coin » Sat, Feb 18, 2023, 10:03 PM UTC

doktorhladnjak wrote: post #5

wkat4242 wrote: post #2

I have a lot of respect for Carter. Not only did he really seem interested in world peace instead of the warmongering from the MIC, he also remained active for all these years furthering humanitarian causes. And he was a brilliant nuclear engineer who cleaned up a nuclear accident with this team in Canada. I know he wasn't popular in the US which I don't really understand. It sounds to me like he fought the vested bi…

Great person but he was unpopular as a president at the time because he failed to stop high inflation and to resolve the Iranian hostage crisis. The latter especially sunk his chances of re-election. So much of politics is about what happens when you’re in office, but also how you deal with what happens.

He did resolve the Iranian hostage crisis. It was just that the hostages weren't released until 20 minutes after Regan was sworn in.

Re: Statement on President Carter’s Health

#24

Post by woodruffw » Sat, Feb 18, 2023, 10:03 PM UTC

wkat4242 wrote: post #2

I have a lot of respect for Carter. Not only did he really seem interested in world peace instead of the warmongering from the MIC, he also remained active for all these years furthering humanitarian causes. And he was a brilliant nuclear engineer who cleaned up a nuclear accident with this team in Canada. I know he wasn't popular in the US which I don't really understand. It sounds to me like he fought the vested bi…

Most US presidents (with a few conspicuous exceptions) experience post-presidential "glow": they become folksy pater familarum in the public's eye. Carter has experienced this more than most, in parts because (1) he's lived longer than every other president to have left office, and (2) he was widely perceived as being kind and genteel, too kind and genteel, while in office.

Carter seems to be a genuinely good and kind human being, but his actual domestic legacy is mostly mediocre. His greatest achievement on the domestic side is probably establishing the Department of Education (no mean feat!).

Re: Statement on President Carter’s Health

#25

Post by stuartd » Sat, Feb 18, 2023, 10:03 PM UTC

> Across Carter’s term, artists including Nelson, Charles Mingus, Loretta Lynn, Bob Dylan, Sarah Vaughan, Cecil Taylor, Linda Ronstadt (who had campaigned against Carter with her then-boyfriend Jerry Brown), the Staple Singers, Cher (and her then-boyfriend, Gregg Allman) and Tom T. Hall either visited or performed at the White House. Crosby, Stills and Nash once dropped by the place unannounced. Carter made time for them.

https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2020-...

‘Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President’ is well worth watching, even if (like me) this isn’t your favourite kind of music

Re: Statement on President Carter’s Health

#26

Post by joshuamorton » Sat, Feb 18, 2023, 10:04 PM UTC

fortran77 wrote: post #9

code_runner wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you elaborate a bit on this claim?

https://www.adl.org/resources/news/anti-semitic-reactions-ji...

Quoting stormfront isn't particularly convincing about Carter's views, and given that a quick jaunt to the Wikipedia article shows Carter stating he fully supports Israel and that it's a "wonderful democracy" makes me wonder what you're talking about.

Carter's views can't even be called antizionist. He plainly supports Israel's right to exist.

Re: Statement on President Carter’s Health

#27

Post by wkat4242 » Sat, Feb 18, 2023, 10:04 PM UTC

whats_a_quasar wrote: post #15

wkat4242 wrote: post #2

I have a lot of respect for Carter. Not only did he really seem interested in world peace instead of the warmongering from the MIC, he also remained active for all these years furthering humanitarian causes. And he was a brilliant nuclear engineer who cleaned up a nuclear accident with this team in Canada. I know he wasn't popular in the US which I don't really understand. It sounds to me like he fought the vested bi…

Unless you have sources, I don't think there's much evidence either that he fought big money or was driven out of office by them. He lost primarily because the economy was bad in the second half of his term, with inflation and oil supply shocks. Also, his adminstration botched the handling of the Iranian revolution, which lead to the hostage crisis, a huge public debacle. He was a competent president, but not flashy,…

It was mainly my thought because I noticed he campaigned against the space shuttle and other big projects (though eventually he turned on this for disarmament reasons, Ars Technica had an article on this a couple weeks ago).

But you're right, it's more how I imagine American politics than anything else.

Re: Statement on President Carter’s Health

#28

Post by yyyk » Sat, Feb 18, 2023, 10:05 PM UTC

voz_ wrote: post #17

wkat4242 wrote: post #2

I have a lot of respect for Carter. Not only did he really seem interested in world peace instead of the warmongering from the MIC, he also remained active for all these years furthering humanitarian causes. And he was a brilliant nuclear engineer who cleaned up a nuclear accident with this team in Canada. I know he wasn't popular in the US which I don't really understand. It sounds to me like he fought the vested bi…

> I know he wasn't popular in the US which I don't really understand. Note, these are not my opinions, but I am going to seek to answer this based on the things I have read on him. In short, the general opinion is that he was a weak, pitiful, activist president. His overtures toward peace, anti-imperialism, humanitarian causes were laden with activism rhetoric that one would normally use if they were outside the stru…

>My personal opinion is that, if you squint, his [Carter's] presidency is a lot like that of Trump

The parallel goes further. Both of these presidents initiated a very different economic policy, and this was expanded on by the succeeding president despite the successor being a standard bearer of the other party:

* Carter initiated deregulation and appointed Volcker to the Fed.

* Trump initiated China tariffs and decoupling, and was leery of trade deals in general.

Another parallel is the unique foreign policy both had compared to their 'ordinary' successor. e.g. I don't think any other President would have been so supportive of Mugabe like Carter was.

Re: Statement on President Carter’s Health

#29

Post by digianarchist » Sat, Feb 18, 2023, 10:06 PM UTC

wkat4242 wrote: post #2

I have a lot of respect for Carter. Not only did he really seem interested in world peace instead of the warmongering from the MIC, he also remained active for all these years furthering humanitarian causes. And he was a brilliant nuclear engineer who cleaned up a nuclear accident with this team in Canada. I know he wasn't popular in the US which I don't really understand. It sounds to me like he fought the vested bi…

The Carter administration was certainly better than others when it came to foreign-policy but he still authorized and funded Operation Cyclone [0].

To say that he was interested in world peace is pure revisionism.

[0] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Cyclone

Re: Statement on President Carter’s Health

#30

Post by incanus77 » Sat, Feb 18, 2023, 10:06 PM UTC

Miraste wrote: post #13

wkat4242 wrote: post #2

I have a lot of respect for Carter. Not only did he really seem interested in world peace instead of the warmongering from the MIC, he also remained active for all these years furthering humanitarian causes. And he was a brilliant nuclear engineer who cleaned up a nuclear accident with this team in Canada. I know he wasn't popular in the US which I don't really understand. It sounds to me like he fought the vested bi…

He was unpopular for a number of other reasons, some of which were just bad luck. Inflation was high, the economy was poor, there was a massive oil shortage, and the Iranian hostage crisis went poorly. There were a lot of smaller issues too, like the 55mph speed limit. While he had good intentions and was far more forward thinking than other presidents, he wasn’t an adept administrator and didn’t manage to get buy-in…

> he wasn’t an adept administrator

I can't find too much on this now except for the fact it happened, but initially Carter decided to buck tradition and not have a chief of staff, preferring instead a more level cabinet that could come to him as needed. I can't remember where I heard/read/saw this analysis, but it was cited as a major faux pas which led to him being completely inundated with competing priorities. The office of president is much more complex than that of the governorship of even a large state, and not having a trusted chief of staff who could help Carter prioritize led to a more ineffectual office.