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Statement on President Carter’s Health

cartercenter.org

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Re: Statement on President Carter’s Health

#121

Post by Avicebron »

pydry wrote: post #92
Forgeties79 wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hear this a lot but I think it’s kind of a cynical take. There are plenty of people who run for office because they genuinely care and genuinely believe they can make a difference. Of course there are power hungry sociopaths who make it. But there are 535 members of Congress, 50 governors, thousands of mayors and city council members and state reps, etc. They can’t all be terrible, yet I feel like the popular refra…

If you take principled stances you will generally end up making a lot of enemies of powerful interests. They will shred your character in public mercilessly and persistently even if your record is pretty much spotless. It's much much easier to be casually evil and join a bloc of powerful interests who will take care of you and look after you if you happen to be caught in bed with a prostitute.

Sounds like how people join prison gangs regardless of any previous sympathy towards them

Re: Statement on President Carter’s Health

#122

Post by JJMcJ »

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…

The high inflation and poor economy flowed from in large part from the first oil crisis in 1973, and then the second one after the oil boycott following the embassy kidnapping and hostage crisis.

The first oil crisis had nothing to do with Carter at all.

The second oil crisis was in part started when Carter was strongarmed into admitting the deposed Shah into the USA for medical treatment, and definitely made worse when the Republicans secretly negotiated with Iran to give them goodies if they'd hold the hostages until Carter was defeated. They feared an "October Surprise" if release was obtained before the election.

You will note that the Swissair plane returning the hostages was released for takeoff the moment Reagan was sworn in.

Finally let's not forget he was mocked for calling himself a nuclear engineer, when that was exactly what he was in the Navy. Why Germany can have a Quantum Chemistry PhD as Chancellor, but any scientific training in for an American politician is regarded as a joke, is beyond me.

Re: Statement on President Carter’s Health

#123

Post by fredsmith219 »

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…

Well said. His intentions were good but the problems he faced were very difficult and his solutions were poor. I think that he made a mediocre president at best but an awesome former president.

Re: Statement on President Carter’s Health

#124

Post by Mountain_Skies »

yellowapple wrote: post #98
Forgeties79 wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hear this a lot but I think it’s kind of a cynical take. There are plenty of people who run for office because they genuinely care and genuinely believe they can make a difference. Of course there are power hungry sociopaths who make it. But there are 535 members of Congress, 50 governors, thousands of mayors and city council members and state reps, etc. They can’t all be terrible, yet I feel like the popular refra…

It's hard to find solid numbers, but even assuming only 0.5% of Americans meet the criteria for a Narcissistic Personality Disorder diagnosis ( https://www.therecoveryvillage.com/mental-health/narcissisti... ), that's still 1,666,437 people - more than enough to fill nearly every (if not actually every, with room to spare) candidacy for every elected position in every level of American government. Solid numbers for A…

Watching campaign events, even for "good guy" candidates, is really unnerving. There aren't many opportunities in life to have that many people, even if you're just running for city council, screaming your name and laying into what's borderline worship behavior. Off hand, only entertainers and religious figures get that same type of admiration. Doesn't seem like a good way to select a leader with the whole public's best interests in mind.

Re: Statement on President Carter’s Health

#125

Post by starkd »

candiddevmike wrote: post #108
oxfeed65261 wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apparently my grandfather had a bumper sticker, “Keep the canal, give ‘em Carter.”

Seems so subtle and nuanced compared to FJB and other slogans you see today.

It only becomes nuanced when it gets framed by a historical context, when we can look back and explain it all. Carter has mellowed a lot over the years. He was a very young president. At the time, one of the chief complaints about his white house was that it was rudderless, that it lacked leadership. He gave an infamous speech where he described the country as being in a malaise.

Re: Statement on President Carter’s Health

#126

Post by mc32 »

candiddevmike wrote: post #108
oxfeed65261 wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apparently my grandfather had a bumper sticker, “Keep the canal, give ‘em Carter.”

Seems so subtle and nuanced compared to FJB and other slogans you see today.

This is true, but crassness has permeated the public arena. Online, radio, TV, even print media, so it's not surprise to see it on bumper stickers announcing the politician partisans deeply dislike.

Re: Statement on President Carter’s Health

#127

Post by bitwize »

iambateman wrote: post #50

My wife and I recently named our daughter Carter after Jimmy and Rosalynn. There’s so much to admire about their life. They represent people who rose to the very top of public life in the United States and chose to live quiet lives of service afterward. Their work on Habitat for Humanity helped tons of people and paved the way for hundreds of other nonprofits. They weren’t perfect, but I believe they were admirable a…

Human children are not in the cards for my wife and myself, but we have a lovely American foxhound named Rosalynn after Mrs. Carter.

My wife's parents were once legal professionals for the MPAA and lived near Washington; she continues to be touched by the way Jimmy introduced himself and his wife when they visited their home: "I'm Jimmy and this is my Rosalynn."

Re: Statement on President Carter’s Health

#128

Post by throwawaysalome »

tgbugs wrote: post #41

When I was a child I was at a Duke graduation event, and was sitting around waiting for it to end so I could go play, and a old guy sat down next to me and said "Hi! I'm Jimmy. Who are you?" and proceeded to talk with me for the next 30 minutes or so. I had no idea who he was, and I have no memory of the conversation, but I have been told that he was relieved to find someone to talk to with about anything other than…

[flagged]

Re: Statement on President Carter’s Health

#129

Post by JJMcJ »

incanus77 wrote: post #30
Miraste wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

The idea of a Cabinet that had direct and easy access to the President made sense when there were four or five people, as was the case early in American history.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Top_Left...

C. Northcote Parkinson, of Parkinson's Law fame, has written on this, both in British and American history. The inner council seems to grow and is replaced as the leader's inner council by a smaller body over time.

Re: Statement on President Carter’s Health

#130

Post by starkd »

ren_engineer wrote: post #83
woodruffw wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 kin…

>is greatest achievement on the domestic side is probably establishing the Department of Education (no mean feat!) going by pretty much every objective metric this has been a disaster for the US school system with how it changed teaching to be about hitting certain federally defined goals rather than actually teaching students

Dept. of Education was mostly a payoff to the unions.
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