# Jimmy Carter - was he so bad? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 1, 2009, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-carter-was-he-so-bad/494987 "2009-05-01T16:44:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2009, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-carter-was-he-so-bad/494987/61 "2009-05-02T15:42:24Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > Carter was a better president than Nixon,Ford,Reagan,Bush I and Bush II. > Talking him down is part of the process of talking UP Reagan, which is a very popular thing to do in some circles. IOW, all Democrats are better than all Republicans. Gosh, what a keen analytical mind you have. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2009, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-carter-was-he-so-bad/494987/62 "2009-05-02T17:54:23Z")
George Walker Bush: pretty good president, or the _pretty goodest_ president? ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2009, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-carter-was-he-so-bad/494987/63 "2009-05-02T17:59:53Z")
> [@furt](#): > > IOW, all Democrats are better than all Republicans. I didn’t say that, now did I **furt**? There’s a _good_ boy. Tell the truth now. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2009, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-carter-was-he-so-bad/494987/64 "2009-05-02T18:01:07Z")
Democrat Buchanan vs. Republican Lincoln … hmmm, thinkthinkthink … ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2009, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-carter-was-he-so-bad/494987/65 "2009-05-02T19:37:47Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > I didn’t say that, now did I **furt**? There’s a _good_ boy. Tell the truth now. Yeah, pretty much you did. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2009, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-carter-was-he-so-bad/494987/66 "2009-05-02T20:28:06Z")
Yeah, Carter was that bad. I give him a 2 and that’s only because he managed to stumble through brokering the Mid-East peace deal. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2009, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-carter-was-he-so-bad/494987/67 "2009-05-02T20:45:09Z")
Carter was a better peson than he was President. While it can be argued what was or wasn’t his fault, the fact is that he did not do much to inspire during the times of trouble. He did not see any PR value in the PResidency, he did not see any cheerleading from the Presidency. In taht sense he was incredibly naive about what the Preswident needs to do, especially in difficult times. Some may argue that the President shouldn’t be that way, but I disagree. I give him a 4. In comparison I give W a -40. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2009, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-carter-was-he-so-bad/494987/68 "2009-05-02T21:05:49Z")
Carter took a bully pulpit, made it into a nerd pulpit. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2009, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-carter-was-he-so-bad/494987/69 "2009-05-02T21:13:27Z")
Two words that damn Jimmy Carter IMO: Robert Mugabe ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2009, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-carter-was-he-so-bad/494987/70 "2009-05-02T21:20:42Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > Carter was a better president than Nixon,Ford,Reagan,Bush I and Bush II. > Talking him down is part of the process of talking UP Reagan, which is a very popular thing to do in some circles. I’d rank them Reagan, Bush I, Nixon, Carter, Ford, Bush II. I give 'ol goober peanut a 4.5. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2009, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-carter-was-he-so-bad/494987/71 "2009-05-02T21:20:54Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Carter took a bully pulpit, made it into a nerd pulpit. Winner. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2009, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-carter-was-he-so-bad/494987/72 "2009-05-02T23:45:53Z")
Carter should get half a point added just for being a deeply pious Christian without any trace of judgmentalism or intolerance for people of different beliefs or lifestyles. Though that seems more important in hindsight than it did at the time – the Religious Right was only beginning its rise then. ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2009, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-carter-was-he-so-bad/494987/73 "2009-05-02T23:48:02Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > On the down side, we had s… a fourteen-year-old girl advising the Leader of the Free World on what he priorities should be… > Regards, > Shodan Yeah. Thank the Flying Spaghetti Monster we voted this guy out and put in a REAL President…who took advice from _his wife’s astrologer_ on what priorities he should focus on! :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2009, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-carter-was-he-so-bad/494987/74 "2009-05-03T01:50:16Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Carter should get half a point added just for being a deeply pious Christian without any trace of judgmentalism or intolerance for people of different beliefs or lifestyles. Though that seems more important in hindsight than it did at the time – the Religious Right was only beginning its rise then. I think you’re quite mistaken in this belief: > [@](#): > > On his first visit to the Jewish state in the early 1970s, Carter, who was then still the governor of Georgia, met with Prime Minister Golda Meir, who asked Carter to share his observations about his visit. Such a mistake she never made. > > “With some hesitation,” Carter writes, “I said that I had long taught lessons from the Hebrew Scriptures and that a common historical pattern was that Israel was punished whenever the leaders turned away from devout worship of God. I asked if she was concerned about the secular nature of her Labor government.” [Link.](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/07/AR2006120701835.html) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2009, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-carter-was-he-so-bad/494987/75 "2009-05-03T05:40:35Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > Two words that damn Jimmy Carter IMO: > > Robert Mugabe Ending all-white rule in Rhodesia was clearly the right thing at the time. How is Carter responsible for how Mugabe abused his opportunities? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2009, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-carter-was-he-so-bad/494987/76 "2009-05-03T05:46:28Z")
> [@Mr.Moto](#): > > I think you’re quite mistaken in this belief: > > [Link.](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/07/AR2006120701835.html) [shrug] At least he didn’t try to convert her to Christianity. Nor did he support Israel unreservedly with a view to fulfillment of End Times prophecy the way [Christian Zionists](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Zionism) do. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2009, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-carter-was-he-so-bad/494987/77 "2009-05-03T06:20:16Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Ending all-white rule in Rhodesia was clearly the right thing at the time. How is Carter responsible for how Mugabe abused his opportunities? True. Blaming Carter for what happened years later with Mugabe is another case of hindsight being 20/20. ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2009, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-carter-was-he-so-bad/494987/78 "2009-05-03T14:04:13Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Yeah, Carter was that bad. I give him a 2 and that’s only because he managed to stumble through brokering the Mid-East peace deal. Stumble through? Right! It wasn’t intense study, hard work, and perseverance. ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2009, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-carter-was-he-so-bad/494987/79 "2009-05-03T14:48:57Z")
As others have mentioned I think Carter failed to \*lead \* effectively. Even though certain events were not his fault as leader you assume responsibility. Watching a special about his presidency I got the impression that as a practical man who took a direct approach to problem solving he was ill prepared for how convoluted Washington is. Someone mentioned bringing in a lot of outsiders. I think that was a mistake. In the special it mentioned he alienated his own party by wanting to take make what he saw as necessary and practical budget cuts that they saw as programs that helped them get re elected. I wonder if that was his failing or theirs. It struck me as SOP. Let’s protect ourselves and create the impression that we’re doing good rather than actually solving problems. I finally read the “malaise” speech. IMO, not incorrect, but perhaps too honest. I’ve thought for some time that a big problem is the average citizen not taking his/her responsibility for our democracy seriously{myself included} Ultimately the speech failed to inspire confidence and call citizens to real effort although I wonder if anyone could have. We’re at a point where we can’t afford leaders who actually hide the truth from us while placating the public with rhetoric. That’s what I appreciate about Obama’s call to service. What a better America? Do something. I thought Carter’s energy proposals in the latter part of the speech sounded like leadership. What happened to his initiatives? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2009, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-carter-was-he-so-bad/494987/80 "2009-05-03T16:03:31Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Carter should get half a point added just for being a deeply pious Christian without any trace of judgmentalism or intolerance for people of different beliefs or lifestyles. Though that seems more important in hindsight than it did at the time – the Religious Right was only beginning its rise then. As another thread on the board mentions, you can say the same about Miley Cyrus. But I wouldn’t want her as President either. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-carter-was-he-so-bad/494987.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jimmy-carter-was-he-so-bad/494987.md?page=5)