IOW, all Democrats are better than all Republicans. Gosh, what a keen analytical mind you have. :rolleyes:
George Walker Bush: pretty good president, or the pretty goodest president?
I didn’t say that, now did I furt? There’s a good boy. Tell the truth now.
Democrat Buchanan vs. Republican Lincoln … hmmm, thinkthinkthink …
Yeah, pretty much you did.
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.
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.
Carter took a bully pulpit, made it into a nerd pulpit.
Two words that damn Jimmy Carter IMO:
Robert Mugabe
I’d rank them Reagan, Bush I, Nixon, Carter, Ford, Bush II.
I give 'ol goober peanut a 4.5.
Winner.
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.
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:
I think you’re quite mistaken in this belief:
Ending all-white rule in Rhodesia was clearly the right thing at the time. How is Carter responsible for how Mugabe abused his opportunities?
[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 do.
True. Blaming Carter for what happened years later with Mugabe is another case of hindsight being 20/20.
Stumble through? Right! It wasn’t intense study, hard work, and perseverance.
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?
As another thread on the board mentions, you can say the same about Miley Cyrus. But I wouldn’t want her as President either.