Why the Disdain for Jimmy Carter?

Almost 40 years after his presidency Jimmy is still getting static. I've recently read some say, "No one should listen to him." I don't get this. He's put his time, money and health on the line since then in worthwhile endeavors. I don't think they need noting. Everyone's aware of them. So I can only conclude from this that it's his presidency that is the basis for this dislike. What was so bad? That he didn't attack Iran? It's about the only thing I can think of.

So can you guys explain why he's so disliked?

The biggest complaint I've heard is that while Carter was a wonderful human being, he was too soft and naive on the bad guys. He thought if you sat down and talked to a ruthless, psychopathic dictator, you could change the way they thought. This showed a disconnect from reality, his critics argued.

Some people thought he was an appeaser of global communism.

a reply to: intrepid

Listening to the old man, I would say the gas crisis, 17% mortgages and his brother was a drunken retard. Remember Billy Beer? Nuff said.

a reply to: intrepid

If you were alive watching as crap unfolded.... the gutting of our military, the Iran hostage insanity, lines blocks long for gasoline, the failed rescue attempt, Panama canal giveaway, crashing economy, crime. Yes, naive and weak foreign policy. He was the poster president for America in decline due to policy.

Then we saw the complete 180 with Ronald Reagan.

God I miss Ronald Reagan.

a reply to: intrepid

It's really simple and needs only be explained to those suffering selective memory syndrome. Double digit inflation. Double digit unemployment. A military that required stripping of fully 1/3 of another carriers crew and equipment to send it's replacement to sea. All during a cold war with the Soviet Union.

If you've ever been to Georgia, even the locals see Carter with contempt.

originally posted by: infolurker
a reply to: intrepid

If you were alive watching as crap unfolded....

I was. If I was an American I could have voted in the 1980 election.

the gutting of our military,

Can you explain that further?

the Iran hostage insanity,

Yeah I get that one.

lines blocks long for gasoline,

He inherited that one. The gas crisis started under Nixon.

Panama canal giveaway,

Again I'll need more info.

crashing economy,

I don't recall that.

Yes, naive and weak foreign policy.

THIS is where I perceive the majority of the dislike for him comes from.

Thanks for the input guys.

Carter-bashers seem obsessed with style over substance: that Mr. Rogers sweater, the “malaise” speech, Carter’s sanctimonious, unlovable public persona—the way he seemed to personify national decline.

People want the illusion of control: a comforting, competent father-protector at the helm of our national destiny—and Carter couldn’t fake that role as well as most presidents before or since.

Liberals downgrade the Carter presidency as one short on transformative visions: It brought no New Deals, no New Frontiers.

Instead, at its best, the Carter legacy was one of workaday reforms that made significant improvements in American life: cheaper travel and cheaper goods for the middle class.

Ironically enough, the president you’d never want to have a beer with brought you better beer—and much else besides.

www.newsweek.com...

Since Kennedy, Americans have liked a certain 'flamboyance' in their Presidents. When the Reagans arrived and Nancy bought new expensive china for the WH, even I breathed a sigh of relief. It was like "Yay, we don't have to act poor anymore". Of course that's the superficial side.

Iran hostages had a lot to do with it. Of course my favorite conspiracy theory is that the Republicans struck a deal with Iran to not release the hostages until Reagan was sworn in.

But any scale you look at on previous presidents, will show Carter as having the highest IQ of any President.
Republicans liked to call him a "peanut farmer', which indeed, his family did have a peanut farm, but they brush aside the fact that he was also a physicist.

Of course, lowering the speed limit to 55 on interstates was so annoying, even though it did help the gas shortage (Nixon's fault). But Reagan undid that mess instantly which was widely applauded.

a reply to: nwtrucker

Let's not forget Salt treaty fiasco and the Soviets emboldened by weakness directly invade Afghanistan unopposed.

originally posted by: infolurker
a reply to: nwtrucker

Let's not forget Salt treaty fiasco and the Soviets emboldened by weakness directly invade Afghanistan unopposed.

By the end of the Carter Presidency, there was zero good news in any form.

Even Iran went oops and let the hostages go. (To the Republican conspiracy theorist, that's the degree of denial in the left of how weak the perception of Carter was.)

The cycle starts anew....

a reply to: intrepid


Carter was a nice guy in a time when our country needed a total dick in the White House.

I remember-the economy sucked and there were no jobs or gas. Living in Atlanta and knowing most of his friends who ended up like Trump being indicted or fired. We were embarrassed that his persona, even after being a poor governor, was so weak.

He was a humble, simple, honest man. He was an outsider. He refused to be manipulated so he was crucified by the Washington powers.

He did not represent the country internationally as strong at a time we needed hope and strength. In many ways he suffered like Obama-clueless about their part in representation of our country and misunderstanding their true role.

Carter did involve himself in unpopular politics after leaving his office. He did work tirelessly in unpopular diplomatic areas where he was not appreciated or wanted. Again, not understanding his role.

However, Carter lives by his faith and his conscience and has no interest in applying his ego or attaining popularity. In that sense, he is as opposite to Clinton, Obama and others as you can get.

Carter is a complex yet at the same time, a simple man. A man who beieves in honor but is and continues to be completely misunderstood.

You need more clarification? You've been told the issues. Now go look it up. but further, since his failed presidency he has been extremely meddlesome in foreign policy affairs. The one thing Bush told Obama when Obama took over was, "Your problem is going to be Jimmy Carter." Carter has been a thorn in side of every President who came after him. Nobody of either party has appreciated that. He screwed up his own term and has tried his best to screw up everyone else's. The only reason he got in the first time was that Ford was seen as a caretaker President hand picked by Nixon (not true, actually as Congress insisted on Ford) who battled Reagan for the nomination and nearly lost. Nixon actually disdained Ford and said "he couldn't walk and chew gum at the same time." Out of that turmoil we got Carter, unfortunately. It's no accident that the hostages were released the very day Reagan was sworn in as President.

originally posted by: DBCowboy
a reply to: intrepid


Carter was a nice guy in a time when our country needed a total dick in the White House.

BINGO !!! .... That ....plus ....I think he is an intelligent guy , but he just was not qualified to run the country . ... He was not go qualified to handle the situations that were looming over America and he didn't step up to the plate to make hard decisions .

Billy Beer !!!! ..... Yep!!! ....LOL

Plus, the guy was attacked by a damned rabbit.

No lie.

Jimmy Carter got a bad rap.

I remember an Air Force colonel for whom I had the utmost respect often refered to him as a peanut farmer. That was the prevailing attitude for the MIC at the time, and that carried over into the media. Being in the Navy at the time, I had the same attitude via osmosis.

In retrospect, looking at what he has done before and after the Presidency, I have a lot of admiration for the man. He was a Navy nuclear engineer, he had brains. As President, he gave the military an across the board 11% pay raise when those "Support the Troops" type Republicans would give 2% to 3%, often giving the lower enlisted ranks less. I believe that it was the fact that he had himself served honorably that he was reluctant to sacrifice good men and women on some BS war with Iran.

The gas "shortage" and high unemployment was not his fault. That was due to Nixon being forced to take the US off the gold standard because we had spent so much on the Vietnam War. When the value of the dollar tanked we went into recession until the petro-dollar was established.

During the Iran Hostage Crisis a rescue was attempted, but it failed when a freak sandstorm caused a collision between two Marine helicopters. I remember because I was there. After that, the hostages were shuffled to different locations to prevent further rescue attempts. During Carter's term, Reagan had negotiated his Arms for Hostages deal, but told the Iranians to hold off releasing the hostages until Carter was out of office.

When other Presidents leave office, they go on speaking engagements for hundreds of thousands of dollars at a pop. This man picked up a hammer and helped build houses for the homeless.

I was wrong about him when he was in office, but I'm glad I lived long enough to learn that he was a good man who happened to be President at the wrong time.

a reply to: intrepid

Carter was a relatively ineffective president, at a great many things. Everything was a "crisis." We had a gas shortage "crisis" we had a "crisis of confidence" and a myriad of other situations. I was a kid in the 1970s, but I remember the general feeling that Carter was a lame duck even as soon as he was sworn in.

Don't get me wrong, I think he's a wonderful human being with a good heart. I just don't think he was an effective presidential figure in many ways. He just wasn't the strong leader that the USA needed at the time he was elected.

Could have been the out of control inflation, could have been the gas shortages, could have been the fact that Americans don't like ineffectual pussies.

He was the first modern day “worst President”. Of course that was before Bush and Obama, but honestly, looking back things were way worse under Carter than even Obama and I can’t believe I am saying that.

a reply to: intrepid
He seemed to be accident-prone. A conspiracy theorist might wonder how much accidents were imposed on him, and how much were his own.
Listing from memory (so I may get it wrong);
The bold rescue mission in Iran which failed because a helicopter broke down.
On a visit to Poland, the embarassment caused by a bad translation.
Remarking in front of a microphone which had not been switched off "If Kennedy runs, I'll whup his ass."
Frankly admitting that he had committed adultery in his heart.
Something about having seen a U.F.O.?
Allowing himself to be photographed coming in from a group run of some kind, looking pale and exhausted.
Perhaps most of those should not have affected his image. However...