I might have more to say later, but all the reviews of Carter's presidency emphasize his character, his success in the Mideast, and inflation/gas prices.
But left out of all that: His Cold War policies were abject failures and left America in a precarious situation by 1980. /1
But left out of all that: His Cold War policies were abject failures and left America in a precarious situation by 1980. /1
Comments
Also, all good historians know that Jimmy reversed the DoD spend down, & that we were 1 helo away from a rescue, what was yr point?
My bad
But.
1. No prez is 100.
2. Where are the Sovs now?
3. Reagan sole took 'em down?
Fell under their own bad sys, Afghan catalyst, and DECADES of Cold War.
Plz.
Ron in on Iran deal/out on Iran-Contra.👀
Let's talk US debt under The Gipper:
Eg, Nixon, Reagan, & Trump have all been lauded for the strategic genius of "Unpredictability" but not Carter. Making the Soviets uncomfortable wasn't a weakness.
Carter was whipsawed by the R's
Reagan surely was. W was. GHW probably had a good handle on things. Trump undoubtedly was Clinton and Obama? At least they are bright men who could process info quickly
Carter at least tried to address it, and was mocked for his efforts. Pity.
Hey, did you know…
I'm curious if you have any links or specifics on the "stomped on by the Kremlin?"
Not that I disbelieve you; don't know & not sure where to start. Thx!
SS-18 deployment
Advisers/meddling in Africa reaches record numbers
invasion of AFG
for starters :)
I don’t recall a pervasive belief that the U.S. was losing the Cold War.
I do recall a lot of unnecessary alarmism about a USSR with a crippled economy and rotten infrastructure.
Carter was a successful President who got a bad rap.
(that's not really a failure of Carter policy in the way you mean, it's more of a crime.)
- Soviet Chief of the General Staff Nikolai Ogarkov, to Grenada's leaders, 1983
"Carter, even more so than Reagan, is revered to this day among those who fought on the true front lines of the Cold War: the former dissidents of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe."
https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/12/29/jimmy-carter-obituary-legacy-cold-war-soviet-union/
Given time and an open mind, history gives nuance to the duality; the frailty & honorable behavior of our all too human presidents
The right’s ability to entirely dismiss soft power at all times is truly astounding.
Of course, I am ignoring both FAR left and FAR right, which are their own thing entirely.
I just quoted it for the idea that supporting human rights would be good for the country. But human rights is out of fashion in both parties.
I agree with you that:
1. Human rights are important in and of themselves.
2. Support for human rights enhances our soft power, which is good for our foreign policy.
That claims implies that, absent an arms race, the Soviet Union would have been fine. It was a fatally flawed basket case.
RIP Jimmy Carter
Sigh
https://theintercept.com/2023/03/24/october-surprise-ben-barnes/
Still, amazes me that we have never collectively judged Reagan similarly.
Beirut barracks bombing in 1983 - over 60 Benghazis, followed by by Reagan's cowardly abandonment. Within 48 hours, invasion of Grenada (yay!).
We SOLD Iran weapons for no purpose.
to the secret program, but Reagan nixed that.
Even Gorbachev credited Reagan for helping end the Cold War.
https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna5148407
Ramping up military spending also helped because the Soviets responded to that by... Spending more that they didn't have.
they spent far more in Afghanistan than in response to Star Wars
Why do you think we made such close friends with S Arabia? Because America loves Islam so much?
Anyway, I find the words of Gorbachev much more convincing than your counterfactual argument.
In fact, Biden's presidency seems like deja vu.
"The parallels with what the press did to Carter and are are doing to Biden are obscene. Just as the press fawned over a fake central casting President like Reagan, they bought the myth of the fake “business genius” of The Apprentice."
If you think we needed the MX, more power to you.
We are about to experience one of the worst people in the world in the White House. Carter was-in his whole lived life-one of the best . Political events aside, this fact is mighty.
https://newrepublic.com/article/172324/its-settled-reagan-campaign-delayed-release-iranian-hostages
He’s been out of office for 4 1/2 decades; he was a genuinely good person; and he hasn’t even been buried yet! FFS!🤦🏻♀️
You can in no way compare Jimmy Carter…
…to fucking rapist Trump!
…but for such a truly good person…who’s been out of office for multiple generations…there’s NO NEED for that before he’s even buried!🤦🏻♀️He still has living kids & grandkids who shouldn’t have to put up w/that💩while they grieve, FFS!
I’d be brutally honest about Trump immediately!
like to believe. Nixon and Bush Sr got it, but most of the others were pretty weak.
Eating dinner in a bar and struck up a conversation with two older gentlemen.when they heard I was from Atlanta, they became very agitated and exclaimed: Cartair, Cartair! Turns out they were from Egypt and could not praise him enough.
Ronald Reagan.
The guy who got into office with Iran Contra and the shady deal with the American Hostages in Iran?
I thought The Atlantic had thoughtful people on staff.
Not troglodyte neocons.
Truly sad.
I thought that movement went away - like the Birthers, Tea Baggers, 9-11 Truthers, Flat Earthers, etc.
PS the replies seem worse than the Indian food thing, but not quite up to Zeppelin level. Yet.
Done
He had children.
When Trump passes, will it be too soon to discuss his failures as well?
He took credit for the hostage release and lied about his dementia.
He was responsible for the huge wealth gap in this country today.
It takes two to negotiate.
In this era of Trumpist idiocy it’s even more important that history be taught by those like you who’ve studied it in depth.
Best to you and yours for the New Year!
For him, the presidency was a step on the ladder to success.
It gave him the experience and clout to do bigger and better things.
That is a pretty good legacy.
Republicans handed Jimmy a cluster-f*ck,..didn't they Tom?
Like the '08 melt down was Obama's fault, and Covid and Afghanistan withdrawel were JoBiden's fault.
Republicans suck asswind.
It is always the right time to have open discussions about anything.
Carter had to use SALT negotiations to mitigate this issue.