The REAL Worst President Ever!!

[Racerbvd]

Here is some info:

- From Carter's own speech on July 15, 1979
"It's clear that the true problems of our Nation are much deeper --
deeper than gasoline lines or energy shortages, deeper even than
inflation or recession. And I realize more than ever that as
president I need your help. So I decided to reach out and listen to
the voices of America... Our excessive dependence on OPEC has
already taken a tremendous toll on our economy and our people. This
is the direct cause of the long lines which have made millions of
you spend aggravating hours waiting for gasoline. It's a cause of
the increased inflation and unemployment that we now face."
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/carter/filmmore/ps_crisis.html

- Public dissatisfaction with the "stagflation" economy, staff
problems, friction with Congress, long gasoline lines, and the
months-long Iranian crisis, including the abortive sally in April
1980 to free the hostages also proved problematic for the
administration.
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0760623.html

- "He was criticized for allowing the U.S. embassy personnel in Iran
to be taken hostage and for not having found a way to secure their
release. His initiatives in the Mideast peace process appeared to
have foundered. The economy was in disarray with double-digit
inflation and high unemployment prevalent at the same time."
http://ap.grolier.com/article?assetid=0078990-
00&templatename=/article/article.html

- the Carter Administration's gasoline price controls led to the
infamous mile-long lines at gas pumps. The lines went away when
President Reagan defied the dire predictions of liberal pundits and
stopped trying to dictate to the market.
http://members.tripod.com/~stromata/id281.htm

Next thing you know, they will tell us there wasn't a misery index
under President Carter. "President Carter was running for re-
election against Ronald Reagan, the Misery Index had reached an all-
time high of 21.98%. Carter lost the election to Reagan."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misery_Index_(economic)

[techweenie]

And if we'd listened to Carter, we wouldn't be in the mess we're in now.

" The crises in Iran and Afghanistan have dramatized a very important lesson: Our excessive dependence on foreign oil is a clear and present danger to our Nation's security. The need has never been more urgent. At long last, we must have a clear, comprehensive energy policy for the United States.

As you well know, I have been working with the Congress in a concentrated and persistent way over the past 3 years to meet this need. We have made progress together. But Congress must act promptly now to complete final action on this vital energy legislation. Our Nation will then have a major conservation effort, important initiatives to develop solar power, realistic pricing based on the true value of oil, strong incentives for the production of coal and other fossil fuels in the United States, and our Nation's most massive peacetime investment in the development of synthetic fuels.

The American people are making progress in energy conservation. Last year we reduced overall petroleum consumption by 8 percent and gasoline consumption by 5 percent below what it was the year before. Now we must do more." Carter SOTU, 1980

[msk1986911]

From USA Today, May 2001:

"The aim here is efficiency, not austerity," Cheney said of calls for increased efforts to conserve energy. "Conservation may be a sign of personal virtue, but it is not a sufficient basis for a sound, comprehensive energy policy."

What a fool!!

[island_dude]

Ok, I'll freely admit that Carter was a poor executive. He was however, one of the most technically educated, and like it or not, he had the right vision for energy policy. If we had actually pursued the policies he recommended back then, we probably would be in much better shape as far as energy independance is concerned. Carter got a lot of blame for things he didn't have much control over though. Yes. He really didn't handle the Iran situation very well. He got painted pretty badly for the failed hotage rescue mission -- We have had many that have been worse in the Iraq war. He probably put in more hours than most presidents -- In this case this isn't a good sign. he did not deligate well. In many ways, he has been a much better ex-president than president. You have to admit, this is a guy who follows his principles where others just talk.

[msk1986911]

Carter is a very principled man whose legacy will be defined by the years after he left office.

[jyl]

Carter was a good and thoughtful man who got bushwhacked by OPEC and a revolution in Iran.

He also didn't get his message in sync with the American psyche. Americans like to take the offensive, to attack rather than defend. Energy conservation could be sold as an attack on OPEC or as a defense against OPEC.

He made plenty of other mistakes too. In the end, his Presidency was not a successful one, but at least you might say he was handed his crises rather than going out and creating them.

His work post-Presidency has earned him a lot of respect, in my view.

[fintstone]

Carter was a loser who clearly could not handle the job...and makes it his life's work to sabotage any President that can.

[nostatic]

I actually knocked on doors for Carter back in '76. I thought he was a smart guy with some good ideas.

I have no doubt that 20 years from now, GWB will be thought of as the worst president ever. Started WWIII in the mid east, spent the US into crippling debt, and played with his rich oil friends while ignoring domestic issues. But the neoncons will be wringing their hands, saying, "he caught a tough break with 9/11...he did his best..."

[Racerbvd]

Originally posted by nostatic
I actually knocked on doors for Carter back in '76. I thought he was a smart guy with some good ideas.

I have no doubt that 20 years from now, GWB will be thought of as the worst president ever. Started WWIII in the mid east, spent the US into crippling debt, and played with his rich oil friends while ignoring domestic issues. But the neoncons will be wringing their hands, saying, "he caught a tough break with 9/11...he did his best..."

Truth be told, carter started the trouble in the middle east, President Bush is cleaning up carters mess. Don't forget, carter gave away the Panama Canal, and with his actions in the middle east, he owes people the houses he builds today for putting so many people out of work. He builds out of guilt, and why he supports & defends dictators, we will never know. He has one other thing too, his daughter was the ugliest in the White House, and is still so ungly, former President Clinton wouldn't bone her!!!

[fintstone]

Originally posted by nostatic
I actually knocked on doors for Carter back in '76. I thought he was a smart guy with some good ideas.....

So did I. It just proves that talk is cheap...and usually much easier than performance. President Bush will never be able to convince folks he is as smart as Carter appeared to be, but he clearly is not as feckless either...and he certainly seems to be more concerned with his country's best interest...compared to Carter who never (to this day) met a two-bit dictator that he wouldn't suck up to.

[Mulhollanddose]

Originally posted by fintstone
Carter was a loser who clearly could not handle the job...and makes it his life's work to sabotage any President that can.

I don't think his undermining of Clinton's presidency was intentional. Now Bush's on the other hand...

[rrpjr]

A vicious, bitter, petty, hand-wringing pretender, and an out-and-out bust as an executive.

As a cub reporter I covered the Kennedy challenge to Carter in 1980. I saw firsthand Carter's campaign of hate, led by his son, Chip, whom I interviewed in New Hampshire. Kennedy was at least running a campaign of ideas but Carter, with none of his own, was only out to get him. No smile in American politics was ever as phony. A "decent man"? Bah. In his bitter dotage now he writes bad novels and proselytizes for "peace," that is to say, American acquiescance to every third-world bully and his gussied-up grievances against American "oppression."

[kach22i]

The Trilateral Commission and Carter, weird and interesting - look it up when you have the time.

All I can say is the CETA program was a good program and Reagan pretty much killed it after Carter. Guess if you were poor you would just have to join the military to get some traning and education. That's one way I guess.

[stevepaa]

Originally posted by Racerbvd
Truth be told, carter started the trouble in the middle east, President Bush is cleaning up carters mess. Don't forget, carter gave away the Panama Canal, and with his actions in the middle east, he owes people the houses he builds today for putting so many people out of work.

What a load. Carter started the trouble in the ME? Please explain such an outlandish notion.