Jimmy Carter

Shawshank

Watching this live news conference with him this morning. I love this guy. HUGE smiles...so cordial and polite. What an awesome attitude he has, and such an inspiration. Mentally it doesn't seem like age has hindered him at all. Big prayers for him and his family.

JimmyV

Couldn't agree more.

brianlux

Yes! Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter are both amazing. Super good, caring people and champions of peace.

hedonist

Politics aside, what an awesome outlook he has.

lolobugg

The guy is amazing.... I grew up a few miles from his farm....
I wrote him a letter last year telling him how much of an inspiration he has been for me.
He actually wrote me back a handwritten letter and told me to come visit him in Plains, Ga.

lolobugg

BTW: our last truly great President too.

Last-12-Exit

lolobugg said:

BTW: our last truly great President too.

lolobugg

Last-12-Exit said:

lolobugg said:

BTW: our last truly great President too.

He was way ahead of his time... I mean look at this list of bozos since-

Reagan
Bush
Clinton
Bush, Jr. ("fucking Damien Omen II" as Ed referred to him)
Obama
a Clinton again? Bush again?

Last-12-Exit

I'm not going to beat on a guy when he's down. Actually, he's not down. He's an inspiration at 90. Plus, I wasn't born until 78, so I have zero knowledge of him other than what I've read and heard from my elders.

You are the first one that I've ever seen say he was ahead of his time. He was a much better representive of America after his term was over.

mickeyrat

He ceratinly had a tough time in that period. I do appreciate the fact he chose to try and do the job instead of more actively campaign for re-election. commendable for sure. Now without question , he is the greatest former president , based on the hands on action he has taken since becoming a former. And continues to take.

jeffbr

I have never heard anyone refer to Carter as a great president. He presided over a pretty dismal period of time. I remember super high interest rates, skyrocketing inflation, and gas lines. He was seen as weak. The antidote was Reagan. Like Reagan or not, he restored pride and had a backbone. I will not claim that either of them was great, but certainly at the time, Carter wasn't seen in a favorable light. He didn't surround himself with strong or smart people, didn't delegate well, and was generally overwhelmed.

That being said, I can't remember any other former president who has done more for peace, or for people once leaving office. I do think he's been a great elder statesman, and believe his good work has tempered some of the ill feelings people had about his presidency.

mickeyrat

jeffbr said:

I have never heard anyone refer to Carter as a great president. He presided over a pretty dismal period of time. I remember super high interest rates, skyrocketing inflation, and gas lines. He was seen as weak. The antidote was Reagan. Like Reagan or not, he restored pride and had a backbone. I will not claim that either of them was great, but certainly at the time, Carter wasn't seen in a favorable light. He didn't surround himself with strong or smart people, didn't delegate well, and was generally overwhelmed.

That being said, I can't remember any other former president who has done more for peace, or for people once leaving office. I do think he's been a great elder statesman, and believe his good work has tempered some of the ill feelings people had about his presidency.

But how much thought is put into what he was handed when he took the oath? As little as some quarters would think of what our current pres was handed.

jeffbr

mickeyrat said:

jeffbr said:

I have never heard anyone refer to Carter as a great president. He presided over a pretty dismal period of time. I remember super high interest rates, skyrocketing inflation, and gas lines. He was seen as weak. The antidote was Reagan. Like Reagan or not, he restored pride and had a backbone. I will not claim that either of them was great, but certainly at the time, Carter wasn't seen in a favorable light. He didn't surround himself with strong or smart people, didn't delegate well, and was generally overwhelmed.

That being said, I can't remember any other former president who has done more for peace, or for people once leaving office. I do think he's been a great elder statesman, and believe his good work has tempered some of the ill feelings people had about his presidency.

But how much thought is put into what he was handed when he took the oath? As little as some quarters would think of what our current pres was handed.

Oh, for sure. He inherited the aftermath of a recession. But he didn't do a lot to improve the economy, and by 1980 we were back in a recession again. By the end of 1980 the prime rate was 21.5%. That's crazy! He was always looking for price controls, and even enacted austerity measures. He was out of his element with the economy, and was very weak in any sort of international confrontation. Hell, he even gave the Panama Canal to Panama. So like I said, there were way too many things about his presidency that will keep him from being considered a great president. That being said, his unfortunate spell as president didn't preclude him from being considered a great statesman later, and from being an amazing human being. I am not trying to bag on Carter. I just was surprised to hear someone call him a great president.

CH156378

What he's most proud of, though, is that he didn't fire a single shot. Didn't kill a single person. Didn't lead his country into a war – legal or illegal. "We kept our country at peace. We never went to war. We never dropped a bomb. We never fired a bullet. But still we achieved our international goals. We brought peace to other people, including Egypt and Israel. We normalised relations with China, which had been non-existent for 30-something years. We brought peace between US and most of the countries in Latin America because of the Panama Canal Treaty. We formed a working relationship with the Soviet Union."

It's the simple fact of not going to war that, given what came next, should be recognised. "In the last 50 years now, more than that," he says, "that's almost a unique achievement." He was bitterly opposed to both Iraq wars. "Iraq was just a terrible mistake. I thought so in Iraq 1, and I was against it in Iraq 2." And it's not just George W Bush who has blood on his hands, he says, but Tony Blair too: "I don't know what went on in private meetings when Tony Blair agreed to it. But had Bush not gotten that tacit support from Blair, I don't know if the course of history might have been different."

g under p

CH156378 said:

What he's most proud of, though, is that he didn't fire a single shot. Didn't kill a single person. Didn't lead his country into a war – legal or illegal. "We kept our country at peace. We never went to war. We never dropped a bomb. We never fired a bullet. But still we achieved our international goals. We brought peace to other people, including Egypt and Israel. We normalised relations with China, which had been non-existent for 30-something years. We brought peace between US and most of the countries in Latin America because of the Panama Canal Treaty. We formed a working relationship with the Soviet Union."

It's the simple fact of not going to war that, given what came next, should be recognised. "In the last 50 years now, more than that," he says, "that's almost a unique achievement." He was bitterly opposed to both Iraq wars. "Iraq was just a terrible mistake. I thought so in Iraq 1, and I was against it in Iraq 2." And it's not just George W Bush who has blood on his hands, he says, but Tony Blair too: "I don't know what went on in private meetings when Tony Blair agreed to it. But had Bush not gotten that tacit support from Blair, I don't know if the course of history might have been different."

His quest for PEACE will something years after he's left this earth will be something we should all be proud of. I know I am along with his exhausting work with HFH.


Peace

Drowned Out

His post-president words and actions outshine any other former pres by miles.....he was the first to call out Israel as an apartheid state...and he never led the US into a war, yes..
But his foreign policy was far from innocent. Carter and obama have very similar FP, likely due to the fact that they have the same man behind their curtains - the democrat's Kissinger - sociopath Zbigniew Brzezinski (carter's security advisor and obama's puppeteer/policy advisor during his initial campaign).
Zbig himself admitted that Carter's admin funded the mujahideen in order to 'give the ussr their own vietnam'. I'm sure the nationalists here loved the checkmate to the Russians, but how many people died as a result? And we all know who the mujahideen became, and what they did.
Then there is carter's funding for Indonesia's Suharto in the Timor genocide - nearly a quarter million dead with US support.
the shah, Nicaragua.....we can say he inherited messes, but we could also say he inherited a country weary of direct action (again, like Obama)....so calling him an agent of peace or protector of human rights is a bit naive. Like Obama, he used the means available to him to expand the empire without the public turning on him en masse.
Obama has invoked carter's cloak and dagger foreign policy in Libya, Syria, Ukraine, and many other countries.....Hopefully it doesn't result in another 9/11.
I don't see any reason for hero worship for a politician who put corporate gain and statist power ahead of human lives. He's a war criminal like all the rest. lesser war criminal does not equal greatness...
The fact that less Americans died during his reign is small consolation to the families of those who did.

josevolution

He is a truly great human that's how I choose to view him fuck the political side , this is about a man coming to terms with how he will most likely leave this earth , he has grace his humbled his at peace with himself ......

lolobugg

josevolution said:

He is a truly great human that's how I choose to view him fuck the political side , this is about a man coming to terms with how he will most likely leave this earth , he has grace his humbled his at peace with himself ......

Well said.

lolobugg

Last-12-Exit said:

I'm not going to beat on a guy when he's down. Actually, he's not down. He's an inspiration at 90. Plus, I wasn't born until 78, so I have zero knowledge of him other than what I've read and heard from my elders.

You are the first one that I've ever seen say he was ahead of his time. He was a much better representive of America after his term was over.

agreed... he has done more for this country after he was free of the constraints of the presidency.

in terms of ahead of his time: solar panels on the White House in the 1970s... I would say that is a forward thinking individual.... unfortunately Reagan removed them as a gesture to his corporate lobbyist.

Shawshank

I guess yesterday was just the first time I'd really seen him as...just a human being...not a former President...and without any political cloud. I was taken by his demeanor, his attitude and his kindness towards everyone. He just came across as the most genuine and caring person you can imagine. The kind of person we should all strive to be. I couldn't care less about his political history, the man himself and what he's done after his Presidency has set the bar so high few people will ever be able to come close to matching it.

mickeyrat

Drowned Out said:

His post-president words and actions outshine any other former pres by miles.....he was the first to call out Israel as an apartheid state...and he never led the US into a war, yes..
But his foreign policy was far from innocent. Carter and obama have very similar FP, likely due to the fact that they have the same man behind their curtains - the democrat's Kissinger - sociopath Zbigniew Brzezinski (carter's security advisor and obama's puppeteer/policy advisor during his initial campaign).
Zbig himself admitted that Carter's admin funded the mujahideen in order to 'give the ussr their own vietnam'. I'm sure the nationalists here loved the checkmate to the Russians, but how many people died as a result? And we all know who the mujahideen became, and what they did.
Then there is carter's funding for Indonesia's Suharto in the Timor genocide - nearly a quarter million dead with US support.
the shah, Nicaragua.....we can say he inherited messes, but we could also say he inherited a country weary of direct action (again, like Obama)....so calling him an agent of peace or protector of human rights is a bit naive. Like Obama, he used the means available to him to expand the empire without the public turning on him en masse.
Obama has invoked carter's cloak and dagger foreign policy in Libya, Syria, Ukraine, and many other countries.....Hopefully it doesn't result in another 9/11.
I don't see any reason for hero worship for a politician who put corporate gain and statist power ahead of human lives. He's a war criminal like all the rest. lesser war criminal does not equal greatness...
The fact that less Americans died during his reign is small consolation to the families of those who did.

holy fuck, you must be a blast at parties.

lolobugg

mickeyrat said:

Drowned Out said:

His post-president words and actions outshine any other former pres by miles.....he was the first to call out Israel as an apartheid state...and he never led the US into a war, yes..
But his foreign policy was far from innocent. Carter and obama have very similar FP, likely due to the fact that they have the same man behind their curtains - the democrat's Kissinger - sociopath Zbigniew Brzezinski (carter's security advisor and obama's puppeteer/policy advisor during his initial campaign).
Zbig himself admitted that Carter's admin funded the mujahideen in order to 'give the ussr their own vietnam'. I'm sure the nationalists here loved the checkmate to the Russians, but how many people died as a result? And we all know who the mujahideen became, and what they did.
Then there is carter's funding for Indonesia's Suharto in the Timor genocide - nearly a quarter million dead with US support.
the shah, Nicaragua.....we can say he inherited messes, but we could also say he inherited a country weary of direct action (again, like Obama)....so calling him an agent of peace or protector of human rights is a bit naive. Like Obama, he used the means available to him to expand the empire without the public turning on him en masse.
Obama has invoked carter's cloak and dagger foreign policy in Libya, Syria, Ukraine, and many other countries.....Hopefully it doesn't result in another 9/11.
I don't see any reason for hero worship for a politician who put corporate gain and statist power ahead of human lives. He's a war criminal like all the rest. lesser war criminal does not equal greatness...
The fact that less Americans died during his reign is small consolation to the families of those who did.

holy fuck, you must be a blast at parties.

Drowned Out

mickeyrat said:

Drowned Out said:

His post-president words and actions outshine any other former pres by miles.....he was the first to call out Israel as an apartheid state...and he never led the US into a war, yes..
But his foreign policy was far from innocent. Carter and obama have very similar FP, likely due to the fact that they have the same man behind their curtains - the democrat's Kissinger - sociopath Zbigniew Brzezinski (carter's security advisor and obama's puppeteer/policy advisor during his initial campaign).
Zbig himself admitted that Carter's admin funded the mujahideen in order to 'give the ussr their own vietnam'. I'm sure the nationalists here loved the checkmate to the Russians, but how many people died as a result? And we all know who the mujahideen became, and what they did.
Then there is carter's funding for Indonesia's Suharto in the Timor genocide - nearly a quarter million dead with US support.
the shah, Nicaragua.....we can say he inherited messes, but we could also say he inherited a country weary of direct action (again, like Obama)....so calling him an agent of peace or protector of human rights is a bit naive. Like Obama, he used the means available to him to expand the empire without the public turning on him en masse.
Obama has invoked carter's cloak and dagger foreign policy in Libya, Syria, Ukraine, and many other countries.....Hopefully it doesn't result in another 9/11.
I don't see any reason for hero worship for a politician who put corporate gain and statist power ahead of human lives. He's a war criminal like all the rest. lesser war criminal does not equal greatness...
The fact that less Americans died during his reign is small consolation to the families of those who did.

holy fuck, you must be a blast at parties.

I bet you are too mickey....
you should see me at funerals....

Drowned Out

Seriously, fuck the hero worship of ex-presidents.
I get really tired of it. Seeing the reaction to Reagan's death was enough to make me puke. People on this board constantly call for the torture and murder of criminals, but politicians get a pass dependent upon the letter next to their name....and apparently for some the length of time out of office. It's a joke the way these people are able to reshape their images after they leave office. They still do popularity polls for ex presidents....why? Bill Clinton is some kind of folk hero for getting a blowjob. GWB had favourable numbers this year for the first time since 2005. WHY? Because we were fans to begin with, or because of nostalgia.
Carter has done a ton of good in the world, and I am happy to say so. But it doesn't erase all the bad. That stays a part of his legacy, at least for me.

hedonist

Drowned Out said:

you should see me at funerals....

Thanks for the Friday morning

brianlux

lolobugg said:

josevolution said:

He is a truly great human that's how I choose to view him fuck the political side , this is about a man coming to terms with how he will most likely leave this earth , he has grace his humbled his at peace with himself ......

Well said.

Yeah, I agree too.

Carter did make some mistakes as president but it's worth remembering that presidents are not dictators. I don't think any of them make as many choices on their own that we give them credit for or blame them for. I think Carter did his best with what he was dealt. And post-presidency, he's the best! Both him and Rosalynn.

Last-12-Exit

Drowned Out said:

Seriously, fuck the hero worship of ex-presidents.
I get really tired of it. Seeing the reaction to Reagan's death was enough to make me puke. People on this board constantly call for the torture and murder of criminals, but politicians get a pass dependent upon the letter next to their name....and apparently for some the length of time out of office. It's a joke the way these people are able to reshape their images after they leave office. They still do popularity polls for ex presidents....why? Bill Clinton is some kind of folk hero for getting a blowjob. GWB had favourable numbers this year for the first time since 2005. WHY? Because we were fans to begin with, or because of nostalgia.
Carter has done a ton of good in the world, and I am happy to say so. But it doesn't erase all the bad. That stays a part of his legacy, at least for me.

I'm not sure who has shown any "hero worship" for carter. So 4 years of a shitty foreign policy cancels out 35 years of humanitarian work? Being an ex-president makes him a phony? He's really not striving for world peace or helping free POWs but doing it for personal gain or redemption for his presidential term?

I agree that people everywhere gushed over Reagan when he died. But comparing carter to Reagan is like comparing corn to sauerkraut.

brianlux

Habitat For Humanity alone is good enough reason to like the Carters. After Hurricane Katrina, we contributed some money via H.F.H. to help build housing for displaced musicians one of whom, a jazz bass player from New Orleans, sent me a hand written letter thanking us for the help along with a photo of his family's very modest but comfortable new home. That literally brought tears to my eyes.

josevolution

Drowned Out said:

Seriously, fuck the hero worship of ex-presidents.
I get really tired of it. Seeing the reaction to Reagan's death was enough to make me puke. People on this board constantly call for the torture and murder of criminals, but politicians get a pass dependent upon the letter next to their name....and apparently for some the length of time out of office. It's a joke the way these people are able to reshape their images after they leave office. They still do popularity polls for ex presidents....why? Bill Clinton is some kind of folk hero for getting a blowjob. GWB had favourable numbers this year for the first time since 2005. WHY? Because we were fans to begin with, or because of nostalgia.
Carter has done a ton of good in the world, and I am happy to say so. But it doesn't erase all the bad. That stays a part of his legacy, at least for me.

It's about how you yourself choose to view the man you wanna bunch everything that he did in his life up to this point in one bag go ahead there are no rules in this debate , the man now knows most likely how he will die .....so go ahead throw dirt on him but can you wait till he's in the grave 1st

Drowned Out

.

Last-12-Exit said:

Drowned Out said:

Seriously, fuck the hero worship of ex-presidents.
I get really tired of it. Seeing the reaction to Reagan's death was enough to make me puke. People on this board constantly call for the torture and murder of criminals, but politicians get a pass dependent upon the letter next to their name....and apparently for some the length of time out of office. It's a joke the way these people are able to reshape their images after they leave office. They still do popularity polls for ex presidents....why? Bill Clinton is some kind of folk hero for getting a blowjob. GWB had favourable numbers this year for the first time since 2005. WHY? Because we were fans to begin with, or because of nostalgia.
Carter has done a ton of good in the world, and I am happy to say so. But it doesn't erase all the bad. That stays a part of his legacy, at least for me.

I'm not sure who has shown any "hero worship" for carter. So 4 years of a shitty foreign policy cancels out 35 years of humanitarian work? Being an ex-president makes him a phony? He's really not striving for world peace or helping free POWs but doing it for personal gain or redemption for his presidential term?

I agree that people everywhere gushed over Reagan when he died. But comparing carter to Reagan is like comparing corn to sauerkraut.

I didn't compare him to Reagan. I mentioned the farce that was the nation's reaction to regean's death.
Look, if someone asked me to pick my 'favourite' modern president, or the one who's done the least harm, i would name carter before they finished asking the question. I have acknowledged the good he's done twice.
Just bringing another perspective into this - if we're going to wax nostalgic over the guy, we should remember that between Afghanistan and East Timor, he was still at least partially responsible for death counted in seven figures. He aided pol pot for chrissake. the problems caused by his support for the shah and the mujahideen still reverberate in the the Middle East today. . These things warrant attention regardless of how uncomfortable it makes us to discuss them.

josevolution said:

Drowned Out said:

Seriously, fuck the hero worship of ex-presidents.
I get really tired of it. Seeing the reaction to Reagan's death was enough to make me puke. People on this board constantly call for the torture and murder of criminals, but politicians get a pass dependent upon the letter next to their name....and apparently for some the length of time out of office. It's a joke the way these people are able to reshape their images after they leave office. They still do popularity polls for ex presidents....why? Bill Clinton is some kind of folk hero for getting a blowjob. GWB had favourable numbers this year for the first time since 2005. WHY? Because we were fans to begin with, or because of nostalgia.
Carter has done a ton of good in the world, and I am happy to say so. But it doesn't erase all the bad. That stays a part of his legacy, at least for me.

It's about how you yourself choose to view the man you wanna bunch everything that he did in his life up to this point in one bag go ahead there are no rules in this debate , the man now knows most likely how he will die .....so go ahead throw dirt on him but can you wait till he's in the grave 1st

Sorry, but I think I might be the only one here not bunching his life into one bag. He has done some great things and some bad things. Because I mentioned the 'other bag', the bad bag, I am an asshole. That strikes me as a hypocritical accusation.
Wait till he's dead to throw dirt on him? I'm sure that will go over well i figured it would be better to say these things before the guy is sainted. Guess I was wrong.

rr165892

brianlux said:

Habitat For Humanity alone is good enough reason to like the Carters. After Hurricane Katrina, we contributed some money via H.F.H. to help build housing for displaced musicians one of whom, a jazz bass player from New Orleans, sent me a hand written letter thanking us for the help along with a photo of his family's very modest but comfortable new home. That literally brought tears to my eyes.

That's so solid dude