Jimmy Carter

President Carter with a dangerous friend

(1 October, 1924 – 29 December, 2024)

Jimmy Carter seems by popular acclaim to have been a very nice guy, choc-full of honesty and integrity. It just goes to show that such qualities are not necessary or sufficient to be a good President of the United States. Carter was not a good President, but he was liked and respected for the human qualities that bloomed post-office, notably in the fields of diplomacy and philanthropy.

His presidential legacy would seem to be the 1978 Camp David Accords, where his tendency to micro-manage and his own personal bona fides got two enemies to lay down their guns and swords.

Let’s enjoy this while it lasts…

The rest of his term left a good deal to be desired. He gave away the Panama Canal. He responded to the oil crisis by creating a new Energy Bureaucracy which had no impact, and asked his fellow citizens to turn off the heater and put on a sweater, which had a negative impact. Inflation was rampant, reaching double digits. Declining test scores were addressed by creating the Frankenstein Monster that is the Federal Department of Education. He cozied-up to the Chi-Coms and abandoned Taiwan. There were no deeds to match his words on Angola, Zaire, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Liberia. He was well-intentioned but ineffectual in protecting the environment (beyond putting dopey solar panels on the White House roof), softening the autocracy of the Shah of Iran, or reaching an arms limitation deal with the Soviets.

Overwhelmed by crises during his administration, Carter seemed unlucky: even a swamp rabbit attacked him when he went fishing (see below) and rather than jog half a mile for a photo opportunity, as a more cynical politician would, he ran a marathon and collapsed from fatigue. It seemed a hallmark of his administration. And then all Hell broke loose.

In December 1979, the Soviets invaded Afghanistan. On November 4, 1979, a group of Iranian students took over the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, taking 52 Americans hostage, parading them blindfolded before the world’s cameras. Carter imposed sanctions and tried negotiations, without effect. In April 1980, a military operation to rescue the hostages failed catastrophically, with 8 special ops men dead and 2 aircraft destroyed. Carter flailed about, sequestered himself in the White House, and then lost the 1980 election to Ronald Reagan in a landslide (Electoral College votes – Reagan 489, Carter 49). The hostages in Iran were released on the day Reagan took office.

The late great P.J. O’Rourke, in a hilarious review of one of Jimmy’s (and his wife’s) interminable books*, written largely to defray the Carters’ $1m debt on their peanut farm, had no qualms about tearing into the President – here’s an extract from his article:

We didn’t really elect this hamster President of the United States, did we? Naw, get outta here. It was Gerry, Gerry Ford…Whoops. I looked it up. We did elect Jimmy Carter President. Although, I notice , we unelected him as soon as we possibly couldReading [his book] makes it suddenly clear how he managed the Camp David Accord. Begin and Sadat were so bored by the blubber-skulled Carter family that they were willing to do anything to get out of Camp David…Indeed, as Jimmy gets older, he’s funnier looking than anyone – a sort of Don Knotts of the undead…It’s increasingly clear that nobody in his right mind wants to be President of the United States.”

[* “The Very Deep Thoughts of Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter – Review of Everything to Gain: Making the Most of the Rest of Your Life” American Spectator,1987.]

0 Comments


Leave a comment...

While your email address is required to post a comment, it will NOT be published.

Leave a Reply

© Copyright 2014 The Varnished Culture All Rights Reserved. TVC Disclaimer. Site by KWD&D.