I find it sad that president from the late 70s showed more care for his constituency and broader world during the cold war than what our current president seems to be actively avoiding during a self funded genocide.
One of the consequences of the Cold War was a sense of domestic nationalism that fell apart when the USSR did. No point in working together without a singular globe spanning enemy to work against.
Ironic that Ayn Rand’s anti-communist philosophical selfishness came out of Soviet Russia in the 40s, and that’s what will likely bring the American Experiment to an end.
I will be very sad when he goes. Regardless of his success or lack thereof during his presidency, I don’t know that a better person in general has been president. The man devoted his post-presidency to building houses for the poor (with his own two hands) and eradicating guinea worm… and never showed up to say something on the endless news cycle unless he had a specific point to make.
The most Presidential of all our former Presidents. I will shed tears at his passing.
We didn’t deserve Carter. And we showed it.
300,000 people in East Timor certainly didn’t deserve Carter supplying Indonesia with the tools to carry out genocide.
It’s very easy to forget why Carter was largely considered a middling President in his time.
Between his fumbling of the Iran Hostage Crisis, his public sector strike breaking, and his Volcker Shock Economics, he set the stage for Reaganism and the end of Progressive Era politics.
But then he did Habitat for Humanity which was nice. And he talked a good game on climate change. And he called Israel Apartheid as he saw it decades before any other mainstream politician.
I remember when Carter was president. I always respected him. In the early 2000s i remember getting so much shit for defending him. I’m proud to be an American when I think of him and his legacy. He is a good man and I hope that he will be remembered in a positive way. He was truly wronged by the Republicans and the Iran Contra shit will forever be a shadow over the good that Carter tried to create in the middle East.
I imagine if the dirty tricks Reagan pulled or like if Gore wasn’t cheated or even Hillary got 4 years, the world would be a much better place than it is.
