Why do so many trash Jimmy Carter? What made him such a failure in the eyes of the voters of the day?

Question

I am shocked at the vehemence of the denouncers. Many say he was the WORST President ever? What about his record as a peace broker? What about his activities on behalf of the homeless since leaving the White House? I seek opinions based on his actiions not based on a greasy beer swillin' brother (we ALL have one of those). Thanks. Personally I think he was one of the greatest statesmen the US will ever see.

Answer 1

The hostage taking of Americans in Iran and the oil embargo were two situations that many blame Carter for. However, he did helped negotiate peace between Egypt and Israel, a peace which still holds today. Many were also upset that he did the right thing by granting amnesty to those who fled to Canada to avoid the immoral Vietnam war. History will be more kind to him when all of the facts are sorted out.

Answer 2

President Carter was a great statesman, peace broker and continues to be a world humanitarian. Depsite all his good works, he continues to be remembered for the last thing he tried to do which was free the hostages. His utter failure at this negotiation is a complex story. Beer swillin' brothers don't even know the half of it. Making matters worse is the perception that Ron Reagan somehow freed the hostages the day he was elected. Not true. click on the links for the info you seek. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/carter/

Answer 3

First yes I do pick on him alot, ( with that said, I will also say I know him personally and even told him one day that he was the best "ex" president we ever had.

He really did little while in office. Since he got out of office, he has done alot and does alot of get work, but for his actual years in office almost nothing.

He is a really great Chrsitian man, still teaches Sunday school, and has helped the Habitat for Humanity people for years.
He is highly educated and before 911 went around with only one or two Secret Service agents. Even drives around in a SUV. He loves people and will even today still disregard his protetion people advice and walk right into a crowd.

I think the world of him personally. But he did not have the political connections when he went into office and actually tried to do what was right ( which is not possible since you have to play political games)

Answer 4

He was one of the worst presidents. High Inflation, Iran took Embassy Hostage. His peace efforts are good but came after he was president. His work with Habitat for Humanity also good. Traveling to see dictators like Fidel and bad mouthing USA on foreign soil bad.

Everybody here has a right/obligation to point out flaws but it should come with a idea how to fix it. To bad mouth you country on foreign soil is not well liked here.

Sir J he was a peanut farmer, Governor of Georgia and served in the Navy prior to the nuclear subs. Nice try though.

Answer 5

Jimmy Carter was a decent man of principle, honor, integrity, honesty, and courage, and most people look back on him as a bad president. Ronald Reagan was a manipulative, back-stabbing, thieving, and unprincipled man whose policies in South America led to the murders of hundreds of thousands of people there, and most people look back on him as a hero.

What's wrong with this picture? What happened to this country that had stood up to the Nazis in WWII and said NO WAY!! We got lazy and unprincipled, that's what happened, and now the world is looking on and cheering our downfall! We actually ALLOWED a functionally and morally retarded man to serve not just ONE term, but TWO OF THEM!! It's frustrating and embarrassing!! Apparently, in answer to the question, one must be criminally insane to be a "good" president, and Jimmy Carter didn't qualify!!

Answer 6

He was a better ex-president than president, alas. He had the unfortunate timing to serve at a very hard time in our country. He was no dummy (he was a nuclear scientist) but interest rates shot up to 18 percent under his leadership and the hostage crisis in Iran really defined his presidency.

As Clinton is finding out, it often is easier to get more done as an ex-president.

Answer 7

what's funny is... Republicans say that "Clinton's economic prosperity was the result of Reagan's policies and it takes years for them to come into effect"...

yet when they talk about Carter, the economic fall was all his fault in his single four-year term... I'm sure it had nothing to do with any of the failed policies of the early 70s with Ford and Nixon in office... hahaha

I don't think Carter was the best president... just as I personally don't think Clinton was... but to blame Carter for everything that went wrong, is just like putting the praise on Clinton for everything that went right... I don't think either one was totally responsible for what occurred during their presidencies...

personally, I think people will look back and see Bush's administration in much the same way they look at Carter's... both with failed Middle Eastern policies and relatively weak economies over all...

Answer 8

Leela, he´s a great humanitarian, with great intelligence, but he was not an effective president -- he did not have what it took to run our country at the time he did. As well, many people did not like his background, which should not be an issue, but it was. However, he is very happy at present with all he has accomplished after he left the White House.
Be well.
Happy 4th!

Answer 9

I am a giant fan of president Carter . His problem was he was too honest for politics and he was to passive . He frightened voters because of his honesty . They were not ready . Obviously still not . I fully agree that he was best president ever . Still is . Has done more out of office than any president (modern day ) has done in office .

Answer 10

Well, he had to raise interest rates to get us out of the hole and he has done a lot for restoring buildings in the south and helping people. I wont get into a book here.