Carter: A Mixed Presidential Legacy, But Not As a Human
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2024-12-30 07:00 by Karl Denninger
in Editorial , 242 references Ignore this thread
Carter: A Mixed Presidential Legacy, But Not As a Human
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Jimmy Carter made 100, but he didn't get to inauguration day.  His passing was not a surprise and one can't argue when you make triple digits on spins around the glowing orange orb.  Not many people do.

He was much-maligned for the inflationary mess of the 1970s -- and lost to Reagan in 1980 largely as a result.  But the blame wasn't mostly his; Nixon and Ford did that and dumped it on him; he got charged with it although he was unable to end it in time to matter.  Of note he didn't turn around and try to slay either Nixon or Ford for it either, as have recent Presidents when things have dropped in their laps -- he just went to work as best he could.

There was also a bad mission to rescue the US hostages held in Iran, but whether you can reasonably charge that to him is an open question.  Weather is always a possible confounder and it was absolutely a big part of why the mission failed.  Nonetheless, if you're in the left seat and the plane crashes, its deemed your fault (whether you put the water in the fuel tank or not) and thus it was.

His most-impressive foreign policy accomplishment during his term was a peace deal between Egypt and Israel.

More-negatively, however, was his Executive Order that killed civilian nuclear fuel reprocessing in the United States.  He firmly believed that civilians could not safely operate power reactors and that his action would shut down the industry.  Time has proved both of these beliefs wrong in that the industry did not disappear and we did not all glow in the dark, but the mess left in terms of spent fuel, which now has nowhere to go and the only safe place for high-level reaction products is to put it back into a reactor and burn it up means as a direct result of his action we have no other sound answer.  Ronald Reagan rescinded that E/O immediately when he took office but the damage was done; no commercial enterprise would risk being dispossessed of billions of investment building out that capacity again and to this day the government hasn't stepped in to do it in their place.

I've been to Carter's library.  Its curious that there is a decent display commemorating his nuclear service before becoming President but not one mention, at least in the public areas, of that E/O and his reason for it.  I looked expecting to find it, but did not.

No matter how you feel about Carter's Presidency, however, he was fundamentally a decent man.  Unlike most recent Presidents who upon leaving office sought to enrich themselves and maintain their political influence when he left office he went out and built low-income housing for Habitat for Humanity.  Not with money grifted off with this or that -- with a hammer.  He also stayed well-clear of going after other administrations almost to a fault; while I don't think he ever voted for a Republican you never saw him campaigning or trying to slam whoever was in office.  It was exceedingly rare to see him comment on the political issues of the day.

What you did see him do post-Presidency was campaign ceaselessly for peace and human rights.  Negotiating on behalf of other Presidents he obtained the release of political prisoners in several nations including North Korea.  He was a leading element in eliminating a parasitic disease in Africa, identified as spread through unfiltered drinking water.  He never shied away from a poor nation or community, whether here or abroad and was building houses with Habitat for Humanity all the way up to 2019, marking 30 years of service helping to build and repair over 4,000 homes.

One thing you can say about President Carter is that he didn't just profess belief as a Christian -- he lived it, both as a Sunday School teacher and through his personal works, rather than seeking personal aggrandizement and money, and was married to his wife Rosalynn until she passed after 77 years of being together.

A great President perhaps he was or was not, but what President Carter was, and this is without dispute, is an outstanding human being.

Rest in peace Mr. President.

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