Why Do So Many People Here Hate/Dislike Jimmy Carter?

[QueenOfCalifornia]

It's obvious that there are a lot of people on this forum that loath a man whom I feel is and was one of the most honest and sincere politicians of our time, Jimmy Carter.

Whenever I read one of these posts I wonder; What did Carter do to bring out such hatred from people who say they are Democrats?

I have a lot of respect for President Carter and so I am hoping that I can learn --- Why the nastiness toward this guy? There are so many more asshats who deserve the hatred --- :shrug:

[Parche]

1. I Love Jimmy Carter

He was an average President, but he has done more for the World
after he was out of office, then most of them combined
He is a true human, and a great person.

:hug: :hug: :hug:

:hi:

[nichomachus]

30. He would have been a better president, but

he was totally sabotaged by the extreme right wing. The fascist cockroaches infested the government during the presidency of the useful idiot Ford and they needed to get another useful idiot back into office so they could establish a beachhead. To do that, they had to sabotage Carter's administration.

[Greyhound]

58. He was sabotaged all right, but it wasn't the reich-wing, it was his own party

and it was deliberate, with malice aforethought. He was honest, forthright, brilliant, and not liberal enough for me, but he was done in because he was not of the Democratic Power Brokers and did not pay them the respect they feel they deserve. He was opposed by Teddy and the rest from day one and he made it too easy for them by doing foolish things, like telling the American People the uncomfortable truths that we didn't, and still don't, want to face.

Of course the reich-wing hated him and worked against him, but that is to be expected, it was the relentless grind from within the Democratic Party that made them so effective. Carter said things like, we have to change our lifestyle, set your thermostat to 68 in the winter, recycle, use alternative energy, accept that people that don't look-sound-act like you are just as American as you are and you have to live with them. He said our economy is crazy out of whack and we are going to have to sacrifice to fix it.

I think he was wonderful, he just never got the support he, or anyone would have, needed to get the job done.

[Cetacea]

68. He would have won again sans Iran-Contra . eom.

[nels25]

85. I think you mean Iran Hostage

Iran-Contra was Ronnie and Olly's little game.

[auburngrad82]

2. I always liked Carter

He was the first Presidential candidate I ever voted for. I think he got a bum rap but I also think that, like Al Gore, Carter did his best work after he left office.

[Midlodemocrat]

3. I adore Jimmy Carter. Not the greatest President, but a true

humanitarian.

If only all ex-Presidents could learn from him.

[whistler162]

21. Not great as a president but up there with

JQ Adams, WH Taft, and H Hoover as former Presidents.

[EOTE]

4. He worked with a congress that fought him tooth and nail.

So he wasn't able to get nearly as much done as he had hoped. I agree with you 100%. I'm not a Christian, but he's one of the few Christian politicians out there who seems to actually walk the walk, rather than just talk the talk. He impresses me to this very day. Our citizenry didn't deserve to have such a decent man as president.

[BanzaiBonnie]

5. He did the best he could

I believe he is an honest, good person. I harbor no ill will toward him or anything he did.

[midnight]

6. I was not aware that he was not beloved. As a volunteer for

Habitat for Humanity a few years back, I only have the greatest respect fort the attention he brought to those without housing.

[Fresh_Start]

7. I respect him

I was too young to vote for him but thought he was decades before his time in terms of understanding the impact of our energy gluttony

I could have lived without the religiosity he brought into politics

[Sabriel]

8. Who could dislike someone who walks the walk?

He's a model for all future ex-presidents, and I shudder to think what our global image would be like if he weren't out there doing what he does.

[timtom]

41. He literally walked the walk.

Up Pennsylvania Avenue on Inauguration Day. He and Rosalynn(sp?)

[OwnedByFerrets]

9. I think he was a WONDERFUL president.....

and IS a great HUMAN. No hate here at all.

[griffi94]

10. really like mr. carter

the hate is probably more bomb throwing trolls. it's not like there's been any shortage of them here lately.

[ccharles000]

11. I think he is a great man.

[gademocrat7]

12. I admire and respect President Carter.

He has given unselfishly of his time to many worthy causes around the world.

[Deja Q]

13. Is that Bill Gates in the background?

I think Carter was disliked because of inflation, or because he got involved with some irate Iranians... At the time, he at least tried, but also proved you can't always talk to bad people. :(

[gatorboy]

17. Yes...Sometimes you have to sell them arms. n/t

[QueenOfCalifornia]

18. Bill Gates!

Jeesh HypnoToad, sure looks like him!

[lifesbeautifulmagic]

14. i was just thinking about him.....

if you use 1980's formula to figure inflation, the true rate today would be 9% (and really probably more considering food and gas are going up daily).

Remember how the right just hammered Pres Carter over that....?

And the repubs these days are so dishonest, they can't even give us good information.

[rusty quoin]

15. I highly recommend Jimmy Carter: Man from Plains n/t

[DinahMoeHum]

16. My first vote ever for a POTUS was in 1976 - and it was for Carter.

:kick:

[lutefisk]

62. Me too! I'd vote for him in 2008, too. . . Poppy and the GOP played dirty in 1980

What a better world it would be if Carter had won in 2000!

[DinahMoeHum]

81. I think you mean Al Gore in 2000. . .

but you're right, things would have been a whole lot better. For starters, I say that 9/11 would not have happened if Al Gore was president.

:shrug:

[Lex]

19. WTF? I only hear good things about him here

for the most part. He is a great man and humanitarian.

[book_worm]

20. Really? I love the man. He was my first political hero.

[hlthe2b]

22. I adore him, his sincerity, and especially his post-Presidency

work. I think his best intentions and policy instincts were absolutely on target, but his political instincts were not... We have the RW and Reagan's henchmen to thank for the ramifications of that, unfortunately.

Jimmy Carter is a prized jewel, though, IMO.

[ThomWV]

23. Because he does not believe Israel is right no matter what it does.

Say anything unflattering about Israel's policies or actions around here and you are dead meat.

[JuniperLea]

51. You nailed it...

That's when "The Magic Word" gets weilded... and all discussion stops.

[truth2power]

63. You are correct. I saw the vitriol here after his book,

"Palestine: Peace not Apartheid" came out. I've just started reading it. Seems even-handed, so far.

[TahitiNut]

75. I've just finished "Palestine: Peace not Apartheid" ... well-balanced and reasonable.

While it's not the most 'exciting' read (much of what I've already known), it's about as concise and balanced as you'll find without filling a bookcase with axes to grind.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

88. it was a best seller - IN ISRAEL

despite a local protest from likudniks.

many people agreed with his observations and thoughts, again, IN ISRAEL.

[LSK]

64. thats my guess

[fed_up_mother]

70. He was saying that the Palestinians are ready for a two state solution

and the interviewer (geesh my mind is wandering right now - can't remember Matthews? ) was saying, "Really? Really? Like now? " and Carter was acting like it would happen tomorrow - oops! - if only Israel would return east Jerusalem.

Sure.

And my ten year old can broker a deal over there, too. :rofl:

We owe the Reagan legacy to Carter. Anyone who thinks he would have won under any other circumstances (if only blah, blah, blah) is seriously delusional. Carter is proof positive that the left is just as capable as the right at revisionist history.

[Richard Steele]

79. When you're correct, you're VERY correct! The "Israel Über Alles" cult is a cancer on our Party.

Actually, it's a cancer upon our NATION- one that has infiltrated
both parties, and many disparate ideological groups.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

94. Arguing with Zionists is not allowed.

Pointing out that Palestinians are humans and have lived in what is now Israel for quite a long time, is also not allowed. Pointing out that Israelis bulldoze Palestinian houses and create refugees, is not allowed.

[marmar]

24. I love the man.....

..... and he's like a fine wine. He gets even better with age.

[nels25]

25. Speaking only for my self

I am less than impressed due to how he handled the armed forces during his tenure in office.

I was USN active duty during the whole of his term in office.

He gutted the WW2 era G. I. Bill, replacing with a total crap program designated as VEEP.

We go to the point that we were the better part of 20k short of enlisted personnel needed to take ships to sea for operations ( I know of many ships that had sit in port due to lack of personnel).

He never seemed to have a lot of good to say about the armed forces as I remember it.

His malaise speech was insulting.

The economy under him was atrocious.

He had both bodies of congress under Democratic party control during his presidency and still could not accomplish much.

As a ex-president not bad, as a real president, not so good.

Clinton was a lot better.

[fed_up_mother]

71. I agree with every word you wrote

[malaise]

26. Did you see this thread

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x3282583

[cliss]

27. Count me as one of Carter's

absolute biggest fans.

History will prove this man ahead of his time. You want courage? He showed it, even though he got sand kicked in his face. Time and time again.

[maui9002]

28. As I posted earlier, his accomplishments were impressive

But they are often overlooked due to hostage situation in Iran (not sure what any other President could have done in that situation), high interest rates (again, not sure what he could have done to bring them down without a cooperative Congress and Fed), and high gasoline prices (again, not due to anything Carter did or didn't do). Had the mission he approved to rescue the hostages succeeded, rather than failing due to the tragic helicopter accident before the mission ever got to Tehran, Carter might be regarded in the same league as some of our best Presidents.

[uppityperson]

29. I think Pres Carter is a wonderful human being.

I think he did a really good job as president, esp with the congress he had to work with, and has done a great job since being pres.

[BeHereNow]

31. Two words- Trilateral Commission

It AINT a democratic/republican thing.
It's the elites against the rest of us.

BHN

[Perry Logan]

32. I like Jimmy, too. The economy grew faster under him than it did in the much-touted Reagan Boom.

Plus the debt wasn't growing exponentially, as it was during the Reagan bubble.

[DU GrovelBot]

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[QueenOfCalifornia]

34. I don't get it

I really don't understand this.

WTF am I missing here?

[The Straight Story]

35. Reverse psychology - plus, who is gonna take orders from a bot?

:rofl:

[QueenOfCalifornia]

44. It needs

more something. It seems so out of place.

But thanks for clearing it up. :hi:

[Uncle Joe]

45. I'm going out on a limb here but maybe "DU GrovelBot" thinks

the title of your thread is poorly worded particularly from a Jimmy Carter fan as you proclaim to be. The title focuses on a negative presumption and from the looks of the thread, the opposite seems to prevail.

[QueenOfCalifornia]

46. I worded it

the way I wanted to word it.

I have seen MANY anti-Jimmy Carter posts on the DU.

I "proclaim" to be what I am. Not what you think I am.

I have loved Jimmy Carter since I got to vote for him in '76.

The posters who I am speaking of, those anti-Carter ones? They have not checked in. I know that most liberals respect Carter. I am not surprised by the response. I want to know why MANY people who are regulars here say such negative things about President Carter. About a month ago I was involved in a thread where several anti Carter people were smacking him down - then I saw one today. It made me wonder what I was missing.

[Uncle Joe]

48. With thousands of members, I believe it would be literally impossible

for any candidate not to have detractors or critics and this doesn't even include trolls, just people that disagree on policy or personality.

Having said that your title focuses on a negative which is misleading particularly to those people that don't click on this thread.


"Why Do So Many People Here Hate/Dislike Jimmy Carter?"

Of course any poster can word their thread in the manner they wish, but I would humbly suggest focusing on the positive aspects of Jimmy Carter and why do people love or respect him? Then debate or shoot down the individual posters that have a problem with him, instead of making the theme of the thread a misleading negative one.

Peace to you
UJ

[QueenOfCalifornia]

56. Uncle Joe

I wanted to know who the people who dislike Carter are and why. That is why I asked the question.

I wanted the wording like it is because I think that people who dislike Carter will look at the OP and answer.

[nels25]

90. Uncle Joe

I hope my reply was in accordance with what you were looking for.

He really was held in high disrepute boarding on disgust by so many of the fellow sailors I served with it is not funny.

Even on shore duty at the Service School Command we were short Personnelmen. Personnelmen for the love of mike, that is what would equal a office administration clerk now a days.

That may have colored my outlook about President Carter.

I also just do not feel he accomplished much (besides Camp David accords) even though he had a democratic majorities in both legislative chambers.

[JuniperLea]

54. I've seen many too

Usually those who claim he is anti-simetic...

I think he is a wonderful human being, and most certainly the best former president this country has ever seen.

[JuniperLea]

53. Go to the I/P threads...

He is dog food in there.

[Uncle Joe]

57. I would imagine those people are vastly outnumbered here.

I don't have a problem with people that disagree with someone's policy if they sincerely believe it's incorrect, for what it's worth I believe Jimmy Carter is right as rain on his Middle East Policy of promoting peace.

I imagine people most directly affected by change would be most passionate about it's implications and sometimes you can be too close to a mural in order to appreciate the beauty of it.

My only quibble was with the title of this thread, I believe if someone started a poll here at D.U. on Jimmy Carter's policy, he would win by a landslide.

[JuniperLea]

60. I agree with him too

Good analogy about the mural... a good take on the old forrest and trees.

[Blue Belle]

36. I love Jimmy Carter...

He has stayed consistant in his efforts for peace and has done more for this country than some will ever admit.

[blondeatlast]

37. His re-election campaign was the first I ever volunteered for/voted in.

I was even invited to his FIRST inauguration (I got the flu--really badly and couldn't go :( )

What struck me when I met him was his utter sincerity--he couldn't have told a lie if his life depended on it--just like my own father.

[OmahaBlueDog]

38. President Carter is a very good man, but was a bad President

Let me say first that I don't hate Jimmy Carter (I hate Ronald Reagan). Second, IMHO, Carter got dealt a worse hand of events outside his control than just about any president in modern history (at least since FDR).

I think Jimmy Carter is a good man, but probably to honest and maybe a little too naive to have been President. I was a pre-teen when he was elected, so we were excited to be rid of the Republicans after Watergate (funny -- when you consider Bush and water boarding, Watergate seems like pretty benign stuff). My parents voted Carter in '76. In '80, I think my dad voted Carter and my mom voted John Anderson.

Carter brought in weak appointees (some would say cronies) from Georgia who weren't up to the tasks they were given, or who were mildly corrupt. I'm thinking specifically of Bert Lance.

Carter did not communicate well. The "malaise" speech comes to mind.

There were a constant string of stupid, embarrassing things with Carter -- like the "lusted in my heart" comment in Playboy, Billy's constant antics, the goofy speech where he tried to do a fireside chat dressed up like Mr. Rogers, not being media savvy enough not to announce the Sadat-Begin peace agreement in the middle of "Battlestar Galactica", Billy becoming a registered agent for Libya, the disruption to the public school they tried to send Amy to (the Clintons were smart enough to send Chelsea to Sidwell Friends, which is used to dealing with the children of pols and diplomats), the "I'll whip his ass" comment (which wouldn't raise an eyebrow today, but was news in '80).

Carter handled the hostage crisis badly (although evidence now strongly suggests he was fighting the Iranians and the GOP). I don't just mean how long it went on and the Desert One fiasco; the year-and-a-half of endless hand wringing, having Carter do things like not lighting the National Christmas Tree, and having to hear "Today is day three-hundred-and -twenty-five" on the evening news every night just added to the depressing attitude of the time -- which was made worse by an economy in terrible shape and skyrocketing crime. Reagan, for all his many faults, never agonized over the Beirut hostages. He downplayed it and we went on with our lives -- which is what Carter should have done. Reagan also publicly said he wouldn't negotiate with terrorists while making a behind-the-scenes deal to free the Beirut hostages -- which is probably also what Carter should have done.

Mostly, it just seemed like bad things kept happening during his tenure -- like economic meltdown (which was largely Nixon's fault), Three Mile Island, the Chrysler Bailout, vets developing PTSD, New York going broke, the beginning of Japanese automotive dominance, strategic nuclear negotiations that never seemed to get anywhere, not going to the Olympics because the Russians invaded Afghanistan. He didn't have Roosevelt's gift to inspire faith that we'd all get through somehow.

[nels25]

91. Concerning Desert One

I heard many rumors that Carter micromanage that whole operation, and would not let the Navy do it's job, I have always felt there may have been some truth to it.

Also his Viet-Nam vet amnesty did not go over very well with us on active duty.

It always felt to me that he was in a job that was way over his head.

[OmahaBlueDog]

93. I'm getting old -- I forgot about Amnesty

.. and you're right, it was very unpopular, although I think it had to be done.

There are a lot of rumors about D1. I, too, have heard the micromanagement stories.

I've never seen a president age in office the way Carter did.

[AzDar]

39. Jimmy fights the Power!

What's not to love?

[mdmc]

40. I love Jimmy Carter

I created a Jimmy Carter appreciation thread a couple weeks ago titled Relax and learn to share the world with others in generous ways.

[avenger64]

42. Pro-Carter here ....

.... others around the world (besides the Israelis) respect him for his efforts. I'm thinking Bush is not going command the same respect when he steps down, and might even end up in front of the Hague, if justice prevails.

[burythehatchet]

43. He is not a warmonger on Likud's behalf.

[T Monk]

49. he's got problems from some progressives too i've noticed

[End Of The Road]

47. about the "but he wasn't a great president" bull

Certainly he was no Lincoln... but he was honest and tried very hard to do the moral thing. Not too many presidents you can say that about. If Congress had helped him a bit, think what he might have been... what we might be today...






Now it's too late baby

[ProgressiveMuslim]

50. Jimmy Carter rocks! He's the poster boy for peace and justice! nt

[lpbk2713]

52. Not me.

While most ex-Presidents go off to count thier money somewhere Jimmy C has done more humanitarian acts by accident than all other ex-Presidents have done on purpose. And he's 84 yo and still going strong.

[Elspeth]

55. That young pic: he kinda looks like Opie, without the freckles

And I adore the guy.

[KG]

59. apparently, he doesn't bow down before AIPAC and the likudniks

[RB TexLa]

61. He's an asshole, isn't he?

:sarcasm:


I don't get it either, I disagree with him on some things but that makes him no differnt than anyone else.

[JerseygirlCT]

65. I don't always agree with him, but I think he's shown he's one

marvelous human being.

Maybe not such an exemplary *president*, but one of the best human beings around. And really, which counts more?

[bullwinkle428]

66. The JC hate I see around totally pisses me off -

for the record, I happen to be Jewish and have never had a problem with anything he's ever said regarding Israeli-Palestinian issues...

[SeattleGirl]

67. I love Jimmy!

He's done more for the people here and around the world than a fistfull of other former presidents.

[tabasco]

69. President Carter is the greatest American alive right now.

He has saved more lives than anybody in recent history with his peace efforts and work for the poor.

The dirty, filthy rotten republicans dragged him down and stabbed all Americans in the back with their treacherous deals with terrorists.

[lumberjack_jeff]

72. Judging from the replies to this thread

"Carter hate" is an urban legend.

[blonndee]

73. I love Jimmy Carter.

Seriously. My heart gets all warm when I read what he's written, or about what he's done, or when I see him on TV. He is a fantastic human being.

[baldguy]

74. Propaganda, mostly.

The neocon attack machine cut its teeth lying about Carter.

[Pastiche423]

76. Jimmy Carter is a mensch

He has led his life w/honesty, integrity and compassion. And because of those wonderful attributes, he was maligned in his attempts to do good for our country while he was president.

As I said on another thread recently, I owe my love and caring for Mother Earth to President Carter. It was listening to him while wearing his sweater in the WH that someone (an asshole) upthread made fun of him for, that I learned many ways to treat our home - the planet earth, w/care.

I've carried those lessons w/me for over thirty years.

[femrap]

77. Because he is NOT kissing Israel's

butt.

[opihimoimoi]

78. Its a given the Pubs denigrate our Dem leaders...Thats ALL THEY DO

The Pubs tryt to make themselves look good by making others look bad

The Put Downs, the distortions, distractions, lies, etc make the Pub Party Assholes.

[mitchtv]

80. well, for one thing,

He doesn't buy the party line on Isreal, that is his greatest crime

[Echo In Light]

82. Most people seem unaware of his admin's backing of the mass slaughters in East Timor

"lauded and supported the brutal regime of the Shah of Iran until the bitter end, for example. In Nicaragua, his administration provided significant support to the hated Somoza dictatorship. And in El Salvador, he extended large amounts of military and economic aid to a country whose army was engaging in widespread massacres, even after the slaying of its Catholic archbishop, and four Americans--three Maryknoll nuns and one lay churchworker.

In the case of Indonesia's illegal invasion and occupation of East Timor, Carter followed a similar path. In late 1977, when Indonesia was actually running out of military equipment, his administration authorized a dramatic increase in arms sales to Jakarta. And over the next several months, the Carter White House approved sales of fighter jets and ground-attack bombers to Indonesia's Suharto regime, whose military employed them in East Timor to bomb and napalm the population into submission. An Australian parliamentary commission would later characterize the period as one of "indiscriminate killing on a scale unprecedented in post-World War II history."

For such reasons, it is a mistake to present the human rights record of Carter's presidency as qualitatively different from those that came before and after. Indeed, Carter's support for brutal regimes, combined with the significant growth in military spending that he oversaw during his White House years, helped to lay the foundation for the even more odious policies of the Reagan years that followed."
http://www.dissidentvoice.org/Articles/Nevins_Carter.htm

http://www.motherjones.com/news/special_reports/east_timor/comment/Hans_quiz.html

http://www.zmag.org/znet/viewArticle/11551

[panzerfaust]

83. "I can't deny that I am a better ex-president than I was a president."

~ Jimmy Carter, hisself.

[RebelOne]

84. The only thing I have against Carter is that he allowed

all the Mariel refugees from Cuba to come to the U.S. Castro emptied his prisons and sent them to Florida. The crime rate in Miami skyrocketed.

[bunkerbuster1]

86. I love the man.

I get very defensive when I hear people--especially southern people 'round these parts--crapping on him.

The man has done so much in service to his country, and virtually defines the word "patriot."

[frickaline]

87. honestly, he's my hero, (nt)

[Zorra]

89. Lots of trolls and Reagan "Democrats" come to DU during the primaries. n/t

[Eric Condon]

92. I've said it before and I'll say it again -

Say what you will about his presidency, but Carter was and is the greatest man to ever hold the office.


I think this "editorial" says it all:

http://www.theonion.com/content/opinion/i_got_what_america_needs_right

[Manifestor_of_Light]

95. A thoroughly decent man. A mensch.

A decent man. Habitat for Humanity is a great charity. He really is a kind, compassionate, thoughtful man. And brilliant too.

He got screwed by the Repukes over the Iran hostages, and the Democrats as well. I think he was a near great president. But people who tell the truth always get punished.

[riverdale]

96. What was his deal about giving up the Panama Canal?

Just a lot of stupid decisions
And religious politicians always get on my nerves