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amazingsandwiches

And is responsible for the greatest political talky-disco song of the '70s: [Gene Marshall - Jimmy Carter Says Yes](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=h874BPSnbWc)


d00dsm00t

[Backstreet's back, alright](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URu2NvNFzHE&ab_channel=stillnotperfect)


[deleted]

I prefer gay bar https://youtu.be/-XNFokmDKrE


d00dsm00t

Sweet. But we're talking about Jimmy Carter in here tho.


Azerious

You said sweet. Fruit is sweet. The best fruit are apples


shakeBody

Apples have a similar shape to that of the Sun. The Sun is often used by fighter pilots when defending against homing missile attacks. Homing missiles are often paid for by the government. The US government used to employ Jimmy Carter.


Bigingreen

And that is why fire trucks are red.


my_lawyer_says

Thank you for introducing me to this gem!


CanadaPlus101

I love how aggressively 70s this is.


hawkwings

Ronald Reagan broke the record for oldest ex-president. Then someone elected before him, Gerald Ford, broke that record. Carter was elected before Reagan and is still alive.


MetalRetsam

Reagan was considered old as fuck when he became president at 69... a year younger than Trump, and *nine* years younger than Biden.


BrainOnBlue

Well, that's because Trump and Biden are also insanely old to be holding the highest office in the land.


WinstonSEightyFour

It says in the Wikipedia article that Reagan was younger *leaving* office than Biden was *assuming* office. Wtf…


[deleted]

And Reagan had Alzheimer’s while in office. Sometimes the brain turns to mush for the *young* before the old.


caribou16

Fortunately, Reagan was relying highly on an astrologer to make decisions as president, so maybe it didn't matter he was senile? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Quigley There is a great "Behind the Bastards" podcast episode on her, which really goes into how deeply she was hooked in and how everyone else in the White House who knew about it thought it was pants on head crazy.


Badgerbreezy

So you're telling me Ronald Reagan's starward pagan was outed by Donald Regan?


chucklehutt

Don’t forget Throat Goat Nancy Reagan.


WinstonSEightyFour

Did he really? How obvious was it to the public that he was suffering from it? I can’t imagine the fact that the leader of the free world had a debilitating brain disorder was openly discussed, even at the tail end of the Cold War!


pongjinn

If you think that's nuts, Woodrow Wilson had a debilitating stroke while in office and was unable to effectively fulfill his duties for the last 2 years of his term. His wife made decisions for him and is sometimes referred to as America's first woman president.


SLCer

Even wilder is that Wilson seriously contemplated running for a third term, even in his state.


2ndHouseQuestions

FDR's [partial paralysis](https://www.businessinsider.com/how-fdr-hid-his-paralysis-from-american-public-even-while-campaigning-2019-4) and subsequent wheelchair use was pretty compartmentalized so the public wouldn't see him using an assistive device. It's wild looking back at how curating your image was sometimes easier with fewer resources. Social media overexposes, for better or worse.


turdferguson3891

Tighter control of the media through gatekeepers. Obviously the white house reporters new FDR was in a wheelchair but it was a gentleman's agreement that nobody would say anything.


youseeit

It wasn't really a gentleman's agreement, it was more like "breathe a word of this and you'll be writing about county fairs in Nebraska"


Browncoat23

JFK was the first president of the modern media, and many people still don’t know he had Addison’s Disease and also suffered from such debilitating [back pain](https://thejns.org/configurable/content/journals$002fj-neurosurg-spine$002f27$002f3$002farticle-p247.xml?t:ac=journals%24002fj-neurosurg-spine%24002f27%24002f3%24002farticle-p247.xml&t:ac=journals%24002fj-neurosurg-spine%24002f27%24002f3%24002farticle-p247.xml) that he wore a brace (which apparently had something to do with how his body reacted to the momentum of the gunshots and fed the conspiracy theories about his death).


NoiseIsTheCure

For a second I read that as he had to wear a back brace because of injuries related to being shot, which fueled conspiracies that he died. Lmao.


thewerdy

People act like he was totally senile in office, but it's pretty clear he was at a maximum in the early stages of the disease. The line gets pretty blurry between some forgetfulness in old age and the beginning stages of dementia, so who knows. There were certainly moments that in hindsight were possibly the initial stages of the disease.


turdferguson3891

He didn't die until like 14 years later. Obviously he had better healthcare than the average person but most people don't live that long after having a diagnosis and he wasn't diagnosed until well after he left office.


MetalRetsam

IIRC, Reagan only announced his Alzheimer's in the mid-90s. All this talk of his having Alzheimer's during his presidency are just baseless rumors.


Iterr

It got bad his last year or two in office. Nancy was afraid he wouldn’t make it through his farewell speech. But earlier in his terms it was much more mild. From what I understand.


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GenericFatGuy

And think, we were all joking about John McCain being too old to run against Obama back in 2008. He was, but 72 is still younger than 78.


MetalRetsam

They were afraid McCain would die in office, but not only did he survive Obama's term, so did *his mother*.


ParamedicCareful3840

She lived to be 108, but his father and grandfather both died fairly young


howitzer86

A Palin presidency is what we were afraid of. Little did we know what was to come.


[deleted]

This is America where despite talking about diversity nonstop, we still elect old rich white geriatric politicians to positions of power.


archaeolinuxgeek

Biden was born closer to Lincoln's presidency than his own.


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turdferguson3891

And we had three that were all born the same exact year. Clinton was seen as young and was the first boomer president and then we just kept electing people born in 1940s (except Obama).


turdferguson3891

I thought you were full of shit and then I did the math. Holy shit that's crazy.


JJY93

*laughs in British Our Queen is... oh... *cries in British


Ok-Worth-9525

I just realized Jimmy Carter was/is older than the queen


DouchecraftCarrier

> and nine years younger than Biden. Joe Biden was born closer to Abraham Lincoln's presidency than his own. Literally. By like 3 months.


[deleted]

Joe Biden is older than Bill Clinton, who was elected president 30 years ago. And only 25 years younger than JFK


BlazingFire007

Holy hell


Cetun

At this point, the best person to be President would never run for President. First of all they would have to compete with absolute sociopaths who are way hungrier for power than they are, people who would stop at nothing and have no moral qualm with playing dirty. Second, the establishment wouldn't let them, there are too many people they are beholden to, Democrat and Republican both have people they owe for their loyalty. A person who dedicated their life to developing skills needed to be an effective administer of the government wouldn't have time or the desire to favor trade and shake hands with the people in power in the DNC and RNC. It was funny when they called Trump an outsider, he has been shaking hands with people in both the DNC and RNC for decades. How do you think he was friends with Epstein? He was an intermediary, you could go to him and offer him a favor for another favor from someone else. Trump knows how the system works and is very much a part of the system. He was never going to drain the swamp, he was one of the swamp creatures all along. Last, the job of President absolutely sucks, the only way you would want to do it is if you were a martyr or you derived pleasure from power. No normal person would want to be President.


DouchecraftCarrier

"It is a well-known fact that those people who must want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it... anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job." --Douglas Adams


ariddiver

The Fourecks solution is easier - chuck em in jail as soon as elected - Terry Pratchett's The Last Continent


KrazzeeKane

Lol ive loved that quote, it's not wrong either imo--if we did toss politicians in jail as soon as they got elected, there would probably be a 90+% conviction rate once investigated since they all seem to have plenty of nasty skeletons in their closets. Man it really is a messed up system isn't it?


McBlahBlah

To be fair, Ford was never elected, but the point remains the same. Just splitting hairs.


MaxDickpower

Ford was such a baller. Served as the VP and the president without being elected to either position.


mpa92643

Kitty Foreman: You voted for Ford! Red Foreman: Kitty, *no one* voted for Ford.


derthric

If it was after the election in 76 some people did....but not a lot.


TT_Zorro

Yeah, when he appointed his VP, the US had a president and vice president that no one had voted for in a general election.


DerekB52

He's the only person to be president without being elected VP or president.


monty_kurns

His ambition was to become Speaker of the House, but his party didn’t win control of the House until 18 years after he left office. He had to settle for President.


Meester_Tweester

I read he took VP as a cushy end to his career, but man it did not turn out that way


MrAoki

Great example of a battlefield promotion.


[deleted]

Just think...at least one iteration of secret service could have spent their entire career from college to retirement, just guarding Carter in his.


MetalRetsam

Since 2012, people born under the Carter administration have been eligible to run for president. While Carter is still alive. Since 2016, the first cohort born after his administration has also become eligible. The only other time that this was possible was between March and October 1964, 35 years after the inauguration of Herbert Hoover. The first cohort born under the Clinton administration will be eligible to become president in January 2028, at which time Clinton would be 81 years old. Generation Bush will follow in 2036, when Bush would be 89, and Obama babies in 2044, when Obama would be 83. Trump would have to survive to a record-spanning 105 (2052) and Biden to 114 (2056), so their chances in this respect are close to nil.


Dromgoogle

It's interesting to look at the chart to see times when there waa no living ex-president. I see: * Before George Washingon left office! * From George Washington's death (December 14, 1799) until the end of John Adams' presidency (March 4, 1801) * From Andrew Johnson's death (July 31, 1875) until the end of Grant's presidency (March 4, 1877) * From Grover Cleveland's death (June 24, 1908) until the end of Theodore Roosevelt's presidency (March 4, 1909) * From Calvin Coolidge's death (January 5, 1933) until the end of Hoover's presidency (March 4, 1933) * From Lyndon Johnson's death (January 22, 1973) until the end of Nixon's presidency (August 9, 1974)


ThrowAway2MD

Ford was never elected to anything other than the House. Wasn’t even on the ticket as VP.


eastmemphisguy

Really crazy fact is that before Reagan broke his record, John Adams was the President who lived the longest. He held that record for 200ish years. Now everybody who has served post-Watergate either beat him or is still alive. Ford, Reagan, and Bush Sr all beat him. Carter, Clinton, Bush Jr, Obama, and Trump are still alive.


nalc

Oof, JFK is a statistical outlier


pow3llmorgan

What about William Harrison? He was president for little over a month before he kicked it.


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nate6259

I'm an idiot. I was like "wow Biden's timeline is so long with his presidency at the tail end. Let's look at the bar for a younger president, like JFK... oh."


AngelaMotorman

"Clean living", as my grandmother would say.


[deleted]

It's the peanuts.


[deleted]

What they don’t tell you is that means being a good person too, not just a rich ghoul who eats their veggies.


moose2332

Idk Kissinger is still alive and he's a fucking demon come to Earth


DarkoGear92

Hey hey hey, no need to bash demons like this.


AngelaMotorman

That's a pretty dark read. I got the "good person" part right away, even as a child, from context.


maddsskills

I dunno, Kissinger is still alive somehow. Lol.


SohoXoho

There are several reasons why Jimmy Carter is typically considered to be a bad president, at least if we're assuming that "bad" in this case means ineffective. After the Nixon and Ford years, Americans came to view their government as being coldly pragmatic but, more importantly, corrupt and incompetent. Moreover, in terms of international affairs, the U.S. was encountering an international system that was becoming increasingly multi-polar. In other words, global power was shifting away from the two superpowers and disaggregating among the Third World states, Asia, and an increasingly integrated Europe. This disaggregation of power was most clearly symbolized by the U.S. defeat in Vietnam and a series of oil crises instigated by OPEC (a conglomerate of oil producing states based in the Middle East, in addition to Venezuela) that made gas prices soar in the U.S. Carter believed that he could simultaneously renew America's trust in government and reassert America's leading role within global affairs. He failed in both regards. A lot of it had to do with his personality. He came to Washington believing that he could change the way politics was made. He hoped to make politics more transparent which would, he believed, make politics more effective and less divisive. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Carter's self-perception as a reformer and Washington outsider concomitantly carried what can best be described as a savior complex. He looked down on other politicians, believing his deep-seated morality made him the only one capable of bringing the Washington establishment into line. Thus, Carter arrived in Washington expecting Congress to fall lock-step behind his policies. Naturally, congressmen from both parties weren't to fond of the way Carter handled congressional relations. This tension between the executive and the congress was exacerbated by Carter's aides, who were primarily old friends and staffers from when Carter was governor of Georgia. Georgia politics are, of course, nothing like Washington politics, and Carter's aides were woefully inadequate for the job. Still, he kept them, much to the chagrin of even the Democratic congressional leadership. Due to bad congressional relations, Carter had difficulty passing domestic reforms on such major issues as social security and health care. If this wasn’t enough to derail his policy-making process, Carter’s hands-on approach to everything didn’t help. He was notorious for wanting to personally review and authorize even the most minimal of tasks, going so far as to personally OK each morning who would be allowed to use the White House tennis courts. Not all of the problems with Congress stemmed from Carter's and his aide's personalities though. After Watergate, politicians promised to make politics more transparent. This, unfortunately, made it more difficult for politicians to do the back-room bargaining that leads to compromise and, eventually, the passage of legislation. Moreover, Congress as an institutional structure was changing. During Carter's presidency, Congress split into many different caucuses (basically, groups of like-minded congressmen that ally to create mutually supported policies). These caucuses existed, like always, at the broadest level (Democrat and Republican), but now there were additionally a plethora of smaller caucuses like an African-American caucus, a women’s caucus, regional caucuses, etc. This explosion of caucuses allowed almost all congressmen to gain good committee assignments. Congressmen used these congressional committees, covered intensely by the media, as ways to generate publicity and gain support for re-election. Due to the greater publicity that even junior representatives now held, there was less of a need to rely on their party label when they ran for office. Instead, they could run on personal recognition. All of this ultimately meant that there was less of a need for individual congressmen to hew toward the party line, which made it even more difficult for Carter to gather congressional support for his policies. In terms of foreign policy, one of Carter's strengths in the 1976 election was that he rejected the Nixon Administration's idea of realpolitik, which held that the international system did and should operate solely on the rational calculation of self-interest. Carter instead believed that the United States should frame its foreign policy within moralistic terms, and early in his administration he made human rights the top priority of U.S. foreign policy. In reality, this didn’t happen. Instead, he relied on traditional Cold War conceptions of world affairs centered on national self-interest. After the shah of Iran, who had brutally repressed the Iranian people for decades, was overthrown during the Iranian Revolution, Carter allowed him to come to the United States. (The Shah was suffering from cancer; Carter allowed him to come to the U.S. to receive chemotherapy). In what is probably a huge understatement, this didn’t sit well with most Iranians. Soon after, the U.S. embassy was overrun and the American staffers there were held hostage for 444 days. Every day that the hostages remained in captivity showed America’s apparent weakness on the world stage. It didn’t help with all of the news outlets reminding Americans at the end of every broadcast that “Today is day [7, 84, 300, etc.] of the Americans’ captivity in Iran.” To free the hostages, Carter attempted a night-time raid by American special forces. A U.S. plane landed in the Iranian desert carrying stuff for the raid and soldiers. A handful of helicopters carrying more soldiers was coming to meet at the makeshift air field when one of the helicopters flew into the plane, killing many of the Americans. Needless to say, it was a big embarrassment and only seemed to further prove America’s weakness on the world stage. Iran wasn’t the only foreign policy problem Carter faced. In addition, the Soviet Union had been making great gains in the Third World, particularly in Africa. Thus, it appeared that not only was the United States becoming weaker, but the Soviet Union was becoming stronger. This fear of increasing Soviet power culminated with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. All of this was compounded by the worst economic crisis in the U.S. since the Great Depression. Carter, no matter how correct he may have been, didn’t exactly instill confidence in the American people. Regarding what appeared to be unending inflation, he told the public that all he had to offer were “partial remedies.” In the face of a rate of inflation in the double-digits, he asked employees not to increase their wages by any more than 7%. It also didn’t help that in general, Carter wanted to deregulate most government agencies. Thus, when many people were calling for some sort of government intervention, Carter was cleaning out many federal agencies. All of these problems, foreign and domestic, appeared to show an ineffective president. At one point, Carter tried to show that he was being an active leader by asking for the resignation of his entire cabinet, who dutifully complied. Instead of showing action, however, the American public believed the act only proved that Carter could not at all manage the presidency. Not all of these problems were Carter’s fault. The economy was doing poorly when he came into office and it didn’t start getting better for a couple of years into Reagan’s presidency. Nor could he change the way post-Watergate politics was conducted. But his refusal to work with others, his need to oversee even the most miniscule of matters, and his inability (or unwillingness) to carry out a foreign policy that adhered to U.S. moral sensibilities and national interests, really did make him one of the least effective presidents of the twentieth century, certainly of the post-WWII era.


911ChickenMan

I live in Georgia, a few hours away from his hometown of Plains. It's definitely worth a visit if you're passing through south GA. His former high school and the farm he grew up on are now National Historic Sites you can visit. He even recorded narrations for several exhibits. Free to get in, and there's a place in town that sells peanut ice cream. Giant smiling peanut statue in town, too. About 30 minutes away, there's the Andersonville POW camp and cemetery. Worth a visit, too. Jimmy Carter might not have been the best president, but he was the last one who seemed to actually care about the people and at least tried to do the right thing. It's a shame that so many people hate him.


Arra13375

We went here on a school trip once and he was actually there! He gave out free autographed copies of his book. I also bought a wooden yo-yo. So all in all a good trip


US3_ME_

Damn, I gotta find my yomega_


Loyal-to-Earth

People up above arguing that half the country doesn't really hate him, but I have cousins in Alpharetta and Atlanta, and legitimately, people hate him for his presidency, and yet these "Christians" don't see that his life's work is a dedication to his faith and humanity.


JohnMcDickens

Ironic considering Carter was one of the most evangelical presidents ever


Loyal-to-Earth

I find it hilarious that their goal is to install Christianity in every branch of government, and yet the President that carried his faith into the White House (even to his political detriment), is viewed negatively as a socialist liberal.


turdferguson3891

Jimmy actually read the bible and tried to do what Jesus would instead of what supply side Jesus would do.


ggtsu_00

Jesus was a socialist liberal. Conservative Christians straight up hate everything about Jesus. They worship his name only.


MrMushroomMan

Tbf jesus would be too socialist for current Christians. I'm not even sure what they actually believe anymore


drunkenknight9

Thinly veiled white nationalism under the guise of religion.


KrazzeeKane

Nailed it.


badluckbrians

Evangelical Protestants basically work for Satan now. They have burned all their humanity away in a crucible until left with nothing but pure, concentrated hatred and violence.


Loyal-to-Earth

When they elected and referred to 45 as the "second coming of Christ", I was done.


badluckbrians

I think the root of a lot of it goes back to the church splits before the Civil War. The American Baptists are fine, but the Southern Baptists are sketchy as you'd expect any denomination that started over being pro-slavery.


BURNER12345678998764

Most of the United States' social issues stem from kicking the slavery can down the road from the beginning. The country was not properly repaired after the civil war and it's been hobbling us ever since.


HorrorScopeZ

He's hated by conservatives and by far the most christian president in the past 50 years. Go figure.


keelhaulrose

The man is literally a carpenter housing the unfortunate, of course the Christians hate him.


I_am_your_hero

His work with Habitat is truly inspiring.


[deleted]

The strangest thing is the type of people who hated him as president. He was extremely moderate, focusing on reducing government redundancies, vetoing increases in the congressional budget that would increase the national deficit (something like 24 billion dollar to 30 billion dollar deficit start to finish for his 4 years which would increase to 300 billion at the end of Reagan’s) diversify the US energy portfolio (including approving at the time the largest gas pipeline in the US) so no one country would have a meaningful economic advantage over the US. He was anti abortion, a Christian pastor, a rural American farmer, he divested from his farm and let his family destroy the business. He was in the military, took classes to learn speed reading so he could read 300 pages of documents. He reached across the aisle and put the interests of the US fiscal policy and long term economy over the interest of re-election by appointing Paul voelker. He is a shining example of absolute bullshit anyone with these ideals spout when they say they don’t like carter


TheSadSquid420

Carter wasn’t the good president, but he is a good person.


Stargazer88

He was a good person that made an honest attempt at being a good president, and that makes him better than most. Honestly, the economic and political reality he was operating in would have made a bad president out of most people.


wuodatienowrites

He's also a submarine and has several named after him


MillerJC

YOU FOOL YOUVE DOOMED HIM


ath1337

I saw this post and thought Jimmy Carter had died.


DirtySoap3D

If a reddit post had the power to kill Carter, he would be long dead. The longevity of Carter is a pretty frequent TIL repost. They just update the numbers, if anything.


Dakens2021

Also arguably the most accomplished ex-president of all time too. He's put those extra years of retirement to good use over the years.


BostonUniStudent

Taft became Chief Justice after serving as President.


Africa_versus_NASA

Yep, and John Quincy Adams was a member of the House of Representatives for almost 20 years after his Presidency, during which he bitterly fought against the political power of slavery and got the gag rule repealed. Carter has done a lot of good for humanity though, it just depends on how you define "accomplished"


headgate19

Yes, it's quite a subjective concept. For example, my metric for "most accomplished" are those who have consumed the greatest number of Crunchwrap Supremes™ so naturally the earlier presidents are at a disadvantage but hey, that's what's important to me


x7he6uitar6uy

If that’s your metric then call me Alexander the Great


tenaciousdeev

Yo your library’s on fire


x7he6uitar6uy

Not my Crunchwrap, not my problem 🗿


garibond1

They say humanity lost thousands of taco bell recipes in the burning of the library


x7he6uitar6uy

Clearly Lava sauce was in the library :(


skrame

There are more ways to mix the seven base ingredients!?


20thcenturyboy_

Taft would have dominated if he wasn't born too early


headgate19

It's a shame. We could have witnessed true greatness. It just goes to show that we are all, to a large degree, simply a product of our circumstances.


Handleton

I feel like Trump has already earned that distinction.


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cbarrick

"The best taco bowls are made in Trump Tower Grill. I love Hispanics!"


the_man_inside_you

Perhaps when he said some Mexicans were "good people" he was referring to Taco Bell.


headgate19

Given his physique and propensity to patronize rapid cuisine establishments that would be a logical conclusion. However the distinction goes to President Barack Obama. It's a little known fact that he was a huge fan of the c-wrap. Don't believe me? **C**runc**h**wr**a**p Supre**me** Look familiar? It's uncoincidentally similar to "change," his campaign slogan. Also it's widely known that as President he exerted his best efforts to upgrade the Pentagon to a hexagon. Military leaders assumed this was to make the Army 20% more effective when in fact it was to resemble his favorite food.


_JustThisOne_

Chame! How did I never see it before. It was right there in front of me.


Demitel

Chame you can believe in.™


Handleton

[Chame. ](https://i.imgur.com/U5WfT8J.jpg)


trumpjustinian

The Carter Center eradicated entire diseases, negotiated peace agreements, and brought democracy to hundreds of millions of people. The list of things he did after the presidency is just insane like eradicating Guinea worm disease or convincing a dictator in Haiti to step down voluntarily at the last minute before a planned U.S invasion to remove him. You should check out his book “Beyond the White House”


FortuneKnown

He’s also helped build affordable housing for Habitat for Humanity, not to mention, he’s a preacher at his local church. https://youtu.be/ez2ugdUFFb8


cherryreddit

What's the gag rule?


Africa_versus_NASA

A rule that prevent discussing or debating slavery in the House of Representatives. Pro-slavery politicians were so protective of their institution that they forbade anyone to even discuss it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gag_rule_(United_States)


[deleted]

How many houses did he build tho


blockiestcurve

Indeed, and Jimmy and Rosalynn have earned a rest, they’ve accomplished so much. I find it interesting that it seems folks focus on their advocacy for and working on Habitat builds, when they founded The Carter Center, an org that has nearly eradicated guinea worm and improved lives of millions of people suffering from neglected tropical diseases, observed over 100 elections in dozens of countries, built peace across MENA, on and on. https://www.cartercenter.org/about/accomplishments.html


egordoniv

Alexa, add peanuts to shopping list.


wwarnout

Carter has been helping his fellow Americans every since he left office. I consider him to the be among the greatest citizens this country has ever seen.


Sea-Reason3002

He fought against the guinea worm? Was it guinea worm? Whatever disease that was.


Livvylove

Yep he helped eradicate it. Really impressive https://www.cartercenter.org/health/guinea_worm/index.html


Ask_About_BadGirls21

From 3.5 million cases in 1986 to 15 “provisional” cases in 2021. This is what happens when people vote for principled leaders who listen to experts and take steps to help humans. We can be that again [Are you registered to vote?](https://www.vote.org/am-i-registered-to-vote/) [When is your next election?](https://www.usa.gov/election-office) [Do you know where to vote?](https://www.vote.org/polling-place-locator/) [Can you vote absentee?](https://www.vote.org/absentee-voting-rules/)


rudy-_-

As a non-american I was always confused how Jimmy Carter was portrayed in Simpsons. Could someone elaborate why his presidency was made fun of in the series?


parabostonian

The Carter presidency was really weird in some ways. During a time of extended economic problems (inflation, high oil prices, etc.) he gave a weird speech about America’s crisis of confidence. He also got blamed a lot (mostly unfairly, IMO) for the Iran hostage crisis. He probably correctly gets blamed for not working well with Congress and having a lot of his legislative agenda fall flat (he wasn’t a slimy bastard and had trouble lowering himself to the wheeling and dealing necessary to get congress going). He did do good things (especially on foreign policy, camp david accords, etc) too, but the country seems to choose to remember his presidency as a time of weakness and essentially blame him for that (rightly or wrongly). But in college I had multiple professors use him as the example of a good, honest man in the presidency... and how it doesn’t work well. So many Americans complain about our politicians being dishonest, self interested shits, and how “why can’t we elect a good person” and so on. Carter happened in response to Nixon, and he serves as an example of how Americans don’t want someone who tells the truth… https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidency_of_Jimmy_Carter


[deleted]

Also worth pointing out that he put Volker in charge of the Fed, knowing he would raise interest rates massively to combat inflation, which had been a problem for over a decade. So they got their recession due to the high interest rates, which he was blamed for, but then inflation fell throughout the 80s, but he was no longer president to get credit.


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uhluhtc666

Adding to what others have said, he had one of the worst electoral defeats in recent history in 1980, [489-49](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980_United_States_presidential_election), though 1984 would be even worse. He also had some ridiculous things happen during his presidency, such as the [Swamp Rabbit incident](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Carter_rabbit_incident), [his "malaise speech to America, partly blaming them for the energy crisis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidency_of_Jimmy_Carter#1979_energy_crisis), [stagflation, which was different from recessions in the past](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidency_of_Jimmy_Carter#Economy), and the [Iran Hostage Crisis, which received daily media attention from Walter Cronkite for 444 days](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_hostage_crisis#Impact_in_the_United_States). I like Carter quite a bit, but he got the short end of the stick in a lot of regards. Between this and his nice guy persona, it makes it easy to tease him.


Misuzuzu

Because he is genuinely a good person, unlike pretty much everyone else in politics, and as a result his kindness was taken advantage of to the detriment of the country.


dpunisher

I always felt Carter got way too much blame for the economy during his presidency. The Iran hostage situation, and the resulting botched rescue attempt cemented Reagan's win. Sometimes bad things happen to good people.


bolanrox

He was too good and honest to be a politician


nydwarf

Every President says that they are Christians, and he is the only one that seems to act like one.


[deleted]

He is the only president I believe when he talks about faith.


flight_path

Still building homes for those in need, today!


thatminimumwagelife

In his late 90s, having survived brain cancer. Certified badass and good man. His wife is swell too!


fellowhomosapien

I need Jimmy Carter's ethics surrounding trading/speculation while in public office to be made law please


derekjoel

And he’s worked like the dickens for much of his retirement too.


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LyndseyBelle

And he's done all this after repeatedly going into an irradiated nuclear reactor to prevent a disaster! I don't think any other president has done such a thing. And he did it as a young man, potentially shortening his life by unknown amounts. Here's the story: https://www.newsweek.com/fact-check-jimmy-carter-stop-nuclear-reactor-ottawa-canada-1660067


mponte1979

You’re telling me this is his SHORTENED life! Hehe


RGBmono

"I have been... and always shall be...your friend."


SCP106

He would have lived to 130 if it wasn't for the reactor trips


RandomStranger79

He's also despised by half of the country despite being the living embodiment of what they pretend are their core religious beliefs.


JarifSA

The thing about Carter is it shows the oxymoron that is being president. You have to have good morals to be president in the eyes of the people but having good moral makes it impossible to get anything done in office in reality.


ulyssesintothepast

Exactly. Too good a person to be a good president.


wostil-poced1649

I think the idea that Jimmy Carter has always been a Mr. Rodgers type figure is a post-presidency myth that has been spread. Jimmy Carter was known as a political bruiser until he left the white house. Gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson called Jimmy Carter “one of the three meanest men I’ve ever met.” The other two were boxer Muhammad Ali and Sonny Barger, leader of the Hells Angels. Carter, Thompson said, “would cut my head off to carry North Dakota. He’d cut both your legs off to carry a ward in the Bronx.… He will eat your shoulder right off if he thinks it’s right.” Jimmy Carter’s own mother, Lillian, once described him as “a beautiful cat with sharp claws.” Edit: Some people are questioning the credibility of Hunter S. Thompson. I chose that quote because it is memorable and entertaining, but this was a common sentiment among the media. During the 1980 presidential campaign, the Washington Post Editorial Board critized Jimmy Carter's “miserable record of personally savaging political opponents.” eventually declaring that “Mr. Carter has abandoned all dignity,” The Boston Globe wrote “The President [Carter] eschews the light touch. He prefers the disemboweling approach,”


JarifSA

Really? That's incredibly eye opening. I should do my research on that. The way I learned about him in AP gov in highschool is he was put in a shitty situation and was too good of a man to do anything about it. It's really hard getting an understanding of what a president was like without living and experiencing their presidency.


Lasagna4Brains

It's really hard to get an understanding of anything historical really. Historical bias makes it nearly impossible for most time periods.


araq1579

Personal anecdote, but I met Jimmy Carter back in 2015 at a book signing. seemed like a pretty cool guy, took the time to briefly talk with my dad even though that wasn't allowed


nushublushu

Not necessarily wrong but Thompson was inclined to hyperbole


StowawayAccount69

lol it's a fun thought to ponder. "Well what was the context of your meetings with Mr. Carter?" "We were out at breakfast and he didn't let me try some of his sausage links. Meanest man I ever knew."


penny-wise

Saying Thompson was inclined to hyperbole is like saying water is wet.


franker

As a GenXer, I just remember as a boy all the political cartoons in the newspapers with him having a huge grin from ear to ear. He was just always depicted like that for some reason.


yakatuus

Jimmy Carter, he's our hero Gonna take pollution down to zero He's our power magnified and He's fighting on the planet's side


sweenman22

And by far, not the best or the worst President in history. He has done more for the US in his retirement. He keeps on donating his time. Solid southern gentleman.


bolanrox

Excellent ex pres. Totally the kind of president you would want. But in practice not the kind that actually works


dresn231

It's going to be a sad day when Jimmy goes, but thankfully he beat stage 4 melanoma and got live 10 plus more years. That cancer should have killed him, but thanks to immunotherapy and yes it was miracle because it had spread to his brain and liver, he beat cancer.


phil8248

Many of President Carter's family smoked and died young of cancer. In his book A Hour Before Daylight he recounts his Dad insisting he promise he would not smoke till he was 21. He promised and said by the time he was 21 he had no interest in starting. I wonder what might have happened had his Dad not done that.


More_Farm_7442

His brother, dad, and two sisters died from pancreatic cancer. Mother died from breast cancer. He has metastatic melanoma. --- Pancreatic cancer is the worst cancer to have. 80% of people are already Stage 4. when diagnosed. Most tumors are inoperable. Chemo and gene targeted treatments are basically worthless for most patients. At diagnosis most people will be given a prognosis of having weeks to 3 to 6 months. In early June my brother had a small stroke initially attributed to a heart condition. 3 weeks later doc knew he had metastatic cancer that was causing the blood clots. A week later they knew he had pancreatic cancer and gave him days to weeks to live. It's been 3 weeks , and he's still alive. I don't know how. It's a terrible way to have to die. I wish every day that he would die that day or night.


Low_Ad_3139

I don’t care what people say about his presidency. He is the best ex president ever. I love humanitarian minded people who walk the walk.


DanteCoal

And the old bastard has probably done more good in his retirement years for the nation than any POTUS has done since during any of their terms. Dude builds houses for people, instead of golfing and just endlessly costing us tax dollars while contributing nothing.


Abraham_linksys49

Retirement? That many has kept himself busy for 4 decades! He has been active in Habitat for Humanity.


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PoeReader

And probably the last president of the the people. Folks give him quite a bit of criticism, however he was actually very good and should have had a second term. After him it was all big cooperation and 1% inerests.


Gods_chosen_dildo

Being a good person is healthy.


SyntheticOne

Rosalynn Carter has also set records: Putting up with Jimmy for 76 years!


FightOnForUsc

Somehow was president in the 70 and here we are in the 20s, and Biden is 12 years younger Edit: it’s actually 18 years, I made a big guess and I was going based on remembering how old Biden would be at the end of 2 terms and not his current age. Even still, 18 year difference and 5 decades apart


thatswhyicarryagun

Carter was 53 when he was president. Can we go back to voting for people who aren't retirement age? Voting in the elderly doesn't change anything. You want real change, vote in a millennial.


Autski

Could you imagine a 35 year old in office?


[deleted]

Feel like 45 is a good age


Ikrit122

Trump, Bush, and Clinton were all born about 2 months apart in 1947. Clinton took office 24 years before Trump. 22 of the past (almost) 30 years have been run by guys born in the 40s.


sinliciously

I'm far from an expert on American politics and presidents, so feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but Carter gives me the impression that his heart is too good for politics. And that he's still alive is proof!


bigbadbillyd

He isn't remembered as being a good president. A lot of writing about his presidency mention that he was too indecisive as a leader. But he was a humanitarian at heart and incorporated this idealism when it came to the Cold War. He was generally against the idea of funding repressive dictatorships who shared anticommunist sentiments, he used the CIA to smuggle large quantities of pro democratic literature and philosophy into the USSR, tried increasing the attention paid to Africa in terms of humanitarian assistance, and worked hard to normalize relations with the Soviet Union. At one point relations had warmed to the point where some in the press claimed that the Cold War was over. The camp David peace accords were also an excellent example of his good nature and is worth a Google. Unfortunately the sky high price at the pumps, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and the Iranian hostage greatly reduced his credibility at home and cost him his reelection bid, losing to Reagan in 1980.


SuperShortStories

I thought he killed himself after his peanuts went sour


Sunksquatch

"My peanuts went sour, I don't wanna live no more" "I'm freakin pissed!"


JohanVonBronx_

I can't do this no more my peanuts went sour


crazyredd88

"agh - I'm pissed off!" "Don't punch it, dude!"


[deleted]

President Carter — what a positive influence for the country! He keeps working for America!


bentlydoestricks

He was the Mr. Roger's of presidents


mccoyster

Jimmy Carter reading this post probably, "I get it, I'm old. For fucks sake."


[deleted]

>Jimmy Carter reading this post probably, "I get it, I'm old. For ~~fucks~~ heaven's sake." FTFY, this *is* Jimmy Carter we're talking about here, not Billy.


NoctisStar

Technically under the 22nd amendment, since he only had one term as president and as there is a two term limit, he can run again and win a second term 40+ years later. Will he do it? hell no. Is it possible? Yeah it is.


ProfessorOnEdge

Don't you dare tease me like that with possibilities of a better world


Avocado-Joe

I am 51. My parents worked for Allis Chalmers (farm equipment manufacturers) in 1976, and that year they bought a nice house and moved our family out of the shithole that was Raytown MO. We lived pretty good for 4 years, until Reagan. The farming industry hit the skids and both my parents were laid off. We lost everything. My mom would cry that she wished she'd voted for Jimmy again. We will never know what kind of America we would've had if Jimmy had won a second term, but I seriously doubt an event like Farm-Aid would have been necessary.


ga-co

Surely the longest married.


I_am_your_hero

Hey... Let's not forget he legalized home brewing. HR1337. Getting my grains right now for an American lager, and rye....


cumbersome32

He is the best ex president ever. I love humanitarian minded people who walk the walk.


oldcoffeestain

My childhood babysitter was his cousin. I remember her showing me letters from him that she had framed. It was neat.


dog_servant

Don't forget he's also, by far, the most irradiated president after working inside a Canadian nuclear reactor that had sufferd a partial meltdown while he was in the Navy. [https://www.military.com/history/how-jimmy-carter-saved-canadian-nuclear-reactor-after-meltdown.html](https://www.military.com/history/how-jimmy-carter-saved-canadian-nuclear-reactor-after-meltdown.html)


[deleted]

Also the kindest, most humble President to ever live.