Who Is Jimmy Carter?

My VIP for this week is former President Jimmy Carter, who died Sunday afternoon at age 100. I do not usually choose Democrats or failures – Carter is both – for my VIPs, but Carter is the only former president to reach the age of 100 years.

For many years, Carter held the distinction of being the worst President of the United States, and Barack Obama was next. However, Joe Biden passed both of them as the worst president. Did you happen to notice that all three former presidents – Carter, Obama, and Biden – happen to be Democrats? Could it be Democrat policies that made them such dreadful presidents?

Carter was a bad president because his policies had many negative effects at the time, and some that continue to have negative effects. Let me share some of the reasons why Carter had such a bad reputation as POTUS, while also being an honorable man, faithful husband, loving father and grandfather, and Sunday School teacher.

The following negative effects come by way of Andrea Widburg, who cast her first presidential vote for Carter. She was later grateful that her vote did not help him to win. She claimed that “Much of the turmoil that characterizes the world today started with Carter’s presidency. 

·         Pardoned draft evaders, angering many veterans.

·         Gave away the Panama Canal for $1, a blunder that now threatens American trade and national security.

·         Created the Department of Education, an organization that made education worse, not better.

·         Presided over inflation, stagflation, and the energy crisis. [Cold? Too bad! We have to save on energy. Keep the thermostat low and wear a sweater.]

·         Moralized from the White House.

·         Brought malaise to the entire nation.

·         Presided over an inefficient White House.

·         Was POTUS when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan  [like Ukraine under Biden], which led to the rise of the Taliban.

·         Was POTUS during the rise of the Ayatollahs in Iran – and the American hostage crisis that lasted for 444 days until the day that Reagan was inaugurated – who unleashed Islamic extremism (Muslim Brotherhood, Taliban, Houthis, Hezbollah, and Hamas to name a few).

Even a broken clock can have the correct time twice a day, and even a bad POTUS can get a few things correct. Carter brokered the Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt, which are lasting. However, he has been said to be antisemitic.