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Home » Jimmy Carter dies at 100

Jimmy Carter dies at 100

The New Neo Posted on by

I’ll start with RIP, as well as the observation that I voted for him twice.

And yet I think he did a lot of harm as president. The harm was not driven by animus towards America, however; it was just poor judgment.

I’ve written a great deal about Carter and Iran, which was probably his most serious and long-lasting mistake. You can find most of those posts here, as well as many others about Carter. Here’s a post from 2021 that features a comparison Trump made back then, comparing Carter to Biden:

“I see that everybody is comparing Joe Biden to Jimmy Carter,” Trump noted. “It would seem to me that is very unfair to Jimmy Carter. Jimmy mishandled crisis after crisis, but Biden has CREATED crisis after crisis.”

You might say, however, that in a way Carter helped to create the Iran crisis. This is what I’m talking about:

The Shah lived in what’s known as a “rough neighborhood.” This meant that, in order to implement the modernization of Iran, he felt he needed to be harsh in dealing with the opposition. Jimmy Carter was dedicated to the cause of spreading human rights throughout the world, and he decided to put pressure to bear on the Shah to expand civil liberties and relax his policies towards those in his country who were against him.

Carter threatened the Shah with cutting arms shipments, and in response:

“The Shah…released 357 political prisoners in February, 1977. But lifting the lid of repression even slightly encouraged the Shah’s opponents. An organization of writers and publishers called for freedom of thought, and 64 lawyers called for the abolition of military tribunals. Merchants wrote letters requesting more freedom from government controls. Some people took to the streets, perhaps less fearful of being shot to death, and they clashed with police. A group of 120 lawyers joined together to publicize SAVAK torture and to monitor prison conditions. Dissident academics formed a group called the National Organization of University Teachers, and they joined students in demanding academic freedom. Political dissidents started disseminating more openly their semi-clandestine publications.”

As events spiraled out of control, there were demonstrations throughout Iran. Police reacted harshly, and many protesters were killed, which led to more demonstrations and more deaths, which led to–well, you get the idea.

A genie of dissent had been unleashed–a valid one, because there was much to protest. But as things escalated, and the Shah eventually lost the support of the army and the police (a turning point), few seemed to be prescient enough to predict what forces would replace his regime–not what was hoped for, but what was likely to do so. There were only three choices, and two of them–the mullahs and the Marxists–could reasonably be expected to be far more repressive than the Shah.

Jimmy Carter was probably sincere in wishing that his pressure on the Shah would lead to greater civil liberties, not fewer. But if so, it was one of the gravest miscalculations in history. Be careful what you wish for.

And then there’s Israel. A great deal of the damage Carter did to Israel occurred after he was president, in particular around the time he wrote the book Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, and called the wall Israel built to defend itself an “imprisonment wall” (the link and the following quotes are from a post I wrote in 2006) What a way with words Carter had:

Jimmy Carter, peacemaker extraordinaire, has called the wall Israel has built an “imprisonment wall.”

A strange notion of imprisonment, indeed. How can a wall designed to keep murderers out of a single small country (Israel), and yet allowing them freedom of movement elsewhere, be considered a prison?

I wonder if Jimmy locks his doors. Because if he does, isn’t he imprisoning someone? Locking out those who might want to steal from him, or murder him? Isn’t that the main reason we all lock our doors (although I have to say, in New England, I know quite a few people who don’t)?

Did Carter even notice the number of suicide bombers blowing Israelis to bits before the wall was erected, and has he compared it to the number of such bombings since?

But no. Carter is almost as demented as Gandhi was when he counseled the Jews to allow Hitler to murder them so that they might claim the moral high ground and set an example of peace/love. Ah, these wonderful peace advocates, always wanting the Jews to sacrifice themselves for the cause! Jimmy, likewise, would like Jews to die in order to give Palestinians freedom of movement within Israel–the freedom to come there and slaughter Jews with impunity.

I haven’t read Carter’s book, but according to this review in the Washington Post, he managed to write the entire thing–which focuses on the topic of the wall–without once conceding that it was built to prevent the murder of Jews.

Astounding. But not surprising.

[NOTE: on the topic of the inflammatory title of Carter’s book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, read Michael Kinsley in Slate.]

There’s plenty more, but I’ll leave it at that.

ADDENDUM: More details here.

Comments

Jimmy Carter dies at 100 — 34 Comments

  1. Jimmy Carter’s work for Habitat for Humanity seemed to do genuine good; both in promoting a worthy organization and setting a moral example.

    Jimmy Carter also, by all accounts, was a devoted husband and father.

    The above is about all the genuine praise I can muster for him.

  2. Yes to Ackler’s comment. RIP. God in His mercy forgives many sins, something of comfort to us all.

  3. One of my younger brothers confessed, earlier this year, to voting twice for Carter. I wasn’t voting or political back then, but recognized Carter was a terrible president. Seems it was the Olympics boycott that helped to sour me on him. Before he was outta office non-political me was already calling him Jimmy “The Mullah” Carter…

  8. Yes. “I Callahan’s” link is to an excellent summary at National Review of the malevolence of Carter’s post-presidency involvement in foreign affairs.

  9. Steve Hayward’s piece is excellent. Of course, traditional etiquette frowns on speaking ill of the recently departed. The response to this is that when encomiums reach a certain level of absurdity, some corrective rejoinders are warranted. We’re seeing this with Carter, as I knew we would when he died.

  11. RIP.

    I agree with the generally sentiment that Carter was a good guy who was a bad president in many demonstrable ways, a few of which have been outlined by Neo above. Like many well intentioned people, he clearly had a poor understanding of ecomics, foreign affairs, and human nature in general.

  13. I’ve always thought that Carter “had it in” for the USA.

    His policies consistently produced greater hardship for the average citizen at home and diminished US standing within the world.
    He was a total loser and his policies were total losers.

    It’s hard to believe that his policies were the result of incompetence or poor judgement. He had a real problem with this country and his policies reflected this.
    Perhaps when he was at the Naval Academy or in the Navy, he believed he was not treated properly, which set him off on the path to screw over the USA.
    On this latter point, he was successful.

  15. In addition to his work for Habitat for Humanity, in Carter’s favor should be added his significant work on the elimination of Guinea Worm, a terrible affliction in Africa.

    If he’d restricted his efforts to these good works, his reputation would be much better. It’s his foreign affairs work in which he never found a terrorist or dictator he didn’t like which taints his post-presidential legacy.

  17. Not to forget his meddling in Zimbabwe, Venezuela, and other places. In the name of “human rights.”

  18. I didn’t know he wasn’t as smiling in private as in his public appearances.
    ==
    Hedley Donovan, who worked as a senior advisor to Carter in 1979-80, said he had several smiles which had different meanings. One was meant to conceal rage.
    ==
    Mrs. Carter was poleaxed to discover that the Fords knew various Secret Service agents by name. Under Carter’s regime, agents were counseled to not greet the President or make eye contact with him. One agent later offered an account of ferrying the President around in a limo and the President not uttering one word. Again, the man had no people skills.

  19. Nothing he did was to my liking. At least for his sake he won’t go down in history as the worst president.
    My military years were under him. Iran
    Embassy takeover, failed hostage rescue, no aircraft parts available.
    Was glad when he was gone from power.

  20. I had just left the US Naval Academy after 2 years, before “commitment”, when Jimmy Carter, from USNA, ran in 1976. My first vote, and only ever vote for a Democrat.

    I was no fan of Ford, the stumbler down stairs and centering a football while standing on desks. Plus, at the time I was more angry at Nixon, and thought he should be tried rather than pardoned.

    Then I became more political, and saw how terrible the “human rights” good intentions of Iran turned into a debacle. Plus the 14% interest rates on mortgages late ’79 thru ’80.

    None yet mentioned was his honest “lust in his heart for other women” sinfulness/not. (Actually, when I see lovely women I practice lusting after my wife, in happy marital fidelity and frequent sleeping together, afterwards.)
    He tried to be good according to his ideas of good.
    His ideas were bad, and are still bad while most Dems have many similar ideas.

    They’re not bad sounding, but any implementation of the ideas has bad results.

    In 1980 I voted Libertarian, Ed Clark. (also ’84 & ’88 Ron Paul, father of Sen. Rand Paul.) Jimmy, and his lousy results, helped stop me from being a Dem.

    In Slovakia, I work with a group helping the Roma (Gypsies), and often work with Habitat for Humanity here. Still a fine group, with good results.

  21. The best thing he ever did was to loose to Ronald Reagan in 1980. I didn’t trust Jimmy in 1976 nor vote for him. Who can forget his encounter with the wet killer wabbit?

  23. Carter did a great deal of damage to the US nuclear power industry by banning the reprocessing of nuclear fuel rods. His excuse was that the plutonium extracted could be used for nuclear weapons. But this is a physical impossibility, because during power generation the plutonium 240 isotope builds up. If you try to use it for a bomb, you get a fizzle because the mixture ignites before you can get the required amount for an explosion to implode. The plutonium you get from reprocessing fuel rods is useful for power, but not for bombs.

    Other countries like France and Russia, do recycle their nuclear fuel rods and reduce the price of nuclear energy dramatically.

  24. The more I read of Carter’s actions, the deeper the conclusion that under the surface folksy charm, resided a bitter, malicious anti-Semite.

  25. I was not aware of what Bob Wilson was talking about. Why would plutonium’s potential use in nuclear weapons be a problem for a nation with a nuclear arsenal? So I looked it up.

    3. THE CARTER POLICY

    On April 7, 1977, President Jimmy Carter announced that the United States would defer indefinitely the reprocessing of spent nuclear reactor fuel. He stated that after extensive examination of the issues, he had reached the conclusion that this action was necessary to reduce the serious threat of nuclear weapons proliferation, and that by setting this example, the U. S. would encourage other nations to follow its lead.

    Dear lord, that is the distilled Jimmy Carter.

  26. Ironically since then there have been at least three nuclear powers india pakistan and north korea south africa and libya were close to doing so

  27. Carter was the first president of whom I have any memory, and the first to whom I ever wrote a letter.

  28. “Like many well-intentioned people, he clearly had a poor understanding of economics, foreign affairs, and human nature in general.” – Nonapod

    My sentiments exactly.

    May he RIP.

  29. @ Dax links to a post: “He was the real thing: A personal memory and a few surprises about Jimmy Carter”

    That one presents a radically different view from this one:
    https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2024/12/jimmy_carter_his_image_vs_the_reality_i_experienced_covering_his_1976_campaign.html

    I am always intrigued when personal views of a person, especially a prominent celebrity, differ so widely.

    Did they just see Carter in wildly different environments? Does a positive view stem from a personal bias of the viewer, and vice versa? Does the celebrity actually behave differently to different people?
    All of the above?

    If Democrats can see Carter in a positive light, while Republicans see mostly his negative traits, then certainly Republicans are entitled to a positive view of their own candidates, despite Democrats having vapors about them.

    FWIW, Andrea Widburg is in the negative camp.
    https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2024/12/former_president_jimmy_carter_dead_at_100.html

  33. In memory of 20% interest rates when trying to buy my first house in 1979.

    James Earl Carter did serve as President of the United States of America, as did James Buchanan and Millard Fillmore.

    There, I did not speak ill of the dead.

    Yay me.

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