Jimmy Carter: Worst. American. Ever

[MrScorpio]

Why right-wing bloggers think the peanut farmer was more heinous than any serial killer -- or even Obama
BY ANDREW LEONARD

Let's get the big honking disclaimer out of the way first. As a callow 18-year-old, I cast my first vote for president of the United States in 1980 to reelect Jimmy Carter. While I can't claim to be have been a hugely enthusiastic supporter of the much-beleaguered president (he reinstated registration for the draft, for crying out loud!), there was no doubt in my mind that he was infinitely superior to that joke from California, a has-been actor who already had one foot inside a retirement home. I also was confident that Richard Nixon's disgrace would keep Republicans out of the White House for at least a couple more terms.

Needless to say, I was rather shocked at the outcome of that election, and have pondered its significance ever since. While I think Carter was largely doomed by factors that he had little direct control over -- the oil shocks and the hostage crisis -- I am willing to admit that he had his flaws and didn't leave much of an enduring legacy. He certainly wouldn't be on my list of the top 10 U.S. presidents.

But in what universe does he qualify as the Worst American of All Time? How does that work?

All weekend long, liberals have been goggling at a thoroughly unscientific poll of right-wing bloggers by the Right Wing News blog that purports to list the 25 worst Americans of all time -- the lowest of the low of "all the gangsters, serial killers, mass murderers, incompetent & crooked politicians, spies, traitors, and ultra left-wing kooks in all of American history."

http://www.salon.com/news/jimmy_carter/index.html?story=/tech/htww/2010/08/16/worst_american_of_all_time_jimmy_carter

[malaise]

1. Carter was a great president

He was light years ahead of the RW 'morans'. America would not be in this mess if people had listened to him on energy.
I love Jimmy Carter

[MrScorpio]

2. Same here nt

[ixion]

3. Carter is the only president in my lifetime that I've felt was any good

Despite the fact that he got a bum's rush from the MSMGOP.

[ismnotwasm]

21. Thank you n/t

[lpbk2713]

4. Jimmy Carter served his country honorably.

Unlike AWOL Monkey Boy ...







And unlike Monkey Boy's old man who left his
crew to drown after he ditched his plane.

[JHB]

5. Because if Carter wasn't "worst ever", it would take the shine off of Reagan's "best ever"

Who would care about St. GeorgeRonald without a dragon to slay?

When they believe Reagan "saved America", it needs a "from who?"

Jimmy Carter fills the suit.

[BonnieJW]

7. Actually, it's "from whom"

Sorry; Grammar Goddess here.

[JHB]

12. That's ok...

Just remember who's head I'm in here. ick. :scared:

(and have at the above sentence. I could use a refresher.)

[BeFree]

13. You nailed it, JHB

Never thought of it that way....

But since ronnie stinks so bad, they have to use the old 'don't look over there, look here' routine.

All just to keep ronni's stinking corpse from making everyone sick.

Damned idiots... y'know these people went to school with us. WTF happened to them?

[lunatica]

6. Constantly having to refute lies is not a debate

And that's what the right wing does. Force us to refute lies while they toss them out there like Palin's word salad. I'm sick of it because it never gets us anywhere. They can make up these lies till the cows come home and we're left supplying facts like they'll ever mean anything to the troglodytes.

We need to find a way of taking that tactic away from them. It's too powerful in a world of sociopaths and psychopaths running our country and the world.

[emulatorloo]

17. You should start a thread on that topic

I get the feeling that a lot of folks on DU do not understand this.

And it doesn't help that the media just reports their lies as if they are true. If the media would do their job (FACT CHECKING) then we would not be so deep in this mess

[Dr.Phool]

8. I think one thing that doomed Carter from the start is,

He was courageous enough to take on issues that other politicians wouldn't touch, because it would put them in a 'damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation. There were issues such as the Panama Canal, that demanded action, and no matter what he did, it was guaranteed to piss off half the population. He did the right thing. The thing that had to be done. And he paid a political price for it.

There were several other issues like that.

[political_Dem]

9. I admired the fact that Mr. Carter said what he thought.

That is something few politicians do, previously and in the present day. Because he says what he thinks, the poor man takes a beating not only in the press but everywhere else--even from dignitaries who know the man means what he says too.

The constant bashing on Mr. Carter's opinion shows that honesty is something that will never have a true fit in politics.

History always shows that people who are blatantly honest about the conditions of the government are always taken out of the picture, socially or otherwise.

And thanks to the RW, lying is par for course these days. Because of their style of politics, no one will know which politicians tell the truth or lie. :(

In essence, the realm of falsity and cynicism built around the government only communicates to the American citizens that lying, cheating and back-stabbing pays as long as it garners power.

[mopinko]

10. factors that he had little direct control over -- the oil shocks

those were under the control of the bfee.

[shotten99]

11. Bah.What's the point of entertaining this red herring?

They're replacing Bush with Carter in hopes to smear the current Dems.

[reggie the dog]

14. 1 2 and 3

Jimmy Carter, Barack Obama and FDR. Really FDR???? I guess people really hate having social security, unempoyment, winning WWII...........

[Joe Fields]

15. Carter couldn't and didn't want to play insider Washington politics.

He brought his "Georgia mafia" with him to washington. He didn't understand how the Washington game was played and he wasn't interested because there was little room fore compromising his values. I admire him greatly for that, but it got him nowhere as a president.

Carter was prescient in energy policy and and global civil rights. He is and will always be one of my heroes, but as a president, unfortunately he was ineffective.

[eleny]

16. He really got to them, didn't he? And he managed to stay a thorn in their side for decades.

What this survey revealed to me is just how relevant he's been and how scared they still are at the thought of him.

[Steely_Dan]

18. Remember When Carter...

...gave an Oval Office speech where he warned the country that we were sliding into a period of deep materialism...where we place greater importance on what we have and not who we are. Something like that. Granted...we have always been mired in materialism. However, Carter was the kind of person to put a moral compass on it. He was trying to get us to understand what the real value of being an American was. He looked so sad when he gave that speech. He was ahead of his time.

-PLA

[pitohui]

19. my buddies told me if i voted for jimmy carter again country would go to hell

i voted for jimmy carter again and sure enough...
(old joke from a southern fried gentleman i used to know)

seriously tho god bless jimmy carter we didn't know what we had when we had him

the country made a terrible mistake in 1980 and mostly because reagan appealed to racists, the white folks i know who voted "reagan" were un-abashed klan types

[undeterred]

20. "infinitely superior to that joke from California"

That joke from California destroyed the country.