Jimmy Carter

Hooray! Jimmy Carter Turns 98, An Event To Celebrate! A Much Underrated President!

Ronald Leave a comment

Former President Jimmy Carter turned 98 today, an amazing age and still with his wife, Rosalynn, alongside him after 76 plus years of marriage!

Not only is Carter the longest lived President, nearly three and a half years older than George H. W. Bush at his passing, but Rosalynn Carter passed both Lady Bird Johnson and Nancy Reagan, as she turned 95 on August 18, only behind Bess Truman, who lived to past 97 years of age!

Jimmy Carter is a true treasure, a man of decency, compassion, empathy, and sincerity, much like President Joe Biden, who was the first US Senator at age 33 in 1976, to endorse Carter for President, at a time when it seemed highly unlikely that Carter would win the Democratic Presidential nomination, and go on to defeat President Gerald Ford, and become the 39th President of the United States from 1977-1981.

Carter has had a retirement nearly 42 years in January 2023, more than ten years longer than the longest retired President before him, Herbert Hoover.

Carter has had cancer since 2015, but he has managed to cope and go on with his life with proper medical treatments and continue to promote Habitat For Humanity, the Carter Center, and to publish more than 30 books in retirement.

He will rate higher in history once he passes, as occurred with Harry Truman, but as it is, he is much underrated,when one considers the Camp David Accords with Israel and Egypt, the Panama Canal Treaty, the promotion of human rights, the advancement of the environment as the best one term environmental President, and the establishment of three Cabinet agencies–Energy, Health and Human Services, and Education as his major accomplishments. He was also awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his lifetime of promotion of peace and diplomacy.

Carter has managed to outlive nearly everyone in public office and in his Presidency, with his Vice President, Walter Mondale, passing in early 2021 after the longest retirement of a President and Vice President, more than 40 years as a team staying in touch. And one must realize that Carter utilized Mondale as a closer confidante than any President has had with their Vice President!

A truly amazing man, and someone to be saluted and appreciated for the greatness of this person who exudes the true meaning of his faith, Christianity!

Joe Biden’s Public Opinion Poll Rating Reaches 46 Percent, Highest In 2022

Ronald Leave a comment

President Joe Biden’s public opinion poll ratings have risen in recent months, and is now 46 percent in the latest Emerson College poll, and 45 percent in other polls.

Back in May, Biden reached a low of 38 percent, and now is higher than he was at any earlier time in 2022.

There are a lot of factors explaining this, including the abortion issue; the continuing Donald Trump controversy; the horrendous Republican contenders for public office this fall; and the issue of Social Security and Medicare being threatened by Republicans to be phased out over five years, if they gain control of both houses of Congress and the White House in the future.

There are also other factors, including the issue of gun regulation, and the cancellation of some college student debt payments by the Biden Administration, that influence ratings.

With Biden’s revival, he is in similar territory as earlier Presidents Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, and Gerald Ford, at this point of their time in office!

White House Chief Of Staff Ron Klain Summarizes Joe Biden’s Record In Office After 19 Months!

Ronald 1 Comment

White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain has summarized Joe Biden’s record in office after 19 months.

After a period of struggle and disappointment, now Joe Biden’s record is quite amazing for a President in office just a bit more than a year and a half, a truly transformational President!

As Klain describes it in an interview with POLITICO, Joe Biden “has delivered the largest economic recovery plan since Roosevelt.”(Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal)

Biden has brought into law “the largest infrastructure plan since Eisenhower.” (Dwight D. Eisenhower and the Interstate Highway System)

Biden has accomplished “the most judges confirmed since Kennedy.” (John F. Kennedy)

Biden has accomplished “the second largest health care bill since Johnson.” (Lyndon B. Johnson and Medicare) and (after Barack Obama and the Affordable Care Act)

Biden has “the largest climate change bill in history.” (since Jimmy Carter promoted need for change)

Also, we have seen the first gun control bill since Bill Clinton’s time. (Brady Bill legislation)

And Biden has placed the first African American woman on the Supreme Court (Ketanji Brown Jackson) (After Lyndon B. Johnson placed the first African American man on the Supreme Court, Thurgood Marshall)

Additionally, as many observers have noted, we have seen 9.5 million jobs created; accomplished the lowest unemployment rate in 50 years; forced the rich and corporations to pay their fair share of taxes; lowered drug prices and general health care costs, including insulin costs for Medicare recipients; lowered the national debt; confirmed the most diverse set of judges to the federal bench; accomplished the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and the American Rescue Plan to combat the COVID 19 Pandemic; canceled some student loan debt; and passed the CHIPS and Science Act, and the PACT Act to help sick veterans from our wars.

In foreign policy, Biden ended America’s longest war (Afghanistan), which Donald Trump had arranged to end actually three months earlier than Biden; strengthened NATO by adding Finland and Sweden; took out Al Qaeda’s top leader; and come to the defense of Ukraine against the Russian invasion.

The “Indestructible” Carters!

Ronald Leave a comment

Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter are, seemingly, an indestructible “First Couple”!

They have just celebrated their 76th Wedding Anniversary, on July 7!

Very few married couples ever reach that number, and it is a blessing that both of them are still going strong, with Rosalynn reaching the age of 95 on August 18, and President Carter reaching the magnificent age of 98 on October 1!

Rosalynn Carter is older than every First Lady except Bess Truman, who reached past 97 years and 8 months, and has this year surpassed Nancy Reagan and “Lady Bird” Johnson!

Carter surpassed George H. W. Bush in age in 2019, and, hopefully, is on the way to reaching the age of 100 in 2024!

Republicans In White House In Six Major Periods Of Corruption!

Ronald Leave a comment

The Republican Party has the unenviable record of having six of their Presidents leading the nation in major periods of corruption, sometimes with their support, and other times because of poor selection of advisers and cabinet officers.

Chronologically, they are as follows:

Ulysses S. Grant–1869-1877

Warren G. Harding–1921-1923

Richard Nixon–1969-1974

Ronald Reagan–1981-1989

George W. Bush–2001-2009

Donald Trump–2017-2021

The two worst are Donald Trump and Richard Nixon, while the others seem not to have engaged personally in scandals!

But all six Republican Presidents had people in their administrations face indictments and convictions!

While there was minor scandals under some Democrats–Harry Truman, Lyndon B. Johnson, Bill Clinton—they, in no way, match the horrendous record of the Republican Party!

And two recent Democratic Presidents have a totally clear record of no corruption, no indictments, no convictions—Jimmy Carter–1977-1981, and Barack Obama–2009-2017!

One Term Presidencies That Mattered: Jimmy Carter, George HW Bush!

Ronald 2 Comments

President Joe Biden stated at his end of first year press conference yesterday, that he planned to run for a second term in 2024, and that Kamala Harris would again be his running mate.

That is to be expected at this time, but by early 2023, Biden will need to make a final decision on running, so as to open the race to alternative choices if he announces he will retire.

The concept that a President must seek reelection was not the case with three Presidents, who decided not to run–James K. Polk in 1848, James Buchanan in 1860, and Rutherford Hayes in 1880. But Polk, despite not running for another term, is considered to have accomplished his goals, and as it turns out, his health was not good, and he died 105 days after leaving office in 1849.

Buchanan and Hayes are not considered to have had successful terms, and they may have sensed that they could not win reelection.

Other one term Presidents, such as Benjamin Harrison and Herbert Hoover, had horrible depressions to deal with, helping to cause their defeats in 1892 and 1932, and William Howard Taft had a split in his party with former President Theodore Roosevelt, which doomed his campaign for reelection in 1912.

Gerald Ford was a special situation, having not been elected, succeeding Richard Nixon, and having a bad economy, which doomed his desire for election to a full term in 1976, although he is considered in a kind manner at this point, having worked to unite America after the Watergate Scandal and resignation of Nixon.

But the two most recent Presidents defeated for reelection, before Donald Trump, had real accomplishments in office, although they were unable to win a second term, Jimmy Carter in 1980, and George H. W. Bush in 1992.

Clearly, all Presidents since Rutherford Hayes in 1880, who have survived a term, have attempted to be reelected, but since Biden will be 82 years old weeks after the Presidential Election of 2024, he might decide not to run, or his health might be such that he is told he should not run.

First Year In Oval Office Under Most Presidencies Problematical, And Joe Biden Better Than Many!

Ronald 7 Comments

One could argue that Joe Biden has accomplished a great deal in the first year, while often having disappointments and shortcomings.

Two major pieces of legislation were accomplished (The American Rescue Plan, and the Physical Infrastructure legislation), and the only reason why the Build Back Better bill and voting rights have failed to be accomplished is the opposition of two Democrats–Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema–and the reality of an equally divided Senate for only the third time in American history!

While inflation has become a major problem, the stock market dramatically rose, more jobs were created in the first year of a Presidency than any other administration, and the unemployment rate has dropped to a very low rate.

There are still the issues of the COVID 19 Pandemic, and the disaster of Afghanistan withdrawal, but the first issue was unpredictable as the worst health crisis in a century, and the second would have been the same result had Donald Trump stayed on as President, since he had made a deal with the Taliban without Afghanistan government involvement, to leave in May 2021, NOT as occurred in August 2021!

So some disappointing developments in the first year of a Presidency are not unique to the 46th President!

When one looks back at other Presidencies, it is actually quite common that the first year of a Presidency is a learning curve, and does not reflect on whether such Presidents will be, in the long run, successful, and also have the possibility of successful reelection.

The following Presidents had very successful first years—Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Lyndon B. Johnson, George H. W. Bush!

Three Presidents had what could be described as mixed records in the first year in office–Dwight D. Eisenhower, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama.

The following Presidencies in the 20th and 21st century were far from successes in their first year:

Harry Truman 1945
John F. Kennedy 1961
Richard Nixon 1969
Gerald Ford 1974-1975
Jimmy Carter 1977
Ronald Reagan 1981
Bill Clinton 1993
Donald Trump 2017

Among these eight Presidents, four—Truman, Nixon, Reagan, Clinton–won reelection.

So it is not time to say that Joe Biden will fail to succeed, as he already has in many respects, and it is not time to say he cannot win reelection fo a second term!

Jimmy Carter Closing In On 15,000 Days In Retirement From Presidency On Valentine’s Day!

Ronald Leave a comment

Former President Jimmy Carter (1977-1981) keeps adding to his record as the longest lived American President, being now 97 years, 3 months, and 17 days, at this writing!

His wife, Rosalynn Carter, is 94, and 5 months, as this writing, and the couple are married more than 75 years!

On January 20, Carter will have been out of the Presidency for 41 years, nearly ten years more than Herbert Hoover!

And hard to believe, Carter will be closing in on 15,000 days in retirement from the Presidency on Valentine’s Day, February 14!

Carter is amazing, and the longer he lives, the more his stature rises, as he is certainly considered the greatest retired President, in the sense of his contributions to American society and the world community, through his commitments to the Carter Center in Atlanta.

Carter is such a good, decent human being, and he will always stand out for his major accomplishments, including the Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt; the Panama Canal Treaty; diplomatic relations with China; the promotion of human rights in foreign policy; his presiding over three Cabinet agencies being created (Education, Health and Human Services, Energy); his promotion of diversity in his appointments to all kinds of posts; and his exceptional environmental record, the greatest of any one term President, and considered the third best by Environmental historians, after Theodore Roosevelt and Richard Nixon!

Comparing Kamala Harris To Mike Pence, Dick Cheney, Dan Quayle, Spiro Agnew!

Ronald Leave a comment

Kamala Harris has been Vice President for nearly a year, and has faced brutal criticism and attacks, and suggestions by some that she resign, because she has not been assertive in the role of Vice President.

Of course, these suggestions come from Fox News Channel anchors Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, and Laura Ingraham, who are actively involved in attempting a coverup of the events of January 6, 2021, even though they were stunned by the events of that day, and tried to reach Donald Trump to express their dismay.

It is insulting that conservative supporters of the January 6 Insurrection have the gall to attack Kamala Harris, when the major issue is that she is a woman, and of mixed African and Asian American heritage, as her father is from Jamaican origin and her mother of Asian Indian origin.

Who are the critics turning to as models?

Is it Mike Pence, who refused to speak up at all to Donald Trump for four years, but at least had the guts to uphold the Electoral College vote for Joe Biden on January 6, facing the threat of being hanged by rioters? That is his only redeeming quality.

Or is it Dick Cheney, who while qualified by experience, was a dangerous, out of control Vice President, under George W. Bush, who enriched himself by America’s engagement in two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq through leadership of Haliburton, and endorsed the use of torture against war prisoners?

Or is it Dan Quayle, who made everyone nervous for four years about the health of George H. W. Bush, as Quayle demonstrated how dumb and clueless he was?

Or was it Spiro Agnew, who resigned from office as a felon, after nearly five years a heartbeat away from the Presidency under Richard Nixon?

The only truly reputable Republican Vice President in the past half century was George H. W. Bush under Ronald Reagan! Although it must be said that the abbreviated Vice Presidency of Nelson Rockefeller under Gerald Ford was also decent!

Meanwhile, Democrats could be proud of their Vice Presidents—Walter Mondale under Jimmy Carter; Al Gore under Bill Clinton; and Joe BIden under Barack Obama!

Kamala Harris is in the tradition of decency and dignity of Mondale, Gore, and Biden, and will do a fine job over the next three years, with her excellent qualification as former San Francisco District Attorney, California Attorney General, and US Senator!

Effect Of John F. Kennedy Assassination Still Reverberates On America 58 Years Later!

Ronald Leave a comment

This author and blogger was a sophomore in 1963, when John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963.

It was the most stunning event of my life until the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

The Kennedy assassination transformed American politics dramatically, both in good ways and bad ways.

It brought about the possibility of the greatest period of reform since Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal, with Lyndon B. Johnson and the Great Society.

But it also brought on a devastating long term war in Vietnam, and the beginning of disillusionment with government at all levels.

Had Robert F. Kennedy survived and won the Presidential Election of 1968, instead of being assassinated after winning the California primary in June 1968, the potential for more great reform and change, and to avoid the Presidency of Richard Nixon, would have existed.

WIth RFK’s death, after the earlier tragedy of JFK, America was put into a permanent decline in hope and optimism for the next forty years, as even the election of Jimmy Carter in 1976 and Bill Clinton in 1992 did not revive the hopes of the Kennedy legacy.

Instead, we had Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush cause great regression in so many ways, as Richard Nixon had done earlier.

Barack Obama was a bright light, but faced great opposition, and the horrors of Donald Trump as his succession!

Joe Biden, who has a bust of RFK behind him on the left in all photos when he is sitting at his desk, is trying to revive the Kennedy legacy of hope and promise, and has made a good start.

But it is clear the two Kennedy assassinations in the early and late 1960s have left a permanent scar on the nation!