Jimmy Carter was the last sincere decent president we ever had in the United States, not a phony like all the others, who pretended to stand for decency while saying and doing horrible things behind closed doors. He talked the talk and walked the walk. For a man to be in his 80s and 90s and still be building houses for the disadvantaged, when he was no longer in the public eye and had nothing to gain from it--speaks volumes.
shareI'm very inclined to agree.
Although I supported a lot of Obama's platform (even if his actual Presidency was more questionable), I have to say that you're right. That's partly because Carter predates the neoliberal orthodoxy triggered by the Reagan/Thatcher era, whereby Dems and UK Labour Party candidates believe they can *only* get elected by emulating the political right on economic and even international affairs. In today's climate, it's unlikely that he'd be nominated in the first place.
And as you say, Carter is a genuinely decent guy. He really was 'Mr Smith Goes to Washington' (i.e. a decent, humble, down-to-earth man of integrity who came into politics to help reguar people, rather than to be a star/butter his ego/further any elitist agendas).
I'm sure he's a con artist like all the rest. Probably built those houses in league with the corrupt government, for some machiavellian purpose.
shareI would put Richard Nixon on that list.
shareI would agree with you.
shareSo true. Unfortunately, Washington didn't want people like him. And the corruption continues to worsen.
shareHe may have been decent in some ways, but he was weak and ineffectual. He also destroyed the dreams of a lot of American athletes when he kept them out of the 1980 Olympics for his own petty political reasons. Carter was one of the worst presidents in history, possibly the worst up until Biden.
shareJimmy Carter is a very decent, good man... But that is the very LAST kind of leader you want to have for your country in the cruel arena of cutthroat world politics going toe-to-toe with barbarians and dictators. In that kind of battle, Mr. Nice Guy always gets smeared.
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