Former President Jimmy Carter recently said the Bush administration was “the worst in history” in international relations. Well, I will give President Carter some credence in knowing about a presidential administration being the worst. We can honestly say his administration was clearly the worst one during the past 100 years.
President Bush has been a good president who has had to deal with some very difficult problems. He has repeatedly remained a man of character and has been consistent with his faith. Unlike many previous presidents, he has never let polls dictate his actions as the commander-in-chief, and he deserves more respect than to be insulted as he was by President Carter.
I have said jokingly that President Jimmy Carter ruined my chance and any other Georgian’s chance of ever being elected to the White House, because the country would never make that “mistake” again. And who could blame “the country” for never electing another Georgian, based on Carter’s ineptness and total failure as a president.
Let’s look back at the presidency of Carter, and several of its more notable actions.
1. Giving up control of the Panama Canal. Let’s see, the U.S. paid for it, built it and maintained it. Let’s give it away. Who cares that it had a strategic importance during the 70s and 80s in regards to the Cold War and the Soviet Union’s navy.
2. Pardoning all the Viet Nam draft dodgers — not only giving them a pardon, but also giving them their full US citizenship back. I guess the lives of more than 58,000 Americans who died in the war really didn’t matter that much.
3. No economic plan to speak of. The late President Ronald Reagan can attest to that, after inheriting a 21 percent inflation rate from Carter.
4. Downsizing the rate of spending on national defense and shortchanging our military. Evidence of that was in the disastrous hostage “rescue attempt” where eight soldiers died in a helicopter and plane crash.
5. Olympic boycott. In retaliation to the Soviet Union invading Afghanistan, Carter boycotted the 1980 Summer Olympics being held in Moscow. Boy, I know all of those athletes who trained for years to represent the U.S. loved that. How about instead of a boycott, we go over there, and win all the gold medals, and show how unified we are as a country. Naaaaaaw. That would have made sense. We couldn’t have done that under Carter.
The list could go on and on, but the biggest blunder President Carter made is still being felt today. He single-handedly did more for radical fundamentalist Islam than anyone in our country’s history by not aiding the former leader of Iran, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi — better known as the Shaw of Iran.
When the Carter did not intervene to stop the overthrow of Pahlavi, and stop Ayatola Khomeni, he single handedly allowed one of the biggest terrorists and supporters of terrorism to establish a stronghold that is still felt to this day.
Also, when Pahlavi was removed from power, it removed one of the few allies of the U.S. in the Middle East. It was a relationship that was not simply based on a recent transaction or oil deal, but one that had been formed during World War II.
And sadly, under Khomeni, the U.S. felt its first major terrorist attack when the U.S. Embassy was overthrown and 52 hostages were taken in an ordeal that lasted 444 days.
President Carter has been a good ex-president, but he has on numerous times said gross exaggerations demeaning several commanders-in-chief who were in office.
President Carter had his chance, to be a good president, and he wasn’t capable of doing so. His record speaks for itself.
Instead of being critical of a president who is actually doing his job, he needs to continue doing humanitarian project and, perhaps, history may regard him a little more favorable.
President Bush has been a good president who has had to deal with some very difficult problems. He has repeatedly remained a man of character and has been consistent with his faith. Unlike many previous presidents, he has never let polls dictate his actions as the commander-in-chief, and he deserves more respect than to be insulted as he was by President Carter.
I have said jokingly that President Jimmy Carter ruined my chance and any other Georgian’s chance of ever being elected to the White House, because the country would never make that “mistake” again. And who could blame “the country” for never electing another Georgian, based on Carter’s ineptness and total failure as a president.
Let’s look back at the presidency of Carter, and several of its more notable actions.
1. Giving up control of the Panama Canal. Let’s see, the U.S. paid for it, built it and maintained it. Let’s give it away. Who cares that it had a strategic importance during the 70s and 80s in regards to the Cold War and the Soviet Union’s navy.
2. Pardoning all the Viet Nam draft dodgers — not only giving them a pardon, but also giving them their full US citizenship back. I guess the lives of more than 58,000 Americans who died in the war really didn’t matter that much.
3. No economic plan to speak of. The late President Ronald Reagan can attest to that, after inheriting a 21 percent inflation rate from Carter.
4. Downsizing the rate of spending on national defense and shortchanging our military. Evidence of that was in the disastrous hostage “rescue attempt” where eight soldiers died in a helicopter and plane crash.
5. Olympic boycott. In retaliation to the Soviet Union invading Afghanistan, Carter boycotted the 1980 Summer Olympics being held in Moscow. Boy, I know all of those athletes who trained for years to represent the U.S. loved that. How about instead of a boycott, we go over there, and win all the gold medals, and show how unified we are as a country. Naaaaaaw. That would have made sense. We couldn’t have done that under Carter.
The list could go on and on, but the biggest blunder President Carter made is still being felt today. He single-handedly did more for radical fundamentalist Islam than anyone in our country’s history by not aiding the former leader of Iran, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi — better known as the Shaw of Iran.
When the Carter did not intervene to stop the overthrow of Pahlavi, and stop Ayatola Khomeni, he single handedly allowed one of the biggest terrorists and supporters of terrorism to establish a stronghold that is still felt to this day.
Also, when Pahlavi was removed from power, it removed one of the few allies of the U.S. in the Middle East. It was a relationship that was not simply based on a recent transaction or oil deal, but one that had been formed during World War II.
And sadly, under Khomeni, the U.S. felt its first major terrorist attack when the U.S. Embassy was overthrown and 52 hostages were taken in an ordeal that lasted 444 days.
President Carter has been a good ex-president, but he has on numerous times said gross exaggerations demeaning several commanders-in-chief who were in office.
President Carter had his chance, to be a good president, and he wasn’t capable of doing so. His record speaks for itself.
Instead of being critical of a president who is actually doing his job, he needs to continue doing humanitarian project and, perhaps, history may regard him a little more favorable.