You were only 20 years old when he was elected and not yet a journalist. So all this information is filtered through other people's writing, presumably. Jimmy Carter was a breath of fresh air after Nixon. Do you remember Watergate? Ethics in government on ANY level? Unheard of. As for Iran, all his Iran policy was overseen by Hodding Carter, Jr. God knows what his level of expertise is. I met some of his underlings and they were among the most racist and ignorant people (re Iran) I have ever met, and I met a lot in Iran among CIA, military, and diplomats. I worked on the steering committee organizing a demo in S.F. to encourage Carter NOT to bomb Iran, which many wanted to do. I also knew of too many Iranians who were killed in their own homes whose deaths San Francisco Police Department ordered the media to cover up. The idea--no doubt Hodding Carter's--of sending a helicopter into Iran DURING A FUCKING SANDSTORM was typical of American ignorance at the time. All Americans registered at the Embassy at the time were told FOUR DAYS PREVIOUS to the hostage-taking that there was going to be an action that Sunday and to keep away. I believe most of the hostages taken were in CIA-cover jobs, with the exception of the Headmaster of the international school in Pakistan who was there by chance and the military grunts "guarding" the embassy--the African-American guards were offered release by the students, if you remember, because they recognized American racism from long experience of it personally. Actually, Ayatollah Khomeini tried to find a Western Christian minister who would hold a memorial service for the men killed in that dumb "rescue attempt" but it was so unnecessarily politicized that they never found anyone who would touch that hot potato. More helicopters would have resulted only in more deaths. The mood in the U.S. was incredibly racist, with a lot of anger at gas stations and people screaming "But it's our oil!" No. It was not. Nor is it now.
Everyone I knew (granted, college age and purportedly far left) knew about his connection with the Trilateral Commission. Hindsight is 20/20. Obviously less was known about the connections between these various organizations and what they were doing in secret.
FYI, we did hold that big demo and Jimmy Carter was man enough NOT to bomb. (And I was tailed throughout that ordeal by an Israeli MOSSAD agent because it was illegal for the FBI to do so. I was not alone. There was a lawsuit which activists won in the 90's.) But Bush Sr. and Ronald Reagan should have been tried and imprisoned for treason. They went to Ayatollah Khomeini and cut a deal with him IF he would hold the hostages until Reagan's inauguration was completed. That is the reason Carter did not win the election. Treason. By two men who went on to destroy our educational system and our economy, not to mention all the illegal wars (and murders and death threats of American elected officials who advised a more even-handed approach to Israel/Palestine)
Let's see. Ford (aka Nixon) on the one hand and Carter on the other. Which would you vote for? Ford didn't even have dementia as an excuse. The American political machine is full of corrupt, racist, opportunist people. The sooner the dollar crashes, the better.
Yes, I have missed Jimmy Carter since 1980. And rue the day(s) Bush Sr. and Ronald Reagan were born.
Back in 1976, FYI, if you dared whisper that Palestinians had equal rights, at the very least, to the Israelis you would be attacked. I was. And often. Jimmy Carter took his life in his hands saying anything.
He was not a perfect President. With all the accumulated rot that is sewn into the fabric of this so called democracy no one man can. He can be deified for being one of the most honest persons to ever enter the White House with no agenda except the (idealistic) betterment of the USA and the world at large. He can be deified above all for being the only President who has stood steadfastly against Israel and its destruction of Palestine and the utter degradation of their fellow human beings.
On day one of his presidency, Jimmy Carter gave amnesty to men who had evaded the draft during the Vietnam War era. Many of them were living in Canada and elsewhere.
In Thinking Like an Economist, Elizabeth Popp Berman highlights how Jimmy Carter’s administration embraced an “economic style of reasoning” focused on efficiency and cost-benefit analysis.
Influenced by RAND Corporation’s methods, like the Planning-Programming-Budgeting System (PPBS), this approach prioritized market-based solutions in policy-making. Carter’s team, including figures like Charles Schultze, applied these principles to areas like environmental regulation, economic stimulus, and foreign policy often sidelining broader goals like equality and universal rights. Berman argues this shift narrowed policy debates, embedding a technocratic emphasis on economic metrics in American politics.
This can help explain why some of his decisions as President may be viewed as disingenuous or counter to his moral underpinnings.
Jimmy Carter is maybe the only president that made some living amends to his wrong-doings. It does not seem to be possible to act as president without succumbing to pressure of lobbyists, industries banks and other influences unless one is willing to sacrifice ones own life and the life of ones family. Who has the courage to do that!!! Politics are innately corrupt and very few presidents and politician are willing to speak up once out of office.
Having read many if not most of your books, continually read your article and frequently passing them on to friends, I am stunned and profoundly disturbed by this article, your hit piece on
Jimmie Carter. I simply cannot comprehend that the person who penned the invaluable commentaries that I've read over the years could pen something as infantile, vindictive and wrong as this admonition to not admire President Carter. At first I was wondering what got into you but quickly decided I didn't want to know.
I just spent the day, Jan. 4th, watching the ceremonies honoring Jimmy Carter. The thought that kept running through my head was of the person who was going to be the next occupant of the White House. How did we get here from there? I love "nosey parker's" response. A perspective from one who was "in the room". Also the comment "hindsight is 20/20". Of course Carter made decisions that were wrong but never with intent to do harm. They were based on the conditions at the time and what was possible. Will we survive another Trump presidency or will this be the nail in the coffin. Perhaps we've passed our expiration date. Many things have contributed to our dysfunction, Citizens United, gerrymandering, voter apathy and ignorance. No government lasts forever. 2025 started out with a bang, literally. As a nonagenarian I would like to live to see what happens. My regret is for all the generations following me. They will suffer from what we did. Or will they be able to turn the tide. It's not fair to expect this of them but that doesn't stop me from hoping.
You were only 20 years old when he was elected and not yet a journalist. So all this information is filtered through other people's writing, presumably. Jimmy Carter was a breath of fresh air after Nixon. Do you remember Watergate? Ethics in government on ANY level? Unheard of. As for Iran, all his Iran policy was overseen by Hodding Carter, Jr. God knows what his level of expertise is. I met some of his underlings and they were among the most racist and ignorant people (re Iran) I have ever met, and I met a lot in Iran among CIA, military, and diplomats. I worked on the steering committee organizing a demo in S.F. to encourage Carter NOT to bomb Iran, which many wanted to do. I also knew of too many Iranians who were killed in their own homes whose deaths San Francisco Police Department ordered the media to cover up. The idea--no doubt Hodding Carter's--of sending a helicopter into Iran DURING A FUCKING SANDSTORM was typical of American ignorance at the time. All Americans registered at the Embassy at the time were told FOUR DAYS PREVIOUS to the hostage-taking that there was going to be an action that Sunday and to keep away. I believe most of the hostages taken were in CIA-cover jobs, with the exception of the Headmaster of the international school in Pakistan who was there by chance and the military grunts "guarding" the embassy--the African-American guards were offered release by the students, if you remember, because they recognized American racism from long experience of it personally. Actually, Ayatollah Khomeini tried to find a Western Christian minister who would hold a memorial service for the men killed in that dumb "rescue attempt" but it was so unnecessarily politicized that they never found anyone who would touch that hot potato. More helicopters would have resulted only in more deaths. The mood in the U.S. was incredibly racist, with a lot of anger at gas stations and people screaming "But it's our oil!" No. It was not. Nor is it now.
Everyone I knew (granted, college age and purportedly far left) knew about his connection with the Trilateral Commission. Hindsight is 20/20. Obviously less was known about the connections between these various organizations and what they were doing in secret.
FYI, we did hold that big demo and Jimmy Carter was man enough NOT to bomb. (And I was tailed throughout that ordeal by an Israeli MOSSAD agent because it was illegal for the FBI to do so. I was not alone. There was a lawsuit which activists won in the 90's.) But Bush Sr. and Ronald Reagan should have been tried and imprisoned for treason. They went to Ayatollah Khomeini and cut a deal with him IF he would hold the hostages until Reagan's inauguration was completed. That is the reason Carter did not win the election. Treason. By two men who went on to destroy our educational system and our economy, not to mention all the illegal wars (and murders and death threats of American elected officials who advised a more even-handed approach to Israel/Palestine)
Let's see. Ford (aka Nixon) on the one hand and Carter on the other. Which would you vote for? Ford didn't even have dementia as an excuse. The American political machine is full of corrupt, racist, opportunist people. The sooner the dollar crashes, the better.
Yes, I have missed Jimmy Carter since 1980. And rue the day(s) Bush Sr. and Ronald Reagan were born.
Back in 1976, FYI, if you dared whisper that Palestinians had equal rights, at the very least, to the Israelis you would be attacked. I was. And often. Jimmy Carter took his life in his hands saying anything.
He was not a perfect President. With all the accumulated rot that is sewn into the fabric of this so called democracy no one man can. He can be deified for being one of the most honest persons to ever enter the White House with no agenda except the (idealistic) betterment of the USA and the world at large. He can be deified above all for being the only President who has stood steadfastly against Israel and its destruction of Palestine and the utter degradation of their fellow human beings.
On day one of his presidency, Jimmy Carter gave amnesty to men who had evaded the draft during the Vietnam War era. Many of them were living in Canada and elsewhere.
In Thinking Like an Economist, Elizabeth Popp Berman highlights how Jimmy Carter’s administration embraced an “economic style of reasoning” focused on efficiency and cost-benefit analysis.
Influenced by RAND Corporation’s methods, like the Planning-Programming-Budgeting System (PPBS), this approach prioritized market-based solutions in policy-making. Carter’s team, including figures like Charles Schultze, applied these principles to areas like environmental regulation, economic stimulus, and foreign policy often sidelining broader goals like equality and universal rights. Berman argues this shift narrowed policy debates, embedding a technocratic emphasis on economic metrics in American politics.
This can help explain why some of his decisions as President may be viewed as disingenuous or counter to his moral underpinnings.
Jimmy Carter is maybe the only president that made some living amends to his wrong-doings. It does not seem to be possible to act as president without succumbing to pressure of lobbyists, industries banks and other influences unless one is willing to sacrifice ones own life and the life of ones family. Who has the courage to do that!!! Politics are innately corrupt and very few presidents and politician are willing to speak up once out of office.
Thank you for this informative article.
I would prefer that Eunice Wong speak more slowly. Sometimes it's difficult to understand the message she is delivering. Thank you.
Having read many if not most of your books, continually read your article and frequently passing them on to friends, I am stunned and profoundly disturbed by this article, your hit piece on
Jimmie Carter. I simply cannot comprehend that the person who penned the invaluable commentaries that I've read over the years could pen something as infantile, vindictive and wrong as this admonition to not admire President Carter. At first I was wondering what got into you but quickly decided I didn't want to know.
I just spent the day, Jan. 4th, watching the ceremonies honoring Jimmy Carter. The thought that kept running through my head was of the person who was going to be the next occupant of the White House. How did we get here from there? I love "nosey parker's" response. A perspective from one who was "in the room". Also the comment "hindsight is 20/20". Of course Carter made decisions that were wrong but never with intent to do harm. They were based on the conditions at the time and what was possible. Will we survive another Trump presidency or will this be the nail in the coffin. Perhaps we've passed our expiration date. Many things have contributed to our dysfunction, Citizens United, gerrymandering, voter apathy and ignorance. No government lasts forever. 2025 started out with a bang, literally. As a nonagenarian I would like to live to see what happens. My regret is for all the generations following me. They will suffer from what we did. Or will they be able to turn the tide. It's not fair to expect this of them but that doesn't stop me from hoping.