Jason Rees wrote:
You mean like
this?
That's a start.
Jimmy Carter faced a defiant OPEC and an Iran which ousted a US-backed dictator and held an entire US Embassy hostage. And by the way, an attack on a US embassy is an attack on US sovereign territory.
Carter's response to OPEC was to tell the US that we should be more humble. Riiiggghhtttt. That went over well. Gasoline prices quintupled, and we had lines and assigned days at the gas pump. The Japanese and German auto industry capitalized on the change. Honda, Datsun (Nissan), VW, and Toyota blossomed. Detroit stumbled. Remember the VW Rabbit? Van is happily driving one of its many offspring. Remember the Civic? Ditto with my son. Detroit put the muscle car in mothballs and came up with... the Pinto and the Vega.
The blow left a permanent mark.
GM is now Government Motors. It took Carter's years to start the hemmorhage. Full system shock happened under Obama. And when it came time to recast how we build cars here (tell Union labor to find another job), Obama just caved in to those who got him in office.
It's the gift that keeps on giving.
Carter attempted an Iran hostage rescue and that resulted in a helicopter crash in the desert far from the point of attack. Iran's leader was shown picking over the remains of US soldiers (abandoned by us) and ridiculing the US for their attempt.
Not surprisingly we went into a recession. But the insult to injury was hyperinflation in the middle of that recession.
His own party challenged him with Teddy Kennedy's vigorous run for the nomination. Carter put Kennedy in a straight jacket (kicked his ass in Jimmy's own words) by admonishing us all we couldn't talk about the Iran hostage crisis because we might screw things up by doing so.
I still remember the mess. In the early part of it I helped win a contract for my geology/geochemistry company to explore the entire US for trace radiation AND to analyze those samples for 26 other elements while we had them. Ultimately the stagflation was a big reason why I decided to hunker down and borrow to educate myself (to PhD) until the economy recovered. Why more businesses don't do that (actually INVEST in R&D during down times) is beyond me. But then one good thing about recessions is they kill bad businesses.
And they also end the political aspirations of ineffective leaders.
Obama isn't quite there. Yet... But he's tempting fate. That hopey changey sheet don't fly when it hits the pocketbook.
Jimmy Carter was and still is a very intelligent human being with a big heart. But he suks as a leader. It was The Presidency on lupron.
- Bill