James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. 39th President. Is he the greatest former president *ever*?

[Stinky The Clown]

That case can be made by many.

That case has already been made in my mind.

In light of his recent comments that the noozsharks have chomped onto, what do you think?

[kentuck]

1. The rightwing and the media did the same thing to Carter....

that they did with "liberals". They demonized both.

[liberal N proud]

3. And they are doing the same thing to Obama

Good men smeared by the evil of this nation.

[blondeatlast]

2. I very much think so. He was my first vote, one of my first real

volunteering stints, and for that, I actually met him.

If he'd had a second term, imagine how different our lives would be.

[el_bryanto]

4. Kind of a short list isn't it?

Clinton might give him a run for his money eventually.

Bryant

[karynnj]

14. Neither Clinton or Carter come close to FDR

[el_bryanto]

16. Except that FDR died in office and so never had a chance to be a former president

I don't think anybody thinks carters one of our best presidents; he's one of our best former presidents.

Bryant

[karynnj]

26. ok - semantics All the previous Presidents are "former" Presidents, dead or living

I think speaking of "post" Presidential careers might be clearer.

[Bragi]

17. Shilling for war criminal Bush rules out Clinton

http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Bush+Clinton+talk+Afghanistan/1644777/story.html

[Yupster]

46. I'd go with either

Taft or Hoover.

Hoover is also in my opinion the most under-appreciated president and may in my opinion was the finest human being to ever be president.

Taft became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court after his presidency. Hoover led famine relief efforts as he had in his earlier life.

Carter rubs me the wrong way. He reminds me of the guy at church who makes sure everyone sees him put money in the collection plate.

[still_one]

5. Not even close in my view. Lincoln, FDR, and Johnson were the top three in my view

due to the amazing social changes they started, which are unfortunately getting diminished every day by the corporate take over of the government

[madinmaryland]

6. I think the OP is referring to what the person did "after" leaving office.

:shrug:

[Stinky The Clown]

8. The question was about his post presidency

Intent, inclination, and moral compass aside, Carter was a fairly ineffective president. Again, not his fault, but that is, indeed, the result. My question was about his accomplishments *after* leaving office.

[jxnmsdemguy65]

44. Johnson? THE war criminal? Surely you are joking....

I admit he did some good things (Mediare, public broadcasting), but that is all canceled by Vietnam...

[ecstatic]

7. Did you help unseat him by supporting Kennedy?

:shrug:

[Stinky The Clown]

9. I don't understand your question

Were you being rhetorical or accusatory?

[Stinky The Clown]

33. No answer to my question?

Was your post accusatory or rhetorical?

[ixion]

10. He may not be "the best", but in my lifetime (born in '64)

He is by far and away my favorite president, and one of the most ethical humans ever to hold the office.

[rurallib]

11. Carter's post presidency has been an inspiration

what I have been particularly struck with is his work for poor people.
I hope i don't jinx the guy, but with the values and humility that the Obamas have, I fully expect that Barack and Michelle will do much the same if not more.

[Greybnk48]

12. He was under constant right-wing attack much like

Clinton and Obama, although, the crazies have definitely ratcheted things up in the past 18 years.

[karynnj]

13. No - not even close

Here is just one who are far more significant:

FDR - for leadership in creating a security net that has since then kept a large number of senior out of poverty, in reforming the banking industry well enough to keep it stable until his provisions were weakened in the 1990s, for implementing a huge effort that created jobs and built a huge amount of new or improved infrastructure, and he led us through WWII.

While Carter is a good man, he was nowhere near the best President. Look up the "Carter Doctrine".

[Stinky The Clown]

21. You misread the question

It asked if you thought he has had the greatest post-presidency. In that FDR died in office, he could not be in contention at all.

I agree with your assessment of FDR's presidency.

I know what the Carter Doctrine is. It is irrelevant to the question.

[karynnj]

29. you didn't use the underlined word - had you done so, you would be right

Former does mean only the things done after he was President. I interpreted it as simply excluding Obama - who is the current President.

[Stinky The Clown]

32. Whatever.

[Bragi]

15. Yes, he is the best former President

I don't think any others accomplished so much once they left the White House.

(Unless anyone has info to the contrary, of course.)

[Bitwit1234]

18. What former president has done more for this country than

President Carter with his Habitat for the Homeless. He is wonderful. And to an extent President Clinton with his organization to help the poor and needy of the world. What has either of the Bushes done. NOT A DAMN THING. Bush Sr went on camera with Clinton a couple of times but he has that Carlyne( DON'T KNOW SPELLING) committee that works for the benefit of the super rich and corporations. And George jr. well he went out and gave talks to make money for himself. These examples show the difference between the Democrats and the republicans. And the tea bags are spitting and clawing to make people contribute more more more to the rich and corporations. What fools these tea bags be.

[Hangingon]

19. No

[Stinky The Clown]

22. Then who, in your view, is?

[Hangingon]

37. Off the top of my head, I'd say the Adams

[Stinky The Clown]

38. You clearly have no intention of actually discussing anything.

Have a swell day. See ya around campus. :hi:

[Greyhound]

20. Stinky, perhaps you should re-post with BIG LETTERS and lots

of bold, because half your respondents didn't read your question.

I'd say certainly in the last century, and probably ever, yes, he's the greatest former American President.

[Stinky The Clown]

23. .

:)

[karynnj]

27. If reposted maybe ask which President had the best post Presidential career

[ProgressiveEconomist]

24. Agreed, Carter has done some great things. But his epic fail on national election standards

and many other crucial Carter-Baker commission voting issues IMO turned a VERY rare opportunity to prevent a repeat of the stolen election of Y2K into multiple victories for Republican vote suppression (see http://www.politicalaffairs.net/article/articleview/980/1/89/ ). Remember, the Carter-Baker commission fed recommendations into the "Help America Vote Act". a DISASTER for true democracy. And Carter was incredibly deferential to "states rights".

[Gaedel]

25. John Adams and John Quincy Adams

These two former presidents served the country well long after their presidencies.

While Jefferson lived for many years after his presidency, he philosophized more than he served.

Herbert Hoover and Jimmy Carter had the finest post-presidential careers of the 20th century.

[starroute]

36. I was going to mention Herbert Hoover if you hadn't

It may be no coincidence that Hoover and Carter both started out as engineers and brought that practical, can-do attitude to their post-presidential careers.

http://users.wpi.edu/~mhray/hoover.html

Long before Herbert Hoover became involved in politics he was an engineer. He was trained as a mining engineer and had a full and very sucessful career in a variety of international engineering projects. At the time Mr. Hoover practiced engineering, most areas of engineering were Civil Engineering. Mr. Hoover's own field of mining engineering is certainly very closely aligned with Civil Engineering even today. Here is what Mr. Hoover said about the profession of engineering.

Engineering ... it is a great profession. There is the fascination of watching a figment of the imagination emerge through the aid of science to a plan on paper. Then it moves to realization in stone or metal or energy. Then it brings jobs and homes to men. Then it elevates the standards of living and adds to the comforts of life. That is the engineer's high privilege.


http://hoover.archives.gov/exhibits/Hooverstory/gallery09/index.html

In May, 1945 Harry Truman invited America's only living former president to visit him at the White House. "I would be most happy to talk over the European food situation with you," wrote Truman. "Also it would be a pleasure for me to become acquainted with you." It was the start of an unlikely, yet historic, friendship between two men who would form perhaps the oddest couple in American politics.

Early in 1946 Truman dispatched the 71-year-old Hoover to thirty-eight nations in an effort to beg, borrow and cajole enough food to avert mass starvation among victims of World War II. During three months Hoover traveled over 50,000 miles and visited seven kings and thirty-six prime ministers. He paused in Rome to secure Pope Pius' blessing and in the rubble of Warsaw's Jewish ghetto to remember 200,000 victims of Nazi oppression.

Back home Hoover appealed to his countrymen to reduce consumption of wheat and fats, saying, "We do not want the American flag flying over nationwide Buchenwalds." Then he was off on a second relief mission to Latin America. In 1947 he returned to Germany and Austria.

His relationship with Truman deepened, despite political differences. Truman restored Hoover's name to the great dam that Roosevelt's Administration had called Boulder Dam. He had {Hoover's late wife} Lou's portrait hung in the White House. In 1947 he asked the Great Engineer to reorganize the executive branch of government, to make it more efficient if not necessarily more conservative.

[Gaedel]

42. I never read a bio of Hoover

But here one is.

Hoover is our favorite punching bag because of the depression, but the totality of his life is awesome.

http://hoover.nara.gov/education/hooverbio.html

[H2O Man]

28. It's interesting

how many responses on this thread either accidentally or otherwise missed the "former" part.

I've enjoyed watching (former) President Carter on telivision this week. I'm looking forward to reading his new book; I consider his other books to be the best by a former president.

I tend to view Carter in three segments: pre-president; president; and former president. In terms of a former president, he is definitely my favorite.

[JitterbugPerfume]

30. Jimmy Carter set the standard.

Others will find it difficult to live up to the standard of excellence his post presidency has set.

Bill Clinton is following in his footsteps, and I fully expect Obama to as well.

No Republican has even come close.

[mitchum]

31. Jefferson

[Edweird]

34. Yes. I admire him for walking the christian talk. He is clearly a good man.

[AngryOldDem]

35. Perhaps not the greatest ever, but certainly one of the better ones.

History will bear that out. Also, what he has done after leaving office shows he walks the walk. That counts for a lot in my book.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

39. The Carter Center is an excellent charity.

They go around the world supervising elections, and give people anti-worming medicine to kill the parasitic worms that destroy their bodies. Sort of like 50 cents worth of heartworm medicine for your dog - gives these people their lives back. They also fight malaria, guinea worm, trachoma, river blindness, etc.

www.cartercenter.org

[marmar]

40. Unlike Clinton, Carter's stature post-presidency has only been elevated, IMHO.....

...... I liked Clinton better when he was in office and I didn't have that 20/20 hindsight thing going.

[opihimoimoi]

41. He was and IS a COUNTRY FIRST President.....Obma will do well to listen to his remarks

[SmileyRose]

43. President Carter is a good person - and a little too naive.

He should have kept his ass out of Venezuela. I know why he did it, and admire him for that. But it hurt him. Unfair, but it did.

[eridani]

45. Aboslutely. While president, he was too much of a micromanager

But the way he stepped up afterwards in using his status to accomplish so many public goods is truly amazing.

[onehandle]

47. Yes. Got to meet him (finally) a while back as chronicled in this thread...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4377697#4377854