A good Sunday morning laugh

[Tigermike 3,053]

The Worst President in History...

.... is George W. Bush, according to Jimmy Carter.*

Ah.... that was a good laugh.

[otterinbham 0]

I don't know...If Bush keeps it up, he may be right.

[Tigermike 3,053]

I don't know...If Bush keeps it up, he may be right.

Not debating that, but he still has a long way to go.

[TexasTiger 13,017]

I don't know...If Bush keeps it up, he may be right.

Not debating that, but he still has a long way to go.

You mistate what he said. He said this:

"I think as far as the adverse impact on the nation around the world, this administration has been the worst in history," Carter told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in a story that appeared in the newspaper's Saturday editions. "The overt reversal of America's basic values as expressed by previous administrations, including those of George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon and others, has been the most disturbing to me."

And he's right.

[Tigermike 3,053]

I don't know...If Bush keeps it up, he may be right.

Not debating that, but he still has a long way to go.

You mistate what he said. He said this:

"I think as far as the adverse impact on the nation around the world, this administration has been the worst in history," Carter told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in a story that appeared in the newspaper's Saturday editions. "The overt reversal of America's basic values as expressed by previous administrations, including those of George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon and others, has been the most disturbing to me."

And he's right.

Bush Is 'the Worst in History' In Foreign Relations, Carter Says

Associated Press

Sunday, May 20, 2007; Page A07

LITTLE ROCK, May 19 -- Former president Jimmy Carter called President Bush's international relations "the worst in history" and also took aim at Bush's environmental policies and the administration's "quite disturbing" faith-based initiative program.

link

Jimmy Carter calling any president or any administration the worse in history is laughable.

[otterinbham 0]

I don't know...If Bush keeps it up, he may be right.

Not debating that, but he still has a long way to go.

You mistate what he said. He said this:

"I think as far as the adverse impact on the nation around the world, this administration has been the worst in history," Carter told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in a story that appeared in the newspaper's Saturday editions. "The overt reversal of America's basic values as expressed by previous administrations, including those of George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon and others, has been the most disturbing to me."

And he's right.

Bush Is 'the Worst in History' In Foreign Relations, Carter Says

Associated Press

Sunday, May 20, 2007; Page A07

LITTLE ROCK, May 19 -- Former president Jimmy Carter called President Bush's international relations "the worst in history" and also took aim at Bush's environmental policies and the administration's "quite disturbing" faith-based initiative program.

link

Jimmy Carter calling any president or any administration the worse in history is laughable.

The verdict isn't in yet. And this presidency is going south in a hurry. It has created its own problems and it has proven incompetent. We really can't even begin to understand the damange Bush has done.

[TexasTiger 13,017]

I don't know...If Bush keeps it up, he may be right.

Not debating that, but he still has a long way to go.

You mistate what he said. He said this:

"I think as far as the adverse impact on the nation around the world, this administration has been the worst in history," Carter told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in a story that appeared in the newspaper's Saturday editions. "The overt reversal of America's basic values as expressed by previous administrations, including those of George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon and others, has been the most disturbing to me."

And he's right.

Bush Is 'the Worst in History' In Foreign Relations, Carter Says

Associated Press

Sunday, May 20, 2007; Page A07

LITTLE ROCK, May 19 -- Former president Jimmy Carter called President Bush's international relations "the worst in history" and also took aim at Bush's environmental policies and the administration's "quite disturbing" faith-based initiative program.

link

Jimmy Carter calling any president or any administration the worse in history is laughable.

The guy on the corner could have said it. He'd be right, too.

[TexasTiger 13,017]

I don't know...If Bush keeps it up, he may be right.

Not debating that, but he still has a long way to go.

You mistate what he said. He said this:

"I think as far as the adverse impact on the nation around the world, this administration has been the worst in history," Carter told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in a story that appeared in the newspaper's Saturday editions. "The overt reversal of America's basic values as expressed by previous administrations, including those of George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon and others, has been the most disturbing to me."

And he's right.

Bush Is 'the Worst in History' In Foreign Relations, Carter Says

Associated Press

Sunday, May 20, 2007; Page A07

LITTLE ROCK, May 19 -- Former president Jimmy Carter called President Bush's international relations "the worst in history" and also took aim at Bush's environmental policies and the administration's "quite disturbing" faith-based initiative program.

link

Jimmy Carter calling any president or any administration the worse in history is laughable.

The verdict isn't in yet. And this presidency is going south in a hurry. It has created its own problems and it has proven incompetent. We really can't even begin to understand the damange Bush has done.

Trend lines are there.

Influx of Al Qaeda, money into Pakistan is seen

U.S. officials say the terrorist network's command base is increasingly being funded by cash coming out of Iraq.

By Greg Miller, Times Staff Writer

May 20, 2007

WASHINGTON — A major CIA effort launched last year to hunt down Osama bin Laden has produced no significant leads on his whereabouts, but has helped track an alarming increase in the movement of Al Qaeda operatives and money into Pakistan's tribal territories, according to senior U.S. intelligence officials familiar with the operation.

In one of the most troubling trends, U.S. officials said that Al Qaeda's command base in Pakistan is increasingly being funded by cash coming out of Iraq, where the terrorist network's operatives are raising substantial sums from donations to the anti-American insurgency as well as kidnappings of wealthy Iraqis and other criminal activity.

The influx of money has bolstered Al Qaeda's leadership ranks at a time when the core command is regrouping and reasserting influence over its far-flung network. The trend also signals a reversal in the traditional flow of Al Qaeda funds, with the network's leadership surviving to a large extent on money coming in from its most profitable franchise, rather than distributing funds from headquarters to distant cells.

Al Qaeda's efforts were aided, intelligence officials said, by Pakistan's withdrawal in September of tens of thousands of troops from the tribal areas along the Afghanistan border where Bin Laden and his top deputy, Ayman Zawahiri, are believed to be hiding.

Little more than a year ago, Al Qaeda's core command was thought to be in a financial crunch. But U.S. officials said cash shipped from Iraq has eased those troubles.

"Iraq is a big moneymaker for them," said a senior U.S. counter-terrorism official.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wo...=la-home-center

It should be obvious to anyone that this administration is a foreign policy disaster. The full extent of the damage may be harder to fully grasp for a while.

[DKW 86 7,440]

Tex, we are reaping the failures of Jimmy Carter 28 years ago. As far as failures, Carter surpasses anything Bush will ever be accused of.

Carter was a Foreign Policy Disaster, see IRAN!!!!!

Carter was a Domestic Disaster. Unemployment highest in US history since the Depression, Highest Interest Rates ever. Highest tax rates ever.

Carter was a Leadership Disaster. We needed energy consumption rules way back when. All he could give us was "Guidelines" and he owned both House and Senate by big margins.

No, only Hoover compares to Carter for worst President of the 20th Century. Bush may well be the worst of the 21st Century, at least lets all hope so. But Bush wasnt an Economic disaster like Carter was. Carter was the complete package.

[otterinbham 0]

See, for sheer long-term damage, I would offer Lyndon Johnson.

[DKW 86 7,440]

See, for sheer long-term damage, I would offer Lyndon Johnson.

Touche' LBJ inherited some of his problems tho. He created others. Carter created most of his.

[DKW 86 7,440]

Carter doenst even have the balls to stand behind his own comments.

What a complete putz.

[autigeremt 6,704]

President Bush should not be hammered so hard on a policy that came about due to an attack on our homeland. I'm sure FDR had his detractors even after Pearl. I do not like the Bush War Planning, but the approach is dead on!

You can only use diplomacy with people who are truely open to it! Iran, Syria, and others in this region will only give you what you want to hear, and then stab you in the back as you walk away! I do not trust any of these nations in the middle east except for Isreal, Kuwait, OAE, and Egypt. The rest are only in power for themselves and their ideological views. Nothing more.

[otterinbham 0]

President Bush should not be hammered so hard on a policy that came about due to an attack on our homeland. I'm sure FDR had his detractors even after Pearl. I do not like the Bush War Planning, but the approach is dead on!

You can only use diplomacy with people who are truely open to it! Iran, Syria, and others in this region will only give you what you want to hear, and then stab you in the back as you walk away! I do not trust any of these nations in the middle east except for Isreal, Kuwait, OAE, and Egypt. The rest are only in power for themselves and their ideological views. Nothing more.

That's an oxymoron. Kind of like, "I voted against the war before I voted for it."

Terrible war planning based on administration war policy got us into this pickle, which then has weakened our bargaining power throughout the region. The troop levels, the dismantlment of Iraqi government, and the arrogant contempt for our General staff's recommendations have all contributed to this fiasco.

Essentially, we have provided every terrorist organization with a "How To" manual on how to fight the United States, due to Bush's incompetence. Not Congress. Not the War Protesters. Not the NYT. But Bush, Cheney, Wolfowitz, and Rumsfeld.

[TexasTiger 13,017]

Carter was a Domestic Disaster. Unemployment highest in US history since the Depression.

When you hate someone it apparently compels you to make stuff up.

[otterinbham 0]

Carter was a Domestic Disaster. Unemployment highest in US history since the Depression.

When you hate someone it apparently compels you to make stuff up.

Well, it was over 7%. Add inflation at 12%, zero economic and productivity growth, and you have a badly performing presidency on the economic front. Further, rather that stimulate the economy, he actually slowed down the economy by increasing taxation levels, which is stupidity beyond belief. However, to Jimmy Carter's everlasting credit, he appointed Paul Volker to the Federal Reserve. Volker's tough love curbed inflation, a policy that continued to be managed by Greenspan with remarkable ability.

Meanwhile, Johnson set a number of unsustainable forces into motion that still affect us today. His unified budget of 1968 continues to destroy our ability to have sustainable Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid--a fact that will cripple the economy in another 15 years unless we have the discipline to do something about it.

[TexasTiger 13,017]

Carter was a Domestic Disaster. Unemployment highest in US history since the Depression.

When you hate someone it apparently compels you to make stuff up.

Well, it was over 7%.

It was never as high under Carter as it was under Ford. In 1975 it was 8.5%, in 1976 it was 7.7. Under Carter, it ranged from 5.8-7.1%. Under Reagan, it only dipped below 7% two out of eight years. One year it was 9.7% and another 9.6%. Under Clinton, it was 7.5% the year before he took office and it dropped every single year of his administration until it got to 4% his last year. BTW, LBJ's last year it was 3.6%.

[otterinbham 0]

Carter was a Domestic Disaster. Unemployment highest in US history since the Depression.

When you hate someone it apparently compels you to make stuff up.

Well, it was over 7%.

It was never as high under Carter as it was under Ford. In 1975 it was 8.5%, in 1976 it was 7.7. Under Carter, it ranged from 5.8-7.1%. Under Reagan, it only dipped below 7% two out of eight years. One year it was 9.7% and another 9.6%. Under Clinton, it was 7.5% the year before he took office and it dropped every single year of his administration until it got to 4% his last year. BTW, LBJ's last year it was 3.6%.

Yes, well, that's all nice. But I wasn't discussing the unemployment situation under Johnson. Instead, I was more concerned with the long-term structural changes in the economy that he brought about that created the high unemployment under Nixon, Ford, Carter, and Reagan. And, quite frankly, it took the wholesale strong medicine of 20% interest rates under Volker to curb inflation.

Now, there's blame to be spread around. Nixon's disastrous price fixing ("We're all Keynsians now") just set an entire chain reaction into motion, aided by the spike in energy prices.

Ford, I give a pass to, chiefly because he inherited a horror show.

Carter, I've discussed in a previous post. He, Nixon, and Johnson were the buffoons who nearly wrecked the economy.

Reagan's president began with a severe recession and the continued tight money policies persisted through most of his presidency. However, given the lag between renewed economic activity, increased productivity and unemployment, his high unemployment rates are not surprising.

Actually, I give a good bit of credit to Clinton as well, chiefly because he did not snuff out NAFTA and was a cheerleader for global free trade. However, if he had succeeded in nationalizing health care and ratcheting up tax rates more than he did, we would not have seen the continued rise of productivity that continued from 1982 through today.

[TexasTiger 13,017]

However, if he had succeeded in ... ratcheting up tax rates more than he did, we would not have seen the continued rise of productivity that continued from 1982 through today.

You seem to imply that he proposed tax rates higher than those that were raised. His plan was passed in 1993 raising tax rates on the very top of the bracket. What else are you referring to?

[japantiger 4,051]

Carter -

- minimum annual inflation rate during his preseidency was 6% (50% higher than today)...peaked at over 14% in his final year in office (350% higher than today)...worse postwar performance of any president.

- unemployment - averaged 6.5% annually....makes him 2nd worse postwar average...but not absolute worst.

- interest rates - peaked at 19% in his last year in office...averaged 14.5%...worse post war performance by 2x..

- Gas prices - well, a damn disaster....avg. price per barrel went from $14 - $35...of course, at this point US exploration was nearly halted as well due to domestic price controls...shifting the power to OPEC..government in action

Carter mideast doctrine - Carter's administration created the current instability we have in the mideast by letting Islamic thugs run unabated....they oversaw one of the top 3 largest intelligence failures of the last 100 years resulting in him withdrawing support for our key ally in Iran...he then failed to challenge Iranian militants that captured our embassy... in his 1980 state of the union address he elevates the mid-east to the most critical region world wide to US security interests .... here goes the downward spiral....

- also responsible for the Palestinian situation...his UN ambassador-ship started us dealing with the PLO; a terrorist organization; as a "state" and elevated their stature...which we are still paying for...while he betrayed Israel (our ally) by backing down on our commitment not to deal with anyone that did not recognize Israel's right to exist...

- Since Iran was not then producing oil due to the Islamic revolution, the Saudi's and others pressured the US into agreeing to the UN resolution legitimizing the PLO and its cause....by agreeing to ship a few more barrels of oil for about 6 months...so much for being a man of principles..sold out Israel for 6 months of oil

Carter was and unfortunately still is a disaster...

[DKW 86 7,440]

Carter and Umeployment. Not asd bad as I was lead to believe, but his other achievements below speak for themselves. Worst ever!

http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9020545/Carter-Jimmy

On the home front, Carter's management of the economy aroused widespread concern. The inflation rate climbed higher each year he was in office, rising from 6 percent in 1976 to more than 12 percent by 1980; unemployment remained high at 7.5 percent; and volatile interest rates reached a high of 20 percent or more twice during 1980. Both business leaders and the public at large blamed Carter for the nation's economic woes, charging that the president lacked a coherent strategy for taming inflation without causing a painful increase in unemployment.

Carter and Inflation. A total disaster.

Carter's effect on Interest rates. Approaching 20% home mortgage rates???????

That was really good for middle class families wasnt it?

[otterinbham 0]

However, if he had succeeded in ... ratcheting up tax rates more than he did, we would not have seen the continued rise of productivity that continued from 1982 through today.

You seem to imply that he proposed tax rates higher than those that were raised. His plan was passed in 1993 raising tax rates on the very top of the bracket. What else are you referring to?

Had his healthcare initiatives gotten through, they would have funded through very substantial tax increases. The fact that he didn't formally propose them really doesn't have anything to do with the matter.