I've long held that Jimmy Carter is our greatest ex-President. Those who agree say Carter's legacy will be determined not by his single term in the White House but what he has done since.
Andrew Bacevich, the author of a stunning new book on the militarization of American foreign policy and the growth of the imperial presidency, has a different perspective. In an interview Friday night with Bill Moyers, Bacevich declared that Carter is the only President in the last 60 years, Democrat or Republican, who "...recognized, I think, the challenges awaiting us if we refused to get our house in order."
Bacevich is referring to the energy crisis, and more specifically to Carter's 1979 "malaise speech", which many blame for Carter's loss to Ronald Reagan a year later. Bacevich views that speech as prophetic:
"It's a very powerful speech, I think, because President Carter says in that speech, oil, our dependence on oil, poses a looming threat to the country. If we act now, we may be able to fix this problem. ...
"He had a profound understanding of the dilemma facing the country in the post Vietnam period. And of course, he was completely hooted, derided, disregarded."
I've only heard one other person speak of Carter as President so favorably --Portland-based progressive talk show host Thom Hartmann. One of Hartmann's favorite riffs is telling how Carter installed solar panels on the White House roof only to see Reagan take them down as soon as he moved in.
That's an apt metaphor for Ronald Reagan, the "modern prophet of profligacy", as Bacevich dubs him in his book. Indeed, profligacy --the "non-negotiable" American life-style of extravagant consumption-- is at the heart of Bacevich's critique of American militarism and the quest for empire. Americans have been conditioned to believe that the "...problems we face are problems that are out there somewhere, beyond our borders."
Bacevich calls that notion, the belief that the looming limits on American consumption --the price of gas, for example-- are caused by conditions in other countries, an illusion. He begins the book with a quotation from the Bible:
"Set thine house in order."
"Our major problems", Bacevich says, "are at home." We won't find their solutions in the oilfields of the Middle East.
(More on Bacevich and The Limits of Power coming soon.)
Neoliberals and neocons have a lot to thank Carter for.
He gave us Paul Volcker and that dawn of monetarist fiscal policy that places the concerns of Wall Street ahead of Main Street. Oh, we licked inflation, at the cost of the highest unemployment since the Great Depression.
He legitimized the use of covert action vis-a-vis the Nicaraguan Contras.
His administration encouraged the South Korean military who were facing down labor protesters, leading to a violent backlash that left 3,000 dead.
And don't forget Carter's hand in Afghanistan, where his CIA trained the mujahedeen to fight off the Soviet occupation, laying the perfect groundwork for a young Saudi scion by the name of bin Laden and his nascent violent fundamentalist movement.
Posted by: Steve R. | August 17, 2008 at 08:48 PM
And don't forget how Carter befriended the Shah of Iran, leading to the revolution, the hostage crisis, and Carter's defeat at the hands of Reagan.
Carter is really a side issue in the discussion of Bacevich's book. I did think it was worth noting, however, since I am a great admirer of Jimmy Carter in his post-presidential years.
Bacevich envisions a progressive -conservative rapprochement, on foreign policy at least, once the lessons of the Iraq War sink in.
I think Carter would approve.
PS You'll have to enlighten me about Carter's legitimizing covert action in Nicaragua.
Posted by: Terry | August 18, 2008 at 05:46 PM
Carter was pretty cozy with Nicaragua's Somaza government, even after direct US military aid was cut off in 1978.
After the Sandinistas overthrew the Samoza government in 1979, Carter tried to insist they keep Samoza's National Guard. When they refused, Carter's CIA armed and funded the Contra rebels, and brought elites from Argentina's death squads up to Honduras to train them.
Most of the ignominy of the Contras stuck on Reagan (as much as anything ever stuck on Reagan), but it all started with Carter.
This isn't to say Reagan didn't deserve it. With his 1984 mining of the civilian harbor in Nicaragua, and his "creative" financing of the Contras against the wishes of Congress, Reagan was far worse than Carter in this regard.
But it is no stretch to say that Carter set the tone, both in economic and foreign policy, that enabled most of the significant setbacks of the Reagan/Bush years, much as Wm. Jefferson Clinton would later do for Geo. W. Bush.
Posted by: Steve R. | August 19, 2008 at 09:31 AM
Well said by Steve R and Terry. Chomsky calls Nixon the last liberal president, and he contends that all US presidents during my lifetime would be hung if they were tried in an international court with the same rules as the courts that tried Milosevic or Hussein.
While Carter may well be the best of a bad lot, he is no hero, regardless of the opinion of the Democrat shill, Thom Hartmann.
Posted by: Harry Kershner | August 22, 2008 at 03:59 PM
If your Riches are yours , why don't you take them with you to the other world ?
Posted by: ugg outlet store | November 04, 2010 at 06:07 PM
I find life an exciting business,The point is succinctness of expression.
Posted by: cl boots | December 29, 2010 at 01:02 AM
I had always wanted to learn about this topic ... I think it's great the way you expose .. great work and continuing on with this great blog
Posted by: moncler netherland | November 13, 2011 at 07:15 AM
Nike Dunks
Nike Dunk SB
Nike Dunk shoes
Nike SB shoes
Dunk SB Shoes
Dunk Boots
Dunk Sneakers
Nike Dunks Wholesale
Wholesale Dunk Sneakers
Wholesale Nike Dunks
Nike Dunk High SB
Discount Nike Dunk shoes
Nike Dunk High Shoes
Nike Dunk SB Shoes
Nike Dunk SB
Nike Low shoes
Nike High shoes
Nike Dunk Low Women
Nike Dunk SB Low
Nike Dunks High
Nike Dunk Low
Nike Dunks High Men Shoes
Nike Dunks SB Low Men Shoes
Nike Dunks High SB Men Shoes
Nike Dunks High Women Shoes
Nike Dunks SB Low Women Shoes
Nike Dunk SB High Heels
Nike Dunks High couple shoes
Posted by: Nike Dunks | December 10, 2011 at 01:16 AM