News

Opinion | Jimmy Carter’s Presidency Was Not What You Think


He decided to use his power righteously, ignore politics and do the right thing. In fact, he’s a fan of the organization’s most beloved Protestant theologian, Reinhold Niebuhr, who wrote, “The sad task of politics is to establish justice in a sinful world. .” Mr. Carter was a Southern Baptist of the Niebuhrian, a single church, a true pagan. He “thinks politics is sinful,” said his vice president, Walter Mondale. “The worst thing you can say to Carter if you want him to do something is that it’s the best thing to do politically.” Mr. Carter often rejects astute advice from his wife, Rosalynn, and others about postponing politically costly initiatives, such as the Panama Canal treaties, to his second term. grandfather.

His presidency is simply remembered as a failure, but it was far more consequential than most people recall. He introduced the Camp David peace accord between Egypt and Israel, the SALT II arms control agreement, normalization of diplomatic and trade relations with China, and immigration reform. He made the principle of human rights a cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy, sowing the seeds for the denuclearization of the Cold War in Eastern Europe and Russia.

He deregulated the airline industry, paving the way for middle-class Americans to fly in large numbers for the first time, and he regulated natural gas, laying the groundwork for our current energy independence. He worked to claim seat belts or airbags, which would go on to save 9,000 American lives each year. He was the initiator of national investment in solar energy research and was one of the first presidents to warn us about the dangers of climate change. He passed the Alaska Lands Act, tripling the area of ​​the nation’s protected wilderness areas. His deregulation of the home brewing industry opened the door to America’s burgeoning microbrewery industry. He appointed more African-Americans, Hispanics, and women to the federal bench, greatly increasing their numbers.

But some of his controversial decisions, at home and abroad, are also consequential. He has taken Egypt out of the battlefield for Israel, but he has always insisted that Israel also has an obligation to suspend the construction of new settlements in the West Bank and allow the Palestinians some measure of autonomy. For decades, he argued that the settlements had become a barrier to a two-state solution and a peaceful resolution of the conflict. He is not afraid to warn people that Israel is on the wrong track on the path to a apartheid regime. Sadly, some critics have imprudently concluded that he is anti-Israel or worse.

After the Iranian revolution, Mr. Carter rightly opposed for months the lobbying by Henry Kissinger, David Rockefeller and his own national security adviser, Zbigniew Brzezinski, to have the king deposed. political asylum. Mr. Carter feared that doing so would stoke Iranian passions and jeopardize our embassy in Tehran. He was right. Just a few days after he reluctantly joined and the monarch was hospitalized in New York, our embassy was seized. The 444-day hostage crisis has severely damaged his presidency.

news7f

News7F: Update the world's latest breaking news online of the day, breaking news, politics, society today, international mainstream news .Updated news 24/7: Entertainment, Sports...at the World everyday world. Hot news, images, video clips that are updated quickly and reliably

Related Articles

Back to top button