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CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – As Jimmy Carter is remembered this week, it’s important to acknowledge that it’s possible to be a good man and a horrible president. Carter was both.
I admire that Carter lived out his faith with his annual building projects for Habitat for Humanity. Housing the homeless remains an unsolved challenge today. That Carter made this issue visible is admirable.
But as president, tiny, insignificant nations pushed the United States around. I remember the gas lines as a kid, and you could only pull into line based on whether you had an odd or an even-numbered license plate. An hour later, you’d hope the gas station hadn’t run out when it was your turn. For a time, gas purchases were limited to no more than 8 gallons.
Under Carter, a rag-tag group of Iranian protesters ransacked the United States embassy and held our diplomats and marines hostage for 444 days. It was a failure of both American military strength and diplomacy.
If you are a homeowner today, ask yourself if you’d have been able to purchase the dwelling you live in during Carter’s presidency. Mortgage rates rose to 16% under Carter; inflation averaged 10% during his four years in office. Considering workers’ reduced buying power and the high cost of borrow money, homeownership at today’s levels would have been impossible.
The rehabilitation of Jimmy Carter’s legacy is already underway in the mainstream media. We are told that he inherited a weakened economy from Nixon and Ford. Even if true, presidents are judged based on whether they make problems better, not worse. Surely Joe Biden’s time in office will undergo a similar spin just a few weeks from now.
Jimmy Carter was a good, moral man. For many of us, if that can be inscribed on our tombstones it would be a life well lived. The best that can be said about his presidency is that he cleared a path for Ronald Reagan.
Chris Conley
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