I read Meade's piece, thinking that the parallel might prove interesting, but the article failed the promise of its premise.

And I think by now it can be recognized that, whatever the failings of the Carter administration, one thing the President owes no one is an apology for anything he did.

If anyone cites failings of the Carter administration's foreign policy, it's because the President didn't go far enough in some area of the commentator feels strongly about.

The answer to that is, of course, for the commentator to earn the office himself.

1) more than a MILLION dead Afghanis as a result of covertly starting a war there.
2)The American Service People who have died or been injured as they continue to do so in Afghanistan trying to clean up the mess Carter made.
3)The American Service People who have died and injured as a direct result of his withdrawing support for the Shah that has so destabalized the Middle East and drawn the US into 2 wars... so far.
4) to the Democratic party for dragging them so far down

The only accomplishment of J. Carter has been to mitigate the disaster of George W. Jimmy Carter WORST PRESIDENT EVER!!!!!!!

In my opinion, the article provides a simple overview: President Obama is like Carter, however, he will not fail as Carter did. Since, FDR, every domestc or foreign policy that we re-implement will fail. We will re-live the same failures with President Obama, however, it will be much greater than President Carter's own legacy. Don't worry President Carter. You may want to distant yourself from Pres. Obama, however, both of you will share lame duck presidencies with a failed domestic policy that hasn't worked in 60 years.

First we get a silly comparison to an amusement park killer whale being a National Security threat, and now quoting a complete idiot like Sean Hannity from FOX makes me regret renewing my subscription to FP.

There is one thing and one thing only that will keep Obama's profile from being sculptured onto Mount Rushmore as one of the greatest global leaders...the color of his skin. To quote a line from A Few Good Men, idiots like Sean Hannity just "can't handle the truth"! He still believes that the one person who has single handily reversed the women’s movement back a few decades – Sarah Palin is the answer!

I applaud Mr. Carter for having the courage to defend his record and comparison to any other leader, past or present is completely unnecessary.

RK

Carter is a straight up guy. While his time in office was difficult and not entirely successful, the American people always knew his heart was in the right place. We could only hope that the rest of our politicians are as honest as he is. Carter is a graduate of the Rickover school, and it shows.

Jimmy Carter is in my opinion the worst president ever. Just under him is George Bush and maybe Obama.

I wish we could get a true businessman in the whitehouse. Trump for president

Fred C
http://www.cartransportquotes.com

I doubt if there is any one individual who has as much influence on my life as former President Carter.

I voted for Carter -- not necessarily on a "Hope and Change" platform, per se, but on those very same principles. Viet Nam, the Watergate scandal, the resignation of both Nixon and Agnew, and Gerald Ford's pardon of Mr. Nixon left a nation eager for Change. We saw that potential, along with Hope for the future in candidate Jimmy Carter.

In the years that followed America seemed to disintegrate. The Soviets were expanding their influence (and aggression) all over the world, while the US appeared helpless to stop them. Carter was backing despots friendly to the US, reminiscent of the Nixon years. That included a very unpopular Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

So many of Carter's mistakes came from gutting both military and intelligence, while rationalizing, very much like President Obama has done, that negotation among nations would resolve our differences. It was that delusional thinking that had Carter negotiating a peace treaty between Israel and Egypt, while the OPEC states were engaging in a de facto oil boycott of the west. Americans were once again waiting in lines, often blocks long, just to buy gas, if there was any to be sold at all.

Inflation was beyond anything we had ever experienced as Americans and taxes were at all time highs. My 1980 promotion to Director of Account Management came with a lofty 20 percent raise. But with a 12 percent inflation rate and a tax bite that ate up more than half of that raise, I truly wondered if working hard was even worth the effort.

When Americans were taken hostage by the Iranian government, Carter seemed paralyzed. He wanted to 'negotiate' with the Iranians. They played him like a fool. Carter obliged. Even SNL made Cater their poster child. Desperately in need of a rescue, Carter was told by mission commander, the legendary Col. Charlie Beckwith, that after years of neglect the military was in no position to succeed. Carter ordered the rescue anyway, and the disaster that followed is, of course, a stain on our history.

While Richard Nixon was embarrassing, this was the first time that I was actually ashamed to be an American. We joked that if Carter offered himself to Iran in exchange for the hostages, would the Iranians even want him.

It was that fall that this born Liberal-Democrat joined the Regan campaign and for the first time in my life voted Republican. I haven't looked back. I'm staunchly anti-tax having watched how taxation can destroy careers, initiative and growth. Despite being raised in a household where government was considered the savior of the working man, I saw government as the problem, not the cure. At one time, intrigued by the legendary Arabic cultures, I now see the middle east in a far different light. And I consider the world to be very self centered, where America has few friends unless someone in the world wants something from us.

I'm rather sick of hearing the name 'Jimmy Carter' much less his lies and excuses. From my perspective he's a notch or two beneath Richard Nixon vying for the Worst President In History award. And I truly doubt that even in the worst of circumstances, Barak Obama could sink to those depths. While he has made many mistakes, having lived through the misery that was the Carter administration, it's hard to imagine President Obama ever becoming such a pitiful, worthless fool.

Jack Heismann