:kige:

Great respect for Nixon for getting both the Russians and the Chinese to the table in a single POTUS term. He and Carter were the Yin and Yang of US ability abroad. Nixon by show of force and Carter by example of good. Oddly, their common ground was "outsiders" to the DC beltway. Neither flourished as they were at odds with the majority outside that inner circle but probably both were more in touch with the actual citizens of the US.

quote:
JC is honestly a true man of faith this I don't deny however, he was a very weak and poor President.

Not sure I fully agree here. Just as an outsider he was weakened by those who were more interested in their own gain. History has written him in a bad slant because he did not yield to many who have made the problem worse in Washington since.

+ Carter (as the military man) advanced the Skunk Works that RR would later claim credit for, and was a key ingredient in getting Russia to give in.

+ Carter is the only US president to secure any real peace in the Middle East with the Camp David accord. Israel and Egypt stopped fighting.

+ Carters energy policy was well ahead of the curve (and cancelled by RR) so think where we would be today with 40 more years of replacing oil with alternative energy. In defense of both Nixon and Carter, the oil shocks they were saddled with and crippled both economies were mostly inherited from oil monopolies heavy handed tactics for at lest 100 years prior.

+ Carter left office and worked for non profits and not personal wealth gain. RR and every president since (both D & R) have used the POTUS as springboard to multi million dollar book deals and speaking engagements.

+ Carter's operation to free the hostages ended in the desert and exposed needed hardware upgrades but at least he had a plan. He did not make the backdoor deal RR did with the Contras in Central America that degraded US policy and respect since.

+ Carter was any early advocate of better health care for all Americans and honest enough to keep the insurance companies honest had it passed.

+ Carter was also the first president to establish the Department of Education.

++ Carter deregulated the beer industry while POTUS allowing home brewing and the rise of local microbreweries. This alone made him tops in my book as POTUS!

- Where I think he was flawed was wanting to pull out of Korea and his attempts to better Africa at a time when aggressive dictators there made little sense. While I think RR could attack at the right time in the 80' election I think the real death dagger came from his own party and those who wanted Kennedy (east coast establishment) than Carter (southern Dixiecrat) for nomination.

- While I put this in the negative category not sure how his deregulation of the Airline industry turned out. When 9/11 hit the airlines were already in deep financial trouble and the US used 9/11 to funnel hundreds of billions directly to the industry to save it while never really letting the US people know it. This would be repeated in banking and caused the collapse in 2008 in that industry. Perhaps if regulation was still in place this "too big to fail" and bailout mentality would have been held in check.

While most have great admiration for RR - and my cousin worked high up in his administration - he was more a "face" that was manipulated by the real power behind the throne. Much of what will destroy this country was sown in the seeds of the administration of RR. Both Nixon and Carter were smart enough to not let the genie out of the bottle of empowering the rise of the corporations no longer loyal to the USA if it meant cheaper labor in China.

As a Navy man you should be aware that nuclear sub operators are pretty smart cats and not your run of the mill guys living on their looks like RR.