I've always liked Jimmy Carter. Maybe at first it was because I'm a sucker for underdogs and Carter is the ultimate underdog of American President. But the more I learned about the man and his work the more I felt he was seriously under-appreciated. The dude is universally dismissed and discredited for his accomplishments during his time in office. Sometimes when I get tired of defending Obama I take a break and start defending Carter instead; it's a nice hobby.
This doc. does an awesome job of summarizing his time in office, and detailing all the good things he did while there.
What I learned: It was a basic overview of Jimmy's political career, from his rise to Governor in Georgia to his run for President in 1976. Before entering politics he was a simple peanut farmer.
He came into office at a very difficult time for America. The Watergate affair had severed people's trust in their government, Viet Nam was still fresh in everyone's minds, and the economy was facing the worst inflation it had seen in decades. Not a good time to be taking over.
Carter rocked it. In his 4 years he developed a peace accord between Israel and Palestine, transferred control of the Panama Canal to Panama, reduced the defense budget by 6 billion dollars, and installed solar panels on the White House roof.
But it wasn't enough- the sagging economy and a quickly devolving relationship with Iran killed Carter's reelection chances, and he lost in a landslide to Reagan in 1980.
The film also documents his work after leaving the White House. He founded the Carter Center; a non-partisan center of diplomacy where international issues could be presented to international diplomats and discussed in hopes of creating a peaceful solution. He became heavily involved in Habitat for Humanity, building homes for the needy all around the world. And, for his continued work on bringing peace to the Middle East, he received a Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.
What I liked: I liked the whole thing. What I especially enjoyed were the direct interviews with Rosalynn Carter, Walter Mondale, and Carter's staff. It was great hearing from them what Carter was like behind doors, especially during times of crisis (like the Iran Hostage situation). He seemed to keep his cool well under pressure, and took the problems of his country to heart deeply.
What I didn't like: No problems with the documentary, but major problems with American society. After Nixon's major abuses of power, Americans demanded a Washington outsider take over. They claimed they needed a leader that wouldn't bow to the bureaucratic demands that most politicians do. Well, that's exactly what they got: Carter and his staff were young upstarts who refused to listen to the wise old traditionalists that filled Congress. They burned some bridges with their rough directness, but they thought they had the American people on their side. When inflation rose and gas station lines increased, the public turned their backs on the President. Carter's approval ratings dipped lower than Nixon's at the height of Watergate. America was more angry at a man working to save the country then they were at a man who tried to destroy the 2-party democratic system.
I hope Carter will be remembered in a better light than he was during his presidency. He was telling hard truths that the American people just weren't ready to hear. Someday we will though.
Check out his most famous speech, "The Crisis of Confidence", (AKA The "malaise" speech) given in 1979:
The 2 hour documentary can be viewed here via PBS:
Jimmy Carter
No comments:
Post a Comment