I was too young . . . my favorite early Prez was Reagan . . . until I learned to read. My understanding of Carter is that he was not a particularly good administrator (which a President should be) and the Democratic Congress wanted to rule after tolerating years of Nixon and Ford. I do not know enough to say Carter's policies were particularly inept . . . just that he lacked an ability to motivate the people (another worthwhile presidential trait).
During the energy crisis, Carter proposed shared sacrifice which did not go over well . . . despite the fact the best way to deal with foreign energy dependence is to use less and use what you must more efficiently. Carter also proposed basic national healthcare which was opposed by Liberals that wanted a more generous plan and various special interests that did not want to yield money or power (AMA, health insurance, drug companies) . . . not to mention commiephobes. By definition, Carter was a moderate pol with progressive ideas on healthcare and the environment.
Carter inherited bad foreign policy (although he did not correct it) in Indonesia, Iran, and Israel which culminated in a populist overthrow of the Shah and oil embargo which devastated our country's moral and economy. But since you have so much knowledge on the geopolitical and economic issues of the 70s . . . how about you explain how Carter policies and NOT the residual effects of the embargo or American business practice/consumer behavior.
Contrary to the limited think of the right, it is likely Volcker's actions at the Fed NOT Reagan that facilitated the abatement of inflation.
What America looked like before Carter took office
Yet back before the days of OPEC, the great oil companies often retained 65% or more of the revenue from a product that was produced on someone else's property.
President Nixon, as part of his ill-fated price control program, had slapped controls on oil in March 1973. The U.S., which had been self-sufficient in energy as recently as 1950, was now importing some 35% of its energy needs. U.S. petroleum reserves were nearly gone. Governments, corporations and individuals were entirely unprepared for what would happen next.
The embargo in the U.S. came at a time when 85% of American workers drove to their places of employment each day. Suddenly, President Nixon had to set the nation on a course of voluntary rationing. He called upon homeowners to turn down their thermostats and for companies to trim work hours. Gas stations were asked to hold their sales to a max of ten gallons per customer.
In the month of November 1973, Nixon proposed an extension of Daylight Savings Time and a total ban on the sale of gasoline on Sunday's. [Both were later approved by Congress.] But the biggest legislative initiative was the approval by Congress on November 13 of a Trans-Alaskan oil pipeline, designed to supply 2,000,000 barrels of oil a day.
A severe recession hit much of the Western world, including the U.S., and as gasoline lines snaked their way around city blocks and tempers flared (the price at the pump had risen from 30 cents a gallon to about $1.20 at the height of the crisis), conspiracy theories abounded.
Grolier on Carter
On assuming office in 1977, President Carter inherited an economy that was slowly emerging from a recession. He had severely criticized former President Ford for his failures to control inflation and relieve unemployment, but after four years of the Carter presidency, both inflation and unemployment were considerably worse than at the time of his inauguration. The annual inflation rate rose from 4.8% in 1976 to 6.8% in 1977, 9% in 1978, 11% in 1979, and hovered around 12% at the time of the 1980 election campaign. Although Carter had pledged to eliminate federal deficits, the deficit for the fiscal year 1979 totaled $27.7 billion, and that for 1980 was nearly $59 billion. With approximately 8 million people out of work, the unemployment rate had leveled off to a nationwide average of about 7.7% by the time of the election campaign, but it was considerably higher in some industrial states.
Carter also faced a drastic erosion of the value of the U.S. dollar in the international money markets, and many analysts blamed the decline on a large and persistent trade deficit, much of it a result of U.S. dependence on foreign oil. The president warned that Americans were wasting too much energy, that domestic supplies of oil and natural gas were running out, and that foreign supplies of petroleum were subject to embargoes by the producing nations, principally by members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). In mid-1979, in the wake of widespread shortages of gasoline, Carter advanced a long-term program designed to solve the energy problem. He proposed a limit on imported oil, gradual price decontrol on domestically produced oil, a stringent program of conservation, and development of alternative sources of energy such as solar, nuclear, and geothermal power, oil and gas from shale and coal, and synthetic fuels. In what was probably his most significant domestic legislative accomplishment, he was able to get a significant portion of his energy program through Congress.
During the energy crisis, Carter proposed shared sacrifice which did not go over well . . . despite the fact the best way to deal with foreign energy dependence is to use less and use what you must more efficiently. Carter also proposed basic national healthcare which was opposed by Liberals that wanted a more generous plan and various special interests that did not want to yield money or power (AMA, health insurance, drug companies) . . . not to mention commiephobes. By definition, Carter was a moderate pol with progressive ideas on healthcare and the environment.
Carter inherited bad foreign policy (although he did not correct it) in Indonesia, Iran, and Israel which culminated in a populist overthrow of the Shah and oil embargo which devastated our country's moral and economy. But since you have so much knowledge on the geopolitical and economic issues of the 70s . . . how about you explain how Carter policies and NOT the residual effects of the embargo or American business practice/consumer behavior.
Contrary to the limited think of the right, it is likely Volcker's actions at the Fed NOT Reagan that facilitated the abatement of inflation.
What America looked like before Carter took office
Yet back before the days of OPEC, the great oil companies often retained 65% or more of the revenue from a product that was produced on someone else's property.
President Nixon, as part of his ill-fated price control program, had slapped controls on oil in March 1973. The U.S., which had been self-sufficient in energy as recently as 1950, was now importing some 35% of its energy needs. U.S. petroleum reserves were nearly gone. Governments, corporations and individuals were entirely unprepared for what would happen next.
The embargo in the U.S. came at a time when 85% of American workers drove to their places of employment each day. Suddenly, President Nixon had to set the nation on a course of voluntary rationing. He called upon homeowners to turn down their thermostats and for companies to trim work hours. Gas stations were asked to hold their sales to a max of ten gallons per customer.
In the month of November 1973, Nixon proposed an extension of Daylight Savings Time and a total ban on the sale of gasoline on Sunday's. [Both were later approved by Congress.] But the biggest legislative initiative was the approval by Congress on November 13 of a Trans-Alaskan oil pipeline, designed to supply 2,000,000 barrels of oil a day.
A severe recession hit much of the Western world, including the U.S., and as gasoline lines snaked their way around city blocks and tempers flared (the price at the pump had risen from 30 cents a gallon to about $1.20 at the height of the crisis), conspiracy theories abounded.
Grolier on Carter
On assuming office in 1977, President Carter inherited an economy that was slowly emerging from a recession. He had severely criticized former President Ford for his failures to control inflation and relieve unemployment, but after four years of the Carter presidency, both inflation and unemployment were considerably worse than at the time of his inauguration. The annual inflation rate rose from 4.8% in 1976 to 6.8% in 1977, 9% in 1978, 11% in 1979, and hovered around 12% at the time of the 1980 election campaign. Although Carter had pledged to eliminate federal deficits, the deficit for the fiscal year 1979 totaled $27.7 billion, and that for 1980 was nearly $59 billion. With approximately 8 million people out of work, the unemployment rate had leveled off to a nationwide average of about 7.7% by the time of the election campaign, but it was considerably higher in some industrial states.
Carter also faced a drastic erosion of the value of the U.S. dollar in the international money markets, and many analysts blamed the decline on a large and persistent trade deficit, much of it a result of U.S. dependence on foreign oil. The president warned that Americans were wasting too much energy, that domestic supplies of oil and natural gas were running out, and that foreign supplies of petroleum were subject to embargoes by the producing nations, principally by members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). In mid-1979, in the wake of widespread shortages of gasoline, Carter advanced a long-term program designed to solve the energy problem. He proposed a limit on imported oil, gradual price decontrol on domestically produced oil, a stringent program of conservation, and development of alternative sources of energy such as solar, nuclear, and geothermal power, oil and gas from shale and coal, and synthetic fuels. In what was probably his most significant domestic legislative accomplishment, he was able to get a significant portion of his energy program through Congress.
). There is no "clouding", Intel showed they had them, no proof shows they were destroyed - end of story. Sure, some intelligence reports turned out to be wrong, but "intelligence" is always a calculated risk. Infact, I'm glad our intelligence was wrong about the strength and willingness of the Republican guard to fight(err on the side of caution). I'm not necessarily using Clinton-era intelligence to justify this attack - the Clinton stuff is to show that he used the same argument(wmd) to attack Iraq, and that the intelligence he used was gleaned from the same agencies Bush used today.
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