Who is America's worst ex-President?

A good question I think. And I am quite persuaded by Joshua Muravchik who chooses his candidate in an article for Commentary.

His choice is James Earl Carter.

The material in Muravchik's article about the deficiencies of Carter as a president are clearly beside the point in considering his record since he left office. And let's leave aside his recently expressed opinions on Israel, too, since you may take a different view to mine.

Instead, I want you to read Muravchik's account of Carter's performance during the first Gulf War and, even more striking, his story of Carter's North Korean intervention.

I think the case is made. Carter it is. Or do you have someone better to propose?

Comments

[M. Fernandez, San Francisco, California]

Amen!

[Neil Clark]

Yeh, right, Daniel.
Far better to have a President who illegally attacks other sovereign states on ficticious grounds grounds (Clinton and Bush jnr), or who gives the green light for 'allies' to commit genocide (Ford) or who gives his backing to death squads in central America (Reagan), than a President who worked earnestly, and impartially, for peace not just in the Middle East, but throughout the world.
Carter was easily the best American President since the war, with George Bush jnr easily the worst. Just count the dead bodies.

[Gary Pederson]

This entire article is a polemic set up to heap scorn on the man who dared call a spade a spade by saying that, "partition of Palestine, which took place in 1947, and the establishment of Israel are fundamentally invalid. . . . The Palestinian Arab people..."

The only reason that 'Israel' exists today is that the propoganda arm of the American Jewish lobby walked into the office of the President of the United States and told him that if he did not go to the fledgling United Nations and demand that Israel be formally recognized as a nation, his party would never again receive a penny from the American jewish community. He acquiesed.

Since then, the American government has provided billions of dollars annually to prop up the Israeli economy and their lobbiests regularly appear in congressional offices with the same message whenever an issue affecting Israel arises.

The jewish lobby provides, by far,the largest number of paid for congressional 'fact finding' junkets. These are nothing more nor less than propoganda exercises.

As to their constant whining about the terrorist activities of the Palestinians, they have caused the rest of the world to forget that, in the lead up to the UN's discraceful decision to recognize Israel as a nation, the Founders of the state launched the most brutal, bloody campaign of terrorism the world had ever seen.

They drove the British out of Palestine and drove millions of legitimate Palestinian citizens into decades of misery living in massive desert refugee camps. In other words, they taught the arab nations everything they know about using terrorism as a means of gaining territorial domination.

Unfortunately for the Arabs, they did not learn how to use their massed efforts to enforce their will, as did the hebrews.

The world community, particularly the bought and paid for American politicians, should put on their hob nailed boots and force Israel to get out of Gaza and negotiate a homeland for the Palestinians in return for the one that they stole from them.

On this issue, Jimmy Carter is 100% correct.

[adolfo talpalar]

Now way, Carter was the most, far beyond GW Bush. This very bad former president is still doing his best for the worse.
Adolfo E. Talpalar, Stockholm, Sweden.

[Eugene Cappuccio]

Carter is not the worst, he is the worstest, the very worstest, the worstissimus of the living and the dead.

[Eugene Cappuccio]

Carter was so worst that he is considered even the worst of all to come.

[russel gibaut]

He is not yet an ex sadly but the current incompetent, delusional, hypocritical half-wit will be very tough to beat.

[MCDofUSA]

Carter is a wolf in sheeps' clothing. The first time I was eligible to vote was 1980, and even though I was a kid, I had enough brains to vote for Reagan. This man is a dangerous lunatic who can't seem to stop. I only hope his wife dies before him, so she won't have to witness the lack of reverence our Nation shows him when his time comes. If I seem harsh, it's only because he is still screwing over the US today. Can former Presidents be impeached?

[Tucker]

The worst American President would be:

1. - Herbert Hoover

2. - Jimmy Carter

3. - George Bush ( The current President)

Hoover allowed the country go to the dogs, while we had the worst depression, along with the banks failing. He did nothing to help his nation, or the people. People lost eveything, while that wealthy fool sat in the Whitehouse looking out the window. Our grandparents & parents hated Hoover.

Jimmy Carter was a weak man who couldn't lead an army of ants. The Iranians made a fool out of him, by holding our embassy hostage. The Soviets has a massive tank army facing West Berlin & West Germany, which Carter didn't know how to handle, nor stand up to. Thank God the Soviets never took advantage of his weak leadership, and try to make a move Westward.

Finally, he lead us into a terrible oil shortage. His entire leadership was both whimpy and dangerous. Carter was "weak as water"!

George Bush, we need not get into. Just think how near WWIII he has our world today, and his arrogance.

In closing, as Mrs. Slocum from "Are You Being Served" would say..." I am unanimous in this.

[Sam]

Carter? Only because he questioned the Zionist apartheid regime in Israel.

Anyone with any sense of reality must realise its Dubya

[C-Cuz]

Let me get back to you in one year and eleven months.

[Patrice]

Why, oh why is Britain preoccupied with American Presidents? Whether they were good or bad? Can you list a few bad British Prime Ministers? Maybe Harold Wilson? Or that sailor guy - oh yes! Ted Heath! Who only had time if you were part of the green wellie brigade...Jimmy Carter is a great ambassador for the US - he tried hard, and that's everything.

[Doug Forbes]

My vote for the worst president in US history is still Truman. This is based on the harm and lost opportunities resulting from Truman's failures. I admit that the potential dangers and opportunities were far greater in Truman's time than Carter's. So, I am willing to concede that Carter was a bigger idiot than Truman.

Truman's failures

1. He squandered a 3 year window 1945-1948 when the US had nuclear weapons and no other nation did.

1(a) He let the Soviets annex eastern Europe.

1(b) He lost China to communism.

1(c) He allowed the ethnic cleansing of 16 million central Europeans (14 German, 1.5 Polish, thousands of Hungarians, Romanians, etc.)

2. For some strange reason, Truman blocked passage of the UN Genocide Statute by the US congress.

Carter's failures

1. 7.5% unemployment.

2. 12.5% inflation

3. A shortlived but notable "old-time" underconsumption dip in economic activity as a result of one of Carter's "fireside chats" in which he advised Americans to stop using their credit cards.

4. US apparent impotence during the Iran hostage crisis.

5. His failure to curb brother Billy's associations with Libya.

[Henry]

This critical article on Carter is (surprise, surprise) from someone at the neocon American Enterprise Institute, those clever folks who were so enthusiastic about invading Iraq. Frankly, a period of silence from these people ("it will be a cakewalk")would be in order.

It's just another nasty little attack on Carter after his book on Israel/Palestine which has so upset right wing commentators in the US.

[Ahmed]

Isn't it amazing how this straw poll of who is the worst ex-president comes about when the former US president Carter criticises Israeli policy. It si no coincidence that having made such criticisms there are now voices which suggest that he is the worst ex-president. I am not a believer in conspiracy theories, but how on earth can someone vote him the worst ex-president when he has been so active in so many good causes.

[Kabooby]

Definitely Carter, he was such a fiasco as president (he let communism and communist guerrillas overtake Central America).afterwards he has been the same fiasco. His Carter Center has given many fraud ridden elections in South America his approval label, for example dictator Chavez fraud won referendum in 2004.

[Milton Hirsch]

"And let's leave aside his recently expressed opinions on Israel, too"? Why? If Carter had come out of the closet as virulently anti-Black, anti-Hispanic, anti-Catholic, would you invite us to "leave [that] aside" in assessing his credentials as America's worst ex-president? Carter was a wretched failure as a president, and is a wretched failure as an ex-president; his newly-disclosed Jew-bashing and Israel-bashing simply adds to the calculus of wretchedness.

[Graham Hallett]

Worst and getting worser

[Gustavo]

I think the worst ex president is George Bush. Yes his first term was really bad and in some way he is an ex president.

[Kervin Dunn]

I think of Carter and Clinton, and I think of Dr Johnson's observation that one does not try to establish an order of precedence bertween a flea and a louse.

[Gary Mangham]

Dan

What's with the obsession with American politics all of a sudden? Isn't there enough politics to cover at home?

[JayPe]

I must condemn his ridiculous assertions on Israel. Very sad to see him do that to America's closest ally.

Is he the worst president though? It's hard to top the effort made so far by the current President, who has:
- Won a disputed election (2000)
- wasted enormous amounts of international goodwill after 9/11
- adopted "divide and rule" by creating a very partisan USA political scene
- perfected the art of winning by demonising opponents, which is unfortuantely now the norm owing to its success
- spent big, while cutting taxes, causing a long term economic issue (the next govt will have to raise taxes, try and bring the deficit under control, value of the US$ will decline)
- provided a very poor response to the Hurricane Katrina emergency, causing needless suffering
- been very bad for the environment, by disputing global warming and abandoning Kyoto, etc (which no doubt pleased his oil friends)
- started a war on false pretences, with no plan on how to solve the peace.

Thats quite a list, and doubtless its not exhaustive. Unlike Carter, he still has two years to turn it around. I'm not very hopeful though.

Bush 43 and Carter will both go down as poor presidents. But I think Bush's aggressive brand of incompetence will be regarded as worse than Carters.

[deetroit]

Wait two years, my friend, and then ask again.

[Adam Miller]

Dear Daniel,
Is it a coincidence that character assassinations on President Carter have randomly started after his recent book critical of Israel?
Adam

[Anne N Chicago]

Couldn't agree more!! Let's never forget those awful years of high inflation, 21% interest rates, long lines at the gas station, his inept handling of the Afghanistan war with Russia and, of course, the hostages in Iran.

[John Hynde]

How typical, one day after the so-called BBC bias against Israel, now character assassination of Jimmy Carter, no doubt again because of Israel. Which makes one wonder, why on earth does a British newspaper finds it so important what ex-presidents or the BBC think about a foreign nation ? Who runs this paper and why is this so-called "editor" allow to fill its pages ? Is this paper based in Jerusalem ? Why isn't the BBC judged, or Carter for that matter, about what they think of India for example ? Maybe we need an Indian "editor" for that or we may ask Murdoch to get the hell out of Britain and stick start running Israel newspapers rather than so-called British ones serving as Israel's propaganda machine

[Jeff Larsen]

The worst US President of all? What about Ronald "Deficits don't matter " Reagan or "I don't recall" selling arms to Iran only a few years after the hostage incident at the same time the US was supplying arms to Iraq whom Iran was fighting?

Further back "I am (not) a crook" Nixon?

Of course neither criticised Israel like Jimmy!

[Sean]

Muravchik never would have written that hit job if Carter hadn't written his book on Israel. Simple as that.

[Michael Remler]

He beat Harding in the race to the bottom but I must admit that Buchanann, who did nothing while the country slid toward Civil War, has retired the cup for last.

[Kervin Dunn]

If Jeff Larsen hates Ronald Reagan so much, perhaps he'd rather have 30,000 Soviet nuclear missiles pointing at him?

[Mary Shelley]

Well, Daniel you missed by two. I would say Richard Nixon, who resigned in disgrace, was the worst president of the twentieth century. Bush II comes in as 20 (21st?)c. second worse. Carter might be the worst as far as Israel is concerned--Muravchik is probably angered because Carter has been speaking out about Palestinian rights--but not so far as *America* is concerned. (I think there's still a difference!)

The 'winner' in the White House Hall of Shame--by far!--was James Buchanan who basically abdicated WHILE he was president 'leading' the young republic---right into a terrible civil war, the greatest war of the nineteenth century with over 3 million men under arms. After that I would place the thoughtful James Madison, who presided--well, he didn't really preside, he hightailed it out of town--over the burning of the capital by the British and the loss of a very foolish war he himself instigated (sound familiar?).

Here is the article in "The New America" that examines just that point. Carter doesn't even make it to the rankings of bad presidents.

"It’s unfair to claim that George W. Bush is the worst president of all time. He’s merely the fifth worst. In the White House Hall of Shame, Bush comes behind four other Oval Officers whose policies were even more disastrous: James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, Richard M. Nixon and James Madison."

http://www.newamerica.net/publications/articles/2006/hes_only_fifth_worst_4461

[Heroko]

It is gratifying to see that, the majority of contributors understand the diabolical intentions behind this silly question. The question is meant to soil the very distinguished character of a very fine human being, but alas, how they have failed. What about the conpetency of Sharon? Can we evaluate him? Or is this evaluation limited to people who dare to write a fair and eloquent book about Israel?

Heroko.

[Deborah MacDonald]

Without a doubt Jimmy Carter is the absolute worst. He was totally incompetent as president and as an ex-president he seems unable to comprehend how awful he was when in office by continuing to shoot his mouth off in public. He is hardly in a position to tell another president how to govern when he was so inept. How anyone can have any admiration for this man is beyond me.
Johnson deserves a mention also for the Vietnam fiasco and opening up that can of worms known as welfare.

[Roger Rickards]

You are wrong Kevin Dunn. Pope John Paul II ended the cold war not Ronald Wilson Reagan.

[C-Cuz]

Bravo, Daniel. You've done it once again. Exposing the massive division in the public's political beliefs, even when it comes to a former President. Perhaps you could use another "unbiased" article to start a post. Maybe something from The Nation.
By the way, most of you dimwits are missing the point of the article. Who was the worst EX-PRESIDENT, not who was the worst IN OFFICE. Jimmy-boy has been a bit too busy in his spare time, that's for sure. After his term he should have stuck to charities and the lecture circuit, like all the others. Being a liberal dirtbag, like myself, doesn't mean you have to ignore his gaffs. Pick up the hammer, Jimmy, and get back to what you know best.

[David]

James Buchanan oversaw the split in the country and did nothing. I think he wins by a considerable margin!

[Literate]

Aside from identifying the "worstest" president, the comments above disclose a stupidity and glaring inability to understand simple detail that maybe, just maybe, undermines the veracity of and credence to be lent their arguments.

The article, and question, relates to America's worst ex-President. Consideration is being given to the conduct of former presidents, on the occasion of having vacated office. Basic literacy assists us in grasping this fundamental distinction. As Finklestein observes, "The material in Muravchik's article about the deficiencies of Carter as a president are clearly beside the point in considering his record since he left office." As far as I'm aware, George W still bumbles around the Oval Office. This isn't difficult. Try elementary reading before attemtping caustic polemics.

[Sharon A. Brenner]

Carter is definitely the worst ex-president. When you consider what 12.5% inflation did to homeowners & businesses. Not only did he ineptly handle the hostage crisis, he arm-twisted Iran into taking back the Ayatollah Khomeini, who founded modern terrorism! Moving into more current events we have his abetting the North Koreans in getting nuclear arms. The man is a fool & must suffer from early-onset Alzheimer's. In regards to North Korea, Clinton should be tried for treason for giving them nuclear energy without any policing!

[George Ziemann]

If it had been "Who was the most ineffectual US president while in office?", Carter may have been a worthy nominee.

But to name him the worst president requires almost complete ignorance of U.S. history. For one thing, we've impeached three. Carter wasn't one of them. Bush still has a chance to become number four.

[Tom Hodge]

No votes for FDR, the Socialist who gave America "teminal cancer" in the form of Social Security?

[Dario]

What a joke- how convenient Carter questions Isrealo activity and Mr Finklestein nominates him worst ex-president.

[Jive Dadson]

The current president is the top contender for worst president ever. The violence he has done to lives, fortune, and civil liberties is long and depressing. If he is disqualified for reason of still being in office, the race is close, but Carter, for all his faults, is not a contender.

The presidents just prior to Lincoln who might have averted the civil war but did not have the strongest claim. James Buchanan leads that pack. Before him there was Franklin Pierce, who died of alcohol abuse.

For corruption under his watch, it is hard to top (bottom?) Warren G Harding, who is said to have freely admitted he was not up to the job and should never have been elected.

L.B. Johnson gets low marks for the Viet Nam disgrace, but he inherited it from Kennedy, and Johnson had the decency not to seek re-election.

My vote goes to Buchanan.

- from California, originally Texas

[Jeff Larsen]

For the person who thinks I hate Reagan

You still have thousands of nuclear missiles pointed at you, Chinese now as well as Russian!

The question was who is the worst US Ex President . I can only speak for those since Eisenhower and it seems that Americans don't mind liars if they have "victories". The victory attributed to Reagan, "winning" the Cold War belongs elsewhere and his duplicity (or senility) will be commented on in the future. Nixon lost so he has no supporters.

Eisenhower - allowed the build up of the military/industrial complex
Kennedy - likewise Bay of Pigs offset by Cuban crisis
LBJ - Expanded the Vietmam fighting when he had a chance to get out
Nixon - Covered or "caught in the act?"
Ford - Never had enough time so is "average". A good caretaker
Carter - Someone else has covered
Reagan - see above
Bush 1 - Probably one of the better or less controversial Presidents. Only thing he did wrong was to increase taxes and that was necessary
Clinton had funny ideas about cigars but the US did very well during his tenure
Bush 2 - I predict will take the crown even if he does not write a book criticising Israel!

[S.K. Ham]

Nobel Prise winnier Jimmy Carter is not the worst US President ever. While he was far from best he certainly is not the worst either. President James Buchanan #14 is generally considered by American Historians as the worst former President. He was in office at the start of the US Civil War. Leading up to that war were some other very poor prsidents. Among them are Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore, and Franklin Pierce. In the 20th Century Warren Harding is considered one of the poorest.

Since his term is not over until January 20, 2009 and he is thus not yet a past president we do not include George W. Bush in the pantheon of poor presidents.

Many Americans including learned historical scholars believe if things continue as they have for Mr.Bush that he will go down as even worse than Mr. Buchanan and be the very worst the USA has had.

As for Mr. Carter, he did broker peace between Israel and Egypt as well as other international deals. One that did not work out, I doubt it would for anyone else either, was with Iran and the ouster of the Shah in favour of religious zealots. So please do not sell Jimmy Carter short there were some worse than him.

[Robert Meyer]

For the life of me I can only chuckle at the simplistic and untruthful criticisms for Shrub being the worst American president.
- Won a disputed election (2000)(every objective inquiry into the election, yes even by the NYTimes, has proven this a non-issue)
- wasted enormous amounts of international goodwill after 9/11 (what has goodwill ever done for us?)
- adopted "divide and rule" by creating a very partisan USA political scene (Are you saying that Bush haters (Democrats) aren't partisan and that J. Carter isn't partisan in constantly bashing the president?)
- perfected the art of winning by demonising (sp) opponents, which is unfortuantely (sp) now the norm owing to its success (You call this winning?)
- spent big, while cutting taxes, causing a long term economic issue (the next govt will have to raise taxes, try and bring the deficit under control, value of the US$ will decline)(Do you ever read the Economist?)
- provided a very poor response to the Hurricane Katrina emergency, causing needless suffering (Bush ordered the school buses to be parked and not used? Bush hasn't authorized billions of dollars for relief?)
- been very bad for the environment, by disputing global warming and abandoning Kyoto, etc (which no doubt pleased his oil friends)(As I remember it was Bill Clinton who refused to sign the Kyoto Protocol)
- started a war on false pretences, with no plan on how to solve the peace. (Did Sadam use "false pretences"?. Did President Carter go to North Korea under "false pretences"?. Did the 9-11 hijackers labor under "false pretences"?
These silly arguments point out the lack of serious thought available to most critics of the last two American presidents. Partisan party hacks and their endless talking points have effectively ended any chance for serious discussion in the U.S. these days.
BTW, I'd give Rutherford B. Hayes my vote for worst president.

[Michel Moore]

I think any sober long-term analysis will acknowledge that Jimmy Carter's performance as an ex-president roughly echoes that of his tenure in the White House. His ill-advised intrusion into the Korean nuclear imbroglio,for example, no matter how well-intended ,certainly has not made the world any safer and his selective focus on other crucial issues seems to be an otherwordly brew of naivete, cynicism and near- messianic smugness. With an unenviable track record of destruction during his presidency: 1. increased arms shipments to Indonesia to coincide with the peak years of east timorese population annihilation, 2. facillitating the ascension of Khomeini in Iran and correspondingly, the initiation of the Iran-Iraq war which resulted in over one million lost lives and arguably shaped many of the contours of the unfortunate current situation in that region. His administration had also been accused of tacitly supporting the Pol Pot regime as a counterweight to a Soviet/Vietnamese regional presence. Far from idealistic, both periods reveal a pattern of realpolitik accomodation starkly at odds with the image he constantly attempts to portray. Imagine the temerity of the man to return to East Timor without acknowledging complicity in the destruction of a significant portion of their populace. It doesn't seem incongruous for this same person to state that his recent book was designed to encourage debate and then decline an opportunty to do so. I think he's a little out of his depth and should have possibly followed Gerald Ford onto a local fairway or restricted his activities to unimpeachable notions like Habitat for Humanity. It might be a bit safer for the rest of humanity if he chose to do so.

[Gabriel]

"Hoover allowed the country go to the dogs, while we had the worst depression, along with the banks failing. He did nothing to help his nation, or the people. People lost eveything, while that wealthy fool sat in the Whitehouse looking out the window. Our grandparents & parents hated Hoover."

Apparently because you were all brainwashed by public education. Hoover was the most interventionist president in American History until, well, the next one (I mean, really, the HOOVER DAM anyone! It's right there for you to see, are you under the impression that it was built osmotically or something?). Hoover's policies didn't help anyone, but, then, if you actually briefly peruse the figures, nor did Roosevelt's.

[Firozali A.Mulla MBA PhD]

Daniel
You are very naughty. You give the picture of the worst president then you ask? I don’t fall for this. This is called Hypnotic effect or Magic with the eyes. No I do not believe in this nor numerology nor astrology.
My ex worst president is Clinton.
Shocked?
Let me explain.
He created a massive empire for the American. Why?
He had the Monica affairs but he is left out of the entire Playboy magazine. Why?
He is bringing Hillary to the office of the president. Why?
See the motto is Hillary will come and cover all of the dirty presidents’ history. She will call present Bush names no one has ever heard. In fact Bush is so unpopular so Hillary brought by Clinton the dirty president who always smiles with charisma will plug all the leakages s of Cheney and company and scooter may ride away in the Plane to Iraq.
Apparently you are worried about the presidents. Who is the worst reporter and the bloger of this paper? You of course always smiling and cutting the throats of all. Thank you.
Don’t feel bad if it hurts. It was coming to you. Like Clinton smiling and chopping the humans in slices.

I thank you.

Firozali A. Mulla MBA PhD
P.O.Box 6044
Dar-Es-Salaam
Tanzania