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I never said I blamed the 70s economy on Carter. That would just be silly. Nah, he was just an epic failure at the president’s only real job : cheerleader. The president is supposed to give everybody a woody about being American and stuff. Reagan was super good at that. Carter sucked.
And to say that Bush controlled bank agency rulemakings seriously overstates the president’s power over the machine.
Was Iran kidnapping worse than 9/11?
slopefarm,
Carter’s weak response to what amounted to an act of war with the US Hostage taking,set the stage for the next 30 years of Islamic radicalism that followed.
Reagan punted after it continued with Beirut and Iran was kept busy with Iraq for a decade or so but Iran has always funded and armed Hezbollah and Hamas.
Clinton ignored the continued escalation to the point where his actions in Somalia actually inspired Bin Laden.
Bush dealt with the problem head on after 9/11.
What remains is too close to call as I’ve mentioned before.
Iran is still seeking Nukes and has been temporarily sidelined by our only true friends in the Middle East Israel, which Carter has been doing his best to undermine since his disgracful single term in office.
Carter’s among my top 5.
lech —
You know my take on Bush and the post-bubble recession. I think his admin’s bank regulation policies contributed to the credit frenzy that inflated, then popped the bubble and that they ignored a lot of obvious warning signs that could have headed some of this off at the pass.
But if we are removing economic stewardship from Bush’s resume, then we should remove it from Carter’s. Having done that, besides the malaise speech and Iran, what is in his record that puts him in the bottom 5 all time US politicians?
I am particularly interested to hear the argument for why deregulation created the recession. That should be a good one. (on the faulty premise that Bush was a deregulator, natch)
“regulation v dergulation for starters”
Um, OK blowfish. Please tell us which one Bush engaged in and how exactly it created the recession. Please do not rely on google in responding.
The economy is pretty much going to be where it’s going to be in 10 years. It matters relatively little who is in the white house between now and then.
The long-term calcification of the economy is unstoppable. Spending is unstoppable. Just enjoy whatever you’ve got while you’ve got it.
Not even the revived corpse of Calvin Coolidge would really change anything.
You have no control over your destiny. None. Just pour a drink and enjoy the ride.
dona- how are high heels “killer shoes” doing in the commodities market? Seems as if they ought to be right up there with gold and oil.
regulation v dergulation for starters– and yes, i know vast deregulation came under Clinton/Summers. but that’s just one example.