Jimmy Carter

APSA Presidential Greatness Poll 2024: Significant Rises In Rankings

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The American Political Science Association 2024 Presidential Greatness Survey reveals dramatic rises in rankings for a few Presidents, from earlier APSA surveys in 2015 and 2018.
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The most dramatic rise is Barack Obama, up 9 in rankings to number 7 since 2015; and an equal rise up 9 of Ulysses S. Grant to number 17 over the same period.

The next most dramatic rise is up 4 in rankings for John F. Kennedy from 14 to 10; and an equal rise up 4 for Jimmy Carter from 26 to 22.

Also, up 3 in rankings is Lyndon B. Johnson from 12 to 9.

Note that all of these 5 Presidents mentioned, except for Grant, are Democrats!

The American Economy Is Booming, And Americans Need To Realize That!

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The American economy continues to boom, and yet, so many Americans seem to be unaware of that reality.

Job Growth is high, unemployment is at a 50 year low, inflation is down dramatically, and every indication is that this boom will continue.

So Joe Biden and the Democrats must work on sharing that message of reality with American voters and not allow the lies of Donald Trump and the Republicans to go unanswered.

A reminder, that the American economy has always been much better under Democrats than Republicans, with all economic downturns since 1953 except one (Jimmy Carter 1980) being under Republicans from Eisenhower through Nixon, through Ford and Reagan and the Bushes, and Donald Trump!

Supreme Court Could Be Repealing The 20th Century In Challenge To 1984 Chevron Case Decision

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Conservative right wing groups are now attempting to repeal the 20th century concept of federal government regulation of the environment, financial markets, public health, and the workplace, in a challenge to the Chevron USA vs National Resources Defense Council case of 1984, decided by a unanimmous 6 member court of Republicans and conservatives.

The decision was written by Associate Justice John Paul Stevens, and agreed with by Chief Justice Warren Burger, and Associate Justices William Brennan, Lewis Powell, Harry Blackmun, and Byron White. All but White were appointed by Republican Presidents. And three Justices did not participate, Sandra Day O’Connor, William Rehnquist, and Thurgood Marshall, with only Marshall appointed by a Democratic President.

So the Court of 1984 had SEVEN Republican appointments, but reasonable Justices, as compared to the present Supreme Court of six Republican appointments.

So the case now being considered is an attempt to wipe out the federal regulatory state–in effect wiping out the Progressive Era of Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson; the New Deal of Franklin D. Roosevelt and followup by Harry Truman and John F. Kennedy; the Great Society of Lyndon B. Johnson, and followup by Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton; and the commitment to further reforms by Barack Obama and Joe Biden! Notice that Richard Nixon is included with this list of Democratic Presidents who promoted federal regulation and reforms, the one Republican, who despite his shortcomings, actually added to federal regulation!

We are at a turning point, where our federal government could be weakened and go back as far as the Gilded Age of the late 19th century by an extremist Supreme Court. This is a constitutional crisis of massive proportions, and puts American democracy at risk!

Iowa Caucus History, And Caucuses Elsewhere In 2024

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In the past, there were up to 15 states that held Presidential Caucuses, with them first evolving in the 1970s.

Today, in 2024, there are only a few states that hold caucuses, with the overwhelming majority having Presidential primaries.

The only states in 2024 with caucuses being held by both major political parties are:

Hawaii
Idaho
Iowa
North Dakota
Wyoming

Two other states have Republicans having caucuses, while Democrats have primaries

Those two states with this odd situation are

Missouri
Nevada

Notice none of these total seven states have large populations, with Missouri being the largest.

At the same time, the Iowa Caucuses have NOT been a good example of accuracy as to who would be the nominees or winners of the Presidency.

The only Presidents who won in Iowa and went on to the White House were:

Jimmy Carter 1976
George W. Bush 2000
Barack Obama 2008

Walter Mondale in 1984, Al Gore in 2000, John Kerry in 2004, and Hillary Clinton in 2016 won the Iowa Caucuses but lost the Presidency for Democrats, while for the Republicans, only Bob Dole in 1996 won in Iowa and then lost the Presidency.

2024 Presidential Election Crucial As Were 1864 And 1964 Elections, And They Were Election Landslides!

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One could argue that every Presidential Election is significant in some shape or form, but certain elections stand out as turning points in the promotion of American democracy.

Such are the Presidential Elections of 1864 and 1964, and now moving forward, 2024!

In all three, the sustaining of American democracy was crucial, and in the first two cases, the results, after much concern, were massive landslides, hopefully setting the scene for 2024!

In 1864, Republican Abraham Lincoln was running for reelection in the midst of the American Civil War, with his opponent being General George McClellan, who was resentful of his firing for poor performance from Union Army leadership, and represented to many the Confederate hope of pulling out victory late in the Civil War.

Lincoln was so concerned that victory was unattainable, that he decided to replace Vice President Hannibal Hamlin with a Southern Loyalist Democrat Andrew Johnson, and the Republicans invited War Democrats into the party by changing their name to the National Union Party.

The end result was a landslide with Lincoln winning all but three states, winning 55 percent of the vote, and an Electoral College majority of 212-21!

A century later, President Lyndon B. Johnson, having succeeded to the Presidency after the assassination of John F. Kennedy less than a year earlier, faced the most right wing Republican contender for the Presidency in modern times, Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater, who advocated ending the New Deal of Franklin D. Roosevelt, including Social Security, and also opposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Johnson went on to a landslide victory, winning 61.1 percent of the popular vote, the all time high, and 44 of 50 states and 486-52 in the Electoral College, but with five Southern states going to Goldwater, the beginning of the political realignment that has made the South solidly Republican ever since, with only a few exceptions when Democrats nominated Southerners for the Presidency, including Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton.

Johnson went on to promote the Great Society, a massive increase in government programs, way beyond the New Deal of FDR.

Now in 2024, with the Republican Party being the most extreme right wing since Goldwater, and arguably more so, Joe Biden faces a challenge not only on a personal level, but also on overcoming the menace of Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans, who have repudiated the original basis of the Republican Party’s founding, opposing slavery and its expansion, and instead promoting racism and nativism 170 years after the origins of the party in Michigan and Wisconsin in 1854!

For First Time Since Jimmy Carter, Federal Civilian And Military Personnel Are Gaining Substantial Increase And Appreciation!

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A very merry Christmas and Holiday season is here for 2. 2 million federal civilian and military personnel, who are gaining a substantial 5.2 percent in their salaries as a result of an executive order from President Joe Biden, the greatest increase in more than four decades since the last equivalent increase under President Jimmy Carter in 1980.

85 percent of federal workers are outside the Washington DC area, so this pay boost will benefit workers in multiple areas of the American economy, and show appreciation of the work federal civilian and military personnel perform for the American people at large.

Henry Kissinger, Most Controversial Diplomat Since World War II, Is Dead At 100!

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Henry Kissinger, the most controversial diplomat since World War II, is dead at age 100!

The winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating the end of the Vietnam War, he is seen by many as having been an international outlaw and criminal for his involvement in spreading the Vietnam War into Cambodia; his support and promotion of a right wing government in Chile, destroying that democracy for a generation; and his lack of concern about human rights and loss of freedom in so many places around the world besides Chile, including Argentina.

As National Security Adviser and then Secretary of State to President Richard Nixon, and later to President Gerald Ford, he engaged in many unethical, if not illegal, actions.

A believer in Realpolitik in international relations, he was seen as lacking ethics and morality to the extreme, and was noted for his egotism and lack of concern about his reputation.

He is noted for helping to open up relations with the People’s Republic of China, and his dealings with the Soviet Union, and the Middle East cauldron. He also is criticized for backing Pakistan in the Bangladesh-India War for Independence of what had been East Pakistan, undermining relations with the largest populated nation, India, beyond China, and also encouraging the corrupt Shah of Iran during the energy crisis!

Seen as a brilliant and yet to many an evil man, he clashed with many other diplomatic and political figures, and stood out as diametrically opposite to many, including President Jimmy Carter, who survived him and one hopes will reach age 100 in ten months!

Rosalynn And Jimmy Carter: Their Significance In American History Growing!

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With the passing of First Lady Rosalynn Carter, and the further weakening of former President Jimmy Carter in his 100th year, their significance in American History is growing.

Often overlooked and ignored, it is clear that Rosalynn Carter transformed the position of First Lady in ways not realized at the time, as she became a true partner of her husband, just about as much as Vice President Walter Mondale.

The Carter-Mondale relationship was transformative, as was the interaction of the First Lady with her husband in affecting American government policies.

And the longest post Presidency in American history also has had an effect on Jimmy Carter’s reputation!

And with Jimmy Carter in his twilight time, his impact is being assessed in a more positive way, including his environmental policies; his Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt; his negotiation of the Panama Canal treaty; his recognition of mainland China; and his promotion of human rights as a major instrument of American foreign policy, as among the attributes of his Presidency.

Death Of Rosalynn Carter A Major Loss To Nation!

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The death of Rosalynn Carter took place on the 160th Anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettyburg Address, an irony, as she and her husband Jimmy Carter represent a different kind of South in their social justice mission.

Remember that Jimmy Carter was the first Southerner elected to the Presidency since Zachary Taylor in 1848.

The couple represented a progressive tradition on race, and a concern about other than themselves, as they both dedicated their lives to advancing of society and international cooperation.

Rosalynn Carter will stand out as the most significant First Lady chronologically since Eleanor Roosevelt, making the position of First Lady much more interacting and engaged than it had ever been before. She was a true partner of her husband in his responsibilities and duties as President.

Whether her husband can live on for long without her will be a question on many people’s minds, as Jimmy Carter has good odds that he might live to be a centenarian in less than ten and a half months with his 100th birthday on October 1, 2024.

One Year To Presidential Election Of 2024, And Joe Biden Looks In Bad Shape!

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With one year to the Presidential Election Of 2024, President Joe Biden looks in bad shape, based on a New York Times-Siena College poll.

According to the poll, Donald Trump is ahead of Joe Biden in five of six swing state—4 points in Pennsylvania; 5 points in Michigan and Arizona; 6 points in Georgia; 10 points in Nevada; and with Biden ahead of Trump in Wisconsin by 2 points.

These statistics are stunning and worrisome, but one must realize that the history of polling shows one year out is no judgment of what will occur on Election Day.

One year ahead, there were no predictions that Harry Truman would win a full term in 1948; or that John F. Kennedy would win in 1960; or Richard Nixon would win in 1968; or Jimmy Carter (an unknown) would win in 1976; or Ronald Reagan would win in 1980; or Bill Clinton would win in 1992; or George W. Bush would win in 2000; or that Barack Obama would win in 2008; or that Donald Trump would win in 2016.

Also, one must realize that never has a President lost reelection to an opponent he had first defeated since Benjamin Harrison lost reelection to Grover Cleveland in 1892.

And with Donald Trump likely to be convicted on some of the 91 charges over four indictments in the next year, to believe that he will be able to defeat the man who defeated him, for the first time in 132 years, is to be living in an era of delusion.

Assuming that the economy will continue to do better, and with international crises a major factor, the President in office is, historically, highly likely to win reelection, particularly against someone who represents chaos, corruption, and incompetence, and as a threat to the American democratic system and to international stability!

But it is also clear that the message and the efforts to reelect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris and insure a Democratic controlled House of Representatives and Senate must move full scale ahead, as there is no time for any sense of relaxation about the future of the nation and the world at large!