From the New York Times - Trump vs. Carter?
Not a connection I'd made before:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/08/o...alth-care.html
Quote:
Which brings us back to Trump’s resemblance to Jimmy Carter, who presided over a party suffering a similar crisis of belief. The political-science schema that makes the two men comparable figures is more compelling as history than as prophecy: It tells us how Trump could fail; it doesn’t tell us that he necessarily will. A strong-enough, savvy-enough, effective-enough president, placed in the transitional role that Carter occupied, could become transformative rather than disjunctive, and build a new ideological majority amid the rubble of the old.
And Trump does have a few of the necessary qualities. On policy he is incurious yet also more politically savvy than the party’s congressional leaders, more attuned to where his own voters and the country stands. His “workers party” is a more compelling vision for the right’s future than either status quo bias or “tax cuts plus nothing” zeal. With focus, attention and the judicious use of the bully pulpit, he could potentially bigfoot all the right’s ideological factions. Instead of tepidly embracing legislation that doesn’t come close to fulfilling his campaign promises, he could force his party to accept a bill that makes more political sense — be it the more redistributive plan advanced by conservatives like
Avik Roy, or the
federalist compromise floated by Republican Senators Bill Cassidy and Susan Collins.
Alas, as anyone on Twitter is regularly reminded, focus, attention and judiciousness are all qualities that this disjunctive president lacks. Which is why, even though nothing is inevitable, the Carter precedent — a majority wasted and then lost — looms as this administration’s most likely destination.
Re: From the New York Times - Trump vs. Carter?
Hmm. I had made a different Trump/Carter connection.
While it has never been proved- there were strong allegations that Reagan's staff had made overtures to Iran to eliminate many sanctions in exchange for the release of the hostages, which happened immediately when Reagan was sworn in. Then of course Reagan selling arms to Iran (Iran/Contra). We will still see what comes of the allegationsof Trumps people meeting with the Russians...
And I can't see comparing Carter (an honest and truly good hearted man) with Trump (I'll let people fill in their own description).
And again- I see it comparing apples to oranges. Carter was dealing with a nation trying to heal from the deep disviseness of the Vietnam War. An opoid epidemic as a result of the war very different from the one we face today. The very real threat of nuclear annhilation from a USSR very different from todays Russia. The harsh reality of Disco (and the rise of cocaine). Civil (and womens) rights in their infancy just trying to repuild from centuries of oppression.
Now throw in the OPEC crisis... maybe hard to understand for those that didn't live through it... but gas rationing. Having to wait in lines for hours to (maybe) get gas. Often only even being allowed to try and get gas every other day. Skyrocketing prices. Never mind the impact on someone just trying to live life, get to work. The impact on industry was monumental.
And of course- Carter came to the precidency after Nixon had beaten McGovern in a landslide in 72...and we all know how that presidency ended. Carter inheireted very turbulent times. I think most of the turbulence Trump is inheiriting is of his ilks making- the fact america elected a black man and the rise of intolerance against Muslims, Hispanics, Gay and Transgender etc...
Re: From the New York Times - Trump vs. Carter?
I agree, SPC, that it isn't fair or accurate to compare Carter with Trump. Carter was an anomaly, for sure, because he was a decent man and not a political hack. (I think Obama is basically a decent man but he was also in thrall to the Democratic Establishment.) I seem to recall hearing that Reagan's campaign/the Repugs made a deal of some kind with the Iranis if they would not release the hostages until AFTER the election. Apparently, the Iranis were about to do it and the Repugs did not want Carter getting the credit.
Carter in some ways reminds me of Bernie Sanders in that he was not an obvious member of the political establishment and that he was sabotaged because of it while he was in office.
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by SonomaPatientsCoop:
Hmm. I had made a different Trump/Carter connection.
While it has never been proved- there were strong allegations that Reagan's staff had made overtures to Iran to eliminate many sanctions in exchange for the release of the hostages, which happened immediately when Reagan was sworn in. Then of course Reagan selling arms to Iran (Iran/Contra). We will still see what comes of the allegationsof Trumps people meeting with the Russians...
And I can't see comparing Carter (an honest and truly good hearted man) with Trump (I'll let people fill in their own description).
And again- I see it comparing apples to oranges. Carter was dealing with a nation trying to heal from the deep disviseness of the Vietnam War. An opoid epidemic as a result of the war very different from the one we face today. The very real threat of nuclear annhilation from a USSR very different from todays Russia. The harsh reality of Disco (and the rise of cocaine). Civil (and womens) rights in their infancy just trying to repuild from centuries of oppression.
Now throw in the OPEC crisis... maybe hard to understand for those that didn't live through it... but gas rationing. Having to wait in lines for hours to (maybe) get gas. Often only even being allowed to try and get gas every other day. Skyrocketing prices. Never mind the impact on someone just trying to live life, get to work. The impact on industry was monumental.
And of course- Carter came to the precidency after Nixon had beaten McGovern in a landslide in 72...and we all know how that presidency ended. Carter inheireted very turbulent times. I think most of the turbulence Trump is inheiriting is of his ilks making- the fact america elected a black man and the rise of intolerance against Muslims, Hispanics, Gay and Transgender etc...
Re: From the New York Times - Trump vs. Carter?
Quote:
Posted in reply to the post by wisewomn:
I agree, SPC, that it isn't fair or accurate to compare Carter with Trump.
you guys are working from the headline, not the article. There's no claim that they are parallel in anything but the times they lived in - not their characters, not their policies, not their abilities. It says they both held office in a time of transition. Kind of indisputable, really. I like the analogy because I dislike thinking of things as if they are isolated occurrences. History repeats itself, at least enough to recognize the resemblance. Santayana and all that. By seeing the similarities between Carter's time and this one, you get some insight and perspective that can be hard to come by otherwise.
Trump happened for a reason. Why were people clamoring for a change, like Bernie or Trump, to the point where they're willing to abandon the comfortable status quo? Maybe it isn't that comfortable for many. It may seem that objectively the world has improved a lot (look at unemployment statistics, global poverty levels, even the number of wars). I don't remember this willingness for disruption in times that seemed harder than now. But enough people don't feel that way, and are ready for big changes.
