 |
|
| |
|
|
|
 The Ghost in Obama’s White HousePosted on Nov 6, 2008By Marie Cocco Who the heck is Jimmy Carter? If Republicans have their way, he will be the ghost in the Obama White House, a frightful figure they will try to tie to the new Democratic president by conjuring up disturbing memories—a failure of energy policy, a failure of foreign policy and, of course, a recitation of the very phrase that helped to bring the Carter presidency to its failed end, malaise. Not since Carter, Republicans ominously warn, have the Democrats controlled so much of Washington so thoroughly—a sure sign, conservatives screech, of a coming lurch to the left that will leave the United States slouching dangerously toward socialism. That is their image. This is my own: a toddler born during the Carter era, padding around in his diaper, plunking his bottom down on the rug to watch “Sesame Street.” The core of Barack Obama’s support from the moment he began his improbable quest for the presidency was African-Americans inspired by the prospect of the first black president—and those Carter-era toddlers. They are now voters between 18 and 30. The oldest among them were babies when Carter was president; many had yet to be born. They have no personal recollection of the supposed havoc he caused. What they know of Carter are his post-presidential endeavors, which are utterly in sync with the values they’ve often embraced as their own generation’s cause: humanitarianism, environmentalism, the quest to eradicate disease in remote corners of the world, an overarching interest in achieving peace through justice. The defining contest of the past generation in politics has been the Democrats’ fight to reverse the conservative Reagan Revolution, which began in 1980. But these young people experienced economic good times that came not under Republicans, but under Democrat Bill Clinton, who presided over a technology boom and a rise in the stock market. He was first to understand the challenge and promise of the global economy and boosted his party’s credibility by balancing the federal budget. In the lifetimes of voters who are under 30, here is how economic memories play out: When the good times rolled, a Democratic president was in office; when the bad times hit, Republican George W. Bush was at the helm. In the meantime, the Democratic Party was transforming itself. It ceased to be the caricature of Republican sound bites. Clinton shattered the mold with his centrist appeal and was elected twice by breaking what had been a Republican political chokehold in the nation’s suburbs; Obama built on that foundation and expanded it into exurbs that been the Republicans’ province in the Bush era. Obama’s victory was broad and deep—he is the first Democrat since Carter to win a majority of the popular vote. But that, and the fact that Obama defeated a thoroughly discredited Republican Party—as did Carter after Watergate—is where the similarity ends. To talk of 2008 as a realigning election is premature. That will be determined much more by how Obama and the strengthened Democratic majority in Congress govern than by how they’ve won election. It is already clear, though, that a movement toward Democrats has been building over the last few elections. Obama trounced Republican John McCain among voters 18 to 29 by a margin of 66-to-32, according to network exit polls—a lopsided result the Democrat famously had nurtured along. This age group already had begun to go strongly Democratic—in 2006, it gave congressional Democrats 61 percent of its vote, helping to propel the party to control of the House and Senate. Speaker Nancy Pelosi formed a “30-Something Working Group” within the House Democratic Caucus, both to meet the younger members’ political needs and to use them as ambassadors to younger voters. This Democratic youth movement, the changing racial demographics of the country and the emergence of “new economy” voters who are untethered to old ideologies were the roots of victory for Obama—and, for the past two elections, for congressional Democrats that Republicans so want us to fear. “The country must be governed from the middle,” Pelosi said at her postelection news conference. Right-leaning Republicans, she indicated, “have left a lot of field open as to how you define middle.” No one can now know how successful the next president will be. But it seems unlikely Obama will be another President Carter because the Democratic Party buried that ghost deeply, and did so long ago. Elsewhere: . CommentsAre you a Truthdig member yet? Login now, or register with Truthdig. Add Your Comment
|
HOME|Digs|Reports|Arts & Culture|Uncovered|Ear to the Ground|A/V Booth|Cartoons
Bazaar|Podcast|About Us|Contact Us|User Agreement|Privacy Policy|FAQ: Comments and Moderation 
A Progressive Journal of News and Opinion. Editor, Robert Scheer. Publisher, Zuade Kaufman.
Copyright © 2009 Truthdig, L.L.C. All rights reserved. |
Joe the Plumber to Report on Gaza—Seriously
Email
Print
Share
del.icio.us
Digg
Facebook
Fark
Furl
Ma.gnolia
Mixx
MySpace
NewsVine
NewsTrust
Reddit
SphereIt
StumbleUpon
TwitThis
YahooBuzz
Jump to Comments
By RunOffTheRoadManyTimes, November 14, 2008 at 1:19 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)
These repugnant Republican “enemy” memes have infected the consciousness of fellow United States citizens since going back to the Committee of 100 from the 1930’s, at least. Their purpose: engender unreasonable hatred for one’s peers, and psychological control soon follows. All delivered by an unending army of hatchet men, who adore Atwater as their God.
They act as political field officers and foot soldiers for the petroleum and weapons industries. Staging a traitor’s plot against a sitting U.S. President with sworn enemies of the United States in 1980, is merely business as usual for those who operate in the tradition of the scuttling of the U.S. Maine to provoke a war with Spain in 1898. It was the president of the U.S. Sugar Corporation who wrote the Philippine Constitution at the conclusion of that war, in 1901.
Slaves are slaves, whether called “serfs”, “peasants”, “peons”; and so-called ‘commoners’ are semi-slaves or “classed consumers” by the new lords of society today, with the nuances of “lower-class” versus “middle class” employed as a manipulating distinction.
Reagan might as well have been under orders to destroy any legitimate development of sound energy and transportation policies, so precise were his actions IMMEDIATELY upon assuming office. This ‘Great Communicator’ then acted as President Cheerleader for all of the excesses of the oil and motor industries, giving huge tax breaks to motor racing and auto racing tracks, and presiding over an avalanche of extreme favoritism of economic policies and actions tilted wildly towards petrochemical, motor, road building, and weapons industries.
My personal experience directly resulting from this excessive abuse of power, while training for bicycle racing, was to have half-empty beer bottles thrown at me by passing cars and SUVs accompanied by shouts of “FAGGOT!” and SPANDEX!”, as well as having been run off the road in attempts to kill me, at least five times. This behavior is similar to the infamous cheerleading of violent construction workers against ‘hippies’, endorsed by former President Nixon, Reagan’s attack-dog predecessor.
Their evil is palpable and real. We are all the poorer for it. And some of us have had our dreams shattered, time and time again. I have been run over by cars four times, twice deliberately assaulted thus, and also once tortured by police after their own reckless driving nearly killed me. Everything else Republicans claim is traitorous lies, all for the behest of their corporate masters, who would maintain their ideal of “lordship” over us all.
Report thisBy SpaghettiMonster, November 8, 2008 at 3:27 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)
Carter legalized beer brewing in the home (up to 250 gallons annually) and almost legalized cannabis. The man was one of America’s greatest leaders, and still is to this day. He understood freedom and responsibility - and the fact that they are not mutually exclusive - better than three-fourths of Washington, DC.
Report thisBy Inherit The Wind, November 7, 2008 at 8:14 pm #
My only beef with President Jimmy Carter was he didn’t know how to manage his majorities in the House and Senate nor how to talk to the camera once he was President.
I just had a conversation (prior to the election) with a friend who’s a hard-core Conservative and detests Jimmy Carter. He whacked Carter for stagflation—high unemployment and 21% interest rates. I asked him “did you realize that Carter understood we had to suffer a bit to clean out the infection and let the economy recover?” He said “Oh, come ON!!”
I said: “Do you remember who he appointed head of the fed? Paul Volcker.” First pause.
“Do you remember that Ronald Reagan did really well with Volcker at the helm?” Second pause.
I then said “economic policies can take 5-6 years to take hold and the President in office gets the credit—or the blame.” DEAD silence….then he started talking about how Carter’s gotten weird of late… He’s a very bright guy so I assume he’s ruminating on hard facts…My pal realized that it was Paul Volcker, whom he admires greatly, who not only kicked off the draconian times that hurt Carter, but also gave Reagan the credit for the recover.
I was excited when my vote helped Carter get elected. I was ECSTATIC this Tuesday like I’ve NEVER been before.
Report thisBy richard roe, November 7, 2008 at 1:47 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)
It’d be great if Republicans made a connection between Jimmy Carter and Obama!
This would give him the perfect opportunity to point out that if we’d listened to Jimmy, instead of been corrupted by the oil corporations,America would today be energy independent, a leading manufacturer of next generation solar technology, and able to redirect billions of dollars to better use than wasting in on wars.
Report thisBy Jaded Prole, November 7, 2008 at 4:56 am #
Carter was our last best President. If he gets a bad rap it is because history has been re-written by the Repugs. Will Obama be like Carter? Hopefully in some ways he will. He has the makings of statesmanship which have been absent in the White House since Carter’s departure. Hopefully he won’t be as locked out of the National Security loop as Carter was by right-wing military interests. Unlike Carter, he has a great deal of charisma and a popular mandate.
While I expect him to govern as a corporate/imperialist centrist, I think he has the potential to be the best leader we have seen in decades. I only hope he is more Carter-like than Clinton-like.
Report thisBy Paul_GA, November 6, 2008 at 3:04 pm #
Yourstruly, I believe I should mention that the only way the Demos can get a filibuster-proof Senate is for all of the disputed races to come out “blue”, so to speak. I intend to vote for Jim Martin in the Georgia runoff come December 2, but there’s no guarantee he’ll win, of course.
Report thisBy yours truly, November 6, 2008 at 2:37 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)
No Matter No More What The Republican Say Or Do
“Why no matter?”
“It’s up to us now, not them.”
“What if Senate Republicans resort to filibustering?”
“The Senate’s Democratic majority does away with the filibuster.”
“Based on?”
“Yes we can.”
Report thisBy linc 56mk2, November 6, 2008 at 11:42 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
The repubs are successful at continuing to criticize, marginalize and demonize the Carter administration and promote the garbage about Reagan Administration being soooo wonderful. Although he talked as a fiscal conservative, Reagan was responsible for running up the federal deficit in his administration to exceed all of the deficits of all of the previous presidents combined. This was so excessive as to make even the truly fiscal conservatives cringe.
Carter had set up offices, projects and funding for what was then called “appropriate technology” as a response to the energy crisis of the early to mid 70’s. This included solar, wind, geothermal. Reagan, at the start of his term, quickly pulled the rug out of funding for this and and he even removed the solar panels from the white House. It set back development of some of these industries for at least 10 years and fostered a vast increase and dependence on foreign oil.
Reagan was responsible for disasterous policies and covert operations especially in Nicaragua and in Central/South America that politically and culturally destabilized the whole sub-continent and set the stage for dictators, sapped any semblance of wealth from dirt poor countries such as Haiti, and supported corrupt regiemes and CIA puppets in its place.
Oh, then there was the disaster of the the flight controllers…
Report thisBy Still Life Living, November 6, 2008 at 11:15 am #
Carter’s biggest failure was to be an innocent. He thought he could appeal to the highest common denominator instead of the lowest. Funny thing, he still seems to believe that. It shows in his actions. He is still trying to build a better world…unlike Bush and Cheney who are aligned with that Dubai-based turncoat corporation Halliburton and the aptly named security firm Blackwater.
Report thisBy Allan Krueger, November 6, 2008 at 8:58 am #
Policy failure under Carter? OK, he has been a better former president…
Before we worry too much about Carter, let’s take a look at the WORST PRESIDENT EVER and list his accomplishments.
I can’t think of one single initiative that he and his cronies didn’t fuck up - I am being kind, here.
A party that sports Bush, followed in the next election by nominating Sarah Palin for vice president!? If I were them, I would give Obama a chance and as Bill O’ Really would say, “They should SHUT UP!
Report thisBy daga, November 6, 2008 at 8:44 am #
Well said Purple Girl.
I never understood why Jimmy Carter has such bad legacy in US. He was,and still is one of your greatest. It is true he was unamerican in a way. He spoke up against greed and gluttony,and his preference towards diplomatic solutions instead of military power was hard to swallow for those flag-waving chauvenists you have in abundance in Palins “Real America”-districts.
Report thisRecently he committed an even bigger crime. He called the israeli occupation by its real name “Apartheid”. For that kind of honesty he’s been vilified by the media in US and Israel, and rewarded Nobel’s peace Prize by my country.
He is still the only American president who has achieved to oversee lasting peace between Israel and one of her neighbours-Egypt. So why this animosity from the Zionists in Israel and Washington ?
By Paul_GA, November 6, 2008 at 7:31 am #
Knowing how few Americans know diddley-squat about history (even that of thirty years ago), I expect the Right to try to link Obama with Bill Clinton, not Jimmy Carter—and my understanding is that Obama’s transition team will contain lots of former Clinton staffers, so such a strategy could succeed.
Report thisBy Dave24, November 6, 2008 at 7:08 am #
The Republicans can say whatever they want. It means nothing. The People have spoken.
Report thisBy Purple Girl, November 6, 2008 at 5:51 am #
I appreciate that you included your age when you began your article..It explained alot about your perspective. Now let soem one who was a Teenager and politically motivated even at tha tyoung age give you the REAL scoop. You have a ‘Rovian’ Edition of History misguiding you.
Report thisJimmy Carter TOLD US to conserve Energy- Turn down your Thermostats ,put on a sweater.
He also knew by invading Any country in the ME We would be fucked..so he tried a Precision infiltration to regain our 52 hostages. Yes it failed but he was not stupid enough to dropp thousands of boots on the ground (ie Afghanistan &Iraq;) thus putting more in peril).Why you ask did he not ...Well We had nearly a report a week on Plane Highjackings..I remeber the poor man’s body being thrown out on the Tarrmack- Terrorist Attacks were an epidemic at the time (too bad W never read a history book).
Least you also be Unaware of the FACT that those Behind Reagans Run for the Presidency were making back room deals to get the release of the Hostage, ONLY if Reagan Won. It was not the sole Rogue Ollie North who set that up, he was just the only one to take the fall for it…Who Oh Who could have been so underhanded and Corrupt to Undermining a Sitting President. Who Oh Who could have been slithering around in those Shadows…Cheney,Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz?
And by the Way Who benefited from maligning this Democratic President? Which sect of the Republican party even went after him in regards to his Faith?
And Which next Democratic President Sidelined and disparaged this last Great Honorable man? The excommunicated so called ‘Reagan Democrats’, The ‘Third Way’ (Corp way) DLC and the Clintons. and what was Hillary before she grabbed on to this rising Democrat Star…A Goldwater Republican. Frankly I think she still carries the card to prove it.
Had the 1980 Election Not been Stolen through devisiveness and LIES, Our Country would never Experienced the Feudal system (aka ‘Trickle Down’) .We would have moved forward on alternative fuels, the Big 3 would have retooled and been the innovators. We would never have had the attacks in ‘93 on the WTC, because we would have NOT allowed Multinational Corps to Fly our Flag and make dirty deals to oppress their Oil ‘Royals’ People.
Nixons Boys have been Fucking US for Decades and should be prosectued and punished for their Treason, War crimes and Crimes against Humanity.
I don’t need a History book to tell me President James Carter was One of our countries Finest Presidents..Our last truely Patriotic Public Servant in the Oval Office.The Last One with an American Agenda, Not a Corporate Agenda.
What was the result of Undermining the Sitting presidnet in 1980- 9/11. We would never have been supporting a group of ‘Afghani Freedom Fighters’ who helped topple the USSR, we would have found ways to Diplomatically resolve their conflict. Thus Bin Laden would not have had a Glory Story to aid him in his Recruitment in to AQ. He would have remained in obsurity had a president not hell bent on destroying another superpower been there to handle the situation through calm cool and logical means.
If you can’t find a Book free of Cheney Propagnda, just ask some one who was Political conscious at the time, then ask them how Carters loss effected the ‘80’s, the ‘90’s and this New Millenia. You may find your ‘perspective’ is a LIE!