(10-06-2022, 06:03 PM)The Drifter Wrote: i don't believe that mikesez is even old enough to even LIVED under Carter...... Carter was a weak President right out of the gate....... Resulting in HIGH unemployment (I know, I couldn't find a decent job anywhere in my area and I worked construction at the time), Double digit inflation and the misery index that Carter kept refering too in all his speeches.......1976 to 1980 was a tough period for the US. The Vietnam war  had really just ended the year before, the cold war was in full swing, and the USSR was flexing it's military might all over the place...Carter was weak to begin with,  all these factors made him look even weaker in the eyes of the world.... It was a period that required a strong leader... Carter wasn't it.

We know Carter was a weak President because he had little lasting impact on US law and foreign policy.  The one bright spot was the Camp David accords, which have doubtlessly saved lives.  But even these set a very questionable precedent of aid for peace.  And Egypt's army was more so the recipient of that aid than the people, locking in a system where poor people depend on a corrupt and unaccountable army for basic sustenance. 

But like you said he was dealt a tough hand.  Vietnam wasn't his fault.  The inflation wasn't his fault. Unemployment wasn't his fault. I think we agree about that.  A better man would have also struggled.  But I think Iran was in that category as well.  The Ayatollah was going to be in charge after 1979 regardless of anything Carter did.  And the Ayatollah was going to hate the US regardless of anything Carter did.  The students were going to kidnap the diplomats regardless.  The only thing Carter might have done better was protecting the embassy better before the kidnapping happened.   This narrative that Reagan was going to be a tough guy on them makes no sense.  The US military under Carter already gave it their best shot.  Surprise was key.  The hostages were scattered after that and no bigger rescue effort was plausible with any number of troops.  The Iranians weren't scared of Reagan any more than they were of Carter. They wanted some of the economic sanctions to be lifted.  Sanctions were all we could threaten them with and all we could relieve them of.

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