I think of Jimmy Carter as the last “honest” President.
I feel he actually cared.
He cared about the state of the country and the world and not simply paying back his donors and sponsors. Carter wanted to end such US support for dictators. He emphasized human rights, while trying to bring peace to the Middle East. Carter’s Camp David peace agreement between Israel and Egypt endures today – half a century later.
I still view him as the last hope for peace in the Middle East. His book Palestine Peace Not Apartheid – should be required reading for all future Presidents. Unfortunately, AIPAC has taken over US foreign policy.
Noah Lanard writes: Carter saw where Israel was headed with its refusal to countenance Palestinian statehood, and correctly warned it would end tragically for both sides. In response, the American mainstream treated him as a crank at best and an antisemite at worst. With Palestinians now suffering the worst violence in their history, which Amnesty International recently concluded constitutes genocide, it is more important than ever to recognize the truth of Carter’s claim that peace would only come when Israel—likely under pressure from the United States—abandoned its efforts to deprive Palestinians of sovereignty in their homeland.
Carter also sought to promote peace with Nature. He protected Alaska’s wilderness and promoted solar energy before it was cool.
Citizen’s United has made sure we will never have an ethical President in the US again. Thanks SCOTUS. Thanks Federalist Society. Thanks Leonard “Loser” Leo. And thanks to the billionaires who prefer fascism over democracy – all to avoid paying their fair share of taxes.
Rise in Power, Mr. President. And no, you weren’t perfect.