- Jimmy Carter (allthetropes.org)
Considering that it happened 43 years ago, a look around the Internet will astonish many readers with just how firmly James Earl “Jimmy” Carter’s presidency remains in Your Mileage May Vary territory. Conservatives declare that his watch was a mess, while liberals assert that he inherited a mess (Why does that sound familiar?): the huge Vietnam War deficit, an economy that for the first time ever suffered rampant inflation while stagnating, and a national post-Vietnam, post-Watergate funk which was described as a “malaise” – a word that is hung around his neck by conservative commentators (and The Simpsons) to this day, though Carter himself never actually used it. “Stagflation” was exacerbated by the 1979 oil crisis; long gas lines and high energy costs contributed to the national unhappiness. In an attempt to lead by example, the President lowered the thermostats in the White House and donned sweaters to keep warm instead – which became for many a hated symbol of the lifestyle sacrifices which they believed his policies had made necessary.
- Jimmy Carter (Wikipedia)
James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, Carter was the 76th governor of Georgia from 1971 to 1975, and a Georgia state senator from 1963 to 1967. At age 99, he is both the oldest living former U.S. president and the longest-lived president in U.S. history.
