Departments

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Jimmy Carter

  • SOURCE: The Bulwark
    5/3/2023

    Should Jimmy Carter's Coming Departure Change How We Memorialize Presidents?

    by Lindsay M. Chervinsky

    "When does respect and gratitude transfer from the office to the person—and when does that become inappropriate in a republic?" A presidential historian argues for emphasizing Carter's service while a private citizen as a way of emphasizing that the president is a first-among-equals citizen. 

  • SOURCE: The New Republic
    5/3/2023

    William Casey (Almost) Certainly Delayed the Release of Iran Hostages to Help Reagan

    by Jonathan Alter, Gary Sick, Kai Bird and Stuart Eizenstat

    It has long been suspected that Reagan's campaign chief William Casey convinced Iran that they could get a better deal by releasing American hostages after the election of Ronald Reagan. Available documents, recent interviews, and the vast circumstantial evidence present a damning case, argues a team of policy vets and journalistic experts on the Carter years. 

  • SOURCE: New York Times
    2/20/2023

    The Carter Presidency Wasn't How we Remember It

    by Kai Bird

    While he was pessimistic about the moral quality of politics, a biographer says that the 39th president was capable of ruthless pragmatism that helped him achieve more than he is credited for, though it cost him reelection. 

  • SOURCE: Substack
    2/20/2023

    Beinart: Some of Carter's Critics Should Apologize While they Can

    by Peter Beinart

    Peter Beinart says that Jimmy Carter's 2007 book "Peace Not Apartheid" had flaws, but many of its harshest critics ignored whether its claims about the Israeli occupation were factual and leaped to insinuation and outright accusation that Carter was motivated by antisemitism. 

  • SOURCE: TIME
    8/16/2022

    Historians on the Biden-Carter Comparison

    by Olivia B. Waxman

    Meg Jacobs, Gregory Brew and Kai Bird discuss the similar economic and international contexts of the two presidencies, and suggest that Biden may, like Carter, ultimately be more effective than he is given credit for. 

  • SOURCE: Made By History at the Washington Post
    12/14/2021

    Government Regulation is Necessary, but it has to be Smart

    by Paul Sabin

    Two legislative initiatives championed by the Carter administration show the challenge of balancing strong environmental regulation with administrative efficiency and accountability. The balance has, of course, been difficult to strike. 

  • SOURCE: Made By History at the Washington Post
    11/29/2021

    Can Biden Avoid Carter's Biggest Blunder?

    by Meg Jacobs

    “I’ll give it to you straight,” Carter said. “Each one of us will have to use less oil and pay more for it.” This arguably sensible position was disastrous politics. Can Biden do more to encourage conservation while acknowledging the economic pain fuel prices inflict?

  • SOURCE: The Nation
    4/22/2021

    Fritz Mondale and Decency

    by Kai Bird

    Jimmy Carter thought the vice presidency was "a wasted national asset." He gave Walter Mondale the charge and the freedom to redefine the role. 

  • SOURCE: Washington Post
    12/5/2020

    Trump’s Voter Fraud Yarn is Unraveling. But it can Still Help the GOP

    Rick Perlstein suggests that the Republicans' unwillingness to condemn Trump's wild theories about a stolen election are part of a historical pattern of fear that if the electorate expands Republicans will be lose. The theories won't overturn this election, but they will be used to justify future restrictions on the ballot.

  • SOURCE: Washington Monthly
    10/20/2020

    How Jimmy Carter Kept Me Sane

    by Jonathan Alter

    "I wrote my Carter biography during the toxic Trump years. The Georgian’s kindness and honesty are an inspiration for me and should be for America, too."