Wild West Politics?

[glatt]

Think about it, in your lifetime, is there a Democrat president that the Republicans didn't hate?

You can reverse the question too, but I don't think many Democrats hated Ford or Bush 1. Nixon was hated, Reagan was hated, Shrub was hated. But not Bush 1 and Ford.

[Lamplighter]

Originally Posted by glatt

Think about it, in your lifetime, is there a Democrat president that the Republicans didn't hate?

You can reverse the question too, but I don't think many Democrats hated Ford or Bush 1. Nixon was hated, Reagan was hated, Shrub was hated. But not Bush 1 and Ford.

Ummmm. In my lifetime, Eisenhower was loved by everyone.
(OK, there was some ambiguity about which party he, himself, favored)

[tw]

Originally Posted by glatt

You can reverse the question too, but I don't think many Democrats hated Ford or Bush 1. Nixon was hated, Reagan was hated,

Reagan was not hated. He and Democats routinely worked deals together.

[Sundae]

Originally Posted by Shawnee123

Carter was just too damn nice and got chewed up and spit out by the less-than-nice. I think he's shown since what a wonderful diplomat he is: he just isn't evil enough to make it in Hollywood....er, um, I mean Washington.

I've read and heard that he was considered a naif in Washington.
He was supposed to be a new broom but not enough people owed him favours to allow him to govern effectively.
To be powerful in politics you need to have greased the wheels for a while, so you can broker cross-party support.
Politics is compromise, not individual ethics or true representation.

Originally Posted by tw

Reagan was not hated. He and Democats routinely worked deals together.

He was hated in the UK. But then so was our elected leader, Thatcher.
When deals are done, you'll usually find both participants are considered to be in bed with the devil.

[tw]

Originally Posted by Sundae Girl

I've read and heard that he was considered a naif in Washington.

Carter did many things useful. But does not get credit for it. Including deregulation of trucking and airlines. Forced completion of many highway projects stalled by nonsense and left wing extremists. Moved towards a more balanced budget when the economy made that virtually impossible. Addressed the reality of an energy shortage.

But his greatest triumph was never understood at the time. Interest rates went to 20+%. He knew that could adversely affect his reelection when he did it. Carter was not playing the political game. Instead, he was 100% about working for America. That means harming every American to finally fix the economy. So that the resulting upturn could start years later - at the start of Reagan's third year.

Never for one minute deny what makes more jobs. Less money to the rich. More money to the common man. Balanced budgets. Avoiding wars. And making the spread sheets honest. Any president that does these things will be hated while president. And gets credit for these accomplishments when apparent - after that president has retired.

George Sr said no new taxes. Then realized that to create jobs, he had to raise taxes - to balance the budget. He (and Clinton) were hated for doing what was necessary to create jobs. And so the question - do you understand what George Sr did to make America great? Do you realize that Carter sacrificed his popularity and relection to make America great? Most don't.

[Lamplighter]

Originally Posted by tw

<snip>

George Sr said no new taxes. Then realized that to create jobs, he had to raise taxes - to balance the budget. He (and Clinton) were hated for doing what was necessary to create jobs. And so the question - do you understand what George Sr did to make America great? Do you realize that Carter sacrificed his popularity and relection to make America great? Most don't.

It did amaze me how Republicans turned on George Sr after his
"Read my lips" campaign followed by his ultimate decision to raise taxes.
From what I knew (or thought I knew) at the time, I thought he was doing the right thing.
And then the GOP became Devil-Mom eating her offspring.

[tw]

Originally Posted by Lamplighter

From what I knew (or thought I knew) at the time, I thought he was doing the right thing.

At the time, I thought he was doing the wrong thing. I thought he should have been cutting spending - including getting rid of many of those 600 Navy ships faster.

Well either you raise taxes or cut spending. George Sr proved that either can work. But the most irresponsible act any government can do is to maintain or increase spending while enriching the rich with tax cuts. That guarantees less jobs - and so many other economic destructions.