"This is the stupidest American administration in history," says an old British diplomat, sotto voce. "Stupider than the Nixon crowd?" someone asked. "Stupider than the Carter administration?" asked another voice.
"I've worked with them all. This is by far the dumbest bunch ever in Washington."
Stupidity in Washington must hard to measure. As in the sewers of the nation's capital, there is plenty of awful stuff floating around, but it doesn't stay in one place long enough to size it up accurately; instead, it ebbs and flows.
Poor George W. has grabbed a-hold of a-something and he can't let go of it. Everywhere he goes, people point and whisper - there's the idiot that got us into Iraq. Even if his team had a good idea or two - not that we've heard any - on any other issues, the Iraq war gets in the way.
Bush's popularity has fallen to a level not seen since 1979. Then, Jimmy Carter was the unpopular president. Now, Carter has some choice words for Bush 43:
"I think as far as the adverse impact on the nation around the world, this administration has been the worst in history," Carter told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in a story that appeared in the newspaper's Saturday editions. "The overt reversal of America's basic values as expressed by previous administrations, including those of George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon and others, has been the most disturbing to me."
In retrospect, Carter was not so bad. He got us into no disastrous wars. He launched no major, costly programs that we can remember. He did his job...and left when his time was up.
Bill Bonner
The Daily Reckoning Australia
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About the Author
Best-selling investment author Bill Bonner is the founder and president of Agora Publishing, one of the world's most successful consumer newsletter companies. Owner of both Fleet Street Publications and MoneyWeek magazine in the UK, he is also author of the free daily e-mail The Daily Reckoning.
Comment by jorge garrido sanchez on 29 May 2007:
I do not agree with your premise of this being the dummest adminitration, nor that the Jimmy Carter administration was good at all.
Many now do not remember that Jimmy Carter had a friend whose name was Burt Lance, and who was a very shady banker, who had bank rolled Jimmy Carter in his presidential campaign.
As a result, of that help that Burt Lance provided to Jimy Carter and under the continuos auspices of Burt Lance advices, Jimmy Carter proceeded to deregulate the banking industry, which in the end cost americans zillions of dollars, by allowing the savings and loan institutions to act as commercial banks. That idiotic business decision threw the banking industry into a mayor disaster and a banking industry debacle. It was then, that the George Bush Senior administration was forced to create the Resoluiton Trust Corporation, to fix the hundreds and hundreds of failing savings and loan institutions that went bankrupt around the country because of Jimmy Carter and his failed decision. That was a typical Jimmy Carter mess and the Jimmy Carter banking industry legacy that he left America. As if that was not enough, Jimmy Carter also deregulated the airline industry and that other idiotic business decision by Jimmy Carter also threw the airline industry into another financial and domestic economic disaster, making many airlines such as Eastern Airlines, Pan American, TWA to meander until its bankruptcy and Braniff to go bankrupt. Hundreds of thousands of airline industry jobs lost to american families. Jimmy Carter couldn't even mount a successful campaign to recover hostages in Iran when helicopters malfunctioned during his mandated covert operation of rescue turned into a total planned disaster.
Jimmy Carter is a silly demagogue and a socialist at heart who has done a better job as a social worker after his ill fated presidency than as a true president of the United States.
We Americans went into Irak, not because of nuclear weapons, but because America believed, THEN, after 9/11 that Saddaam Hussein was a destabilizing factor in that region, as he certainly was. We needed to figure out how we acquired the knowledge and got to the heart of the problem with terrorism in our own soil and that was a pretty dam good place to start. And it still is. The problem is, we as Americans have grown too acustomed to getting everything we think we need fast and in an easy way. The fact is sometimes it takes more than just a first a second or a third or fourth blow. Personally, I believe we needed to have our troops overseas and position ourselves as we began to unravel the 9/11 mystery at large and all collateral issues.
Although, personally, I believe we should charge Irak for every amount of money spent there and we can recover America's monetary expense with oil credits, dollar for dollar--CREDITED to the American people. Such total monies in credits are to be divided by states in an equitable fashion. The cost of our services to free a country, particularly, when that country has unlimited resources of oil to pay. If I were the president of the United States I would send the government of Irak a bill for every single and last penny spent over there, by the U.S. plus ,plus a bit more, a premium for the lives it cost and get it back in oil credits. After all, we are a capitalistic society and should count the cents, every one cent, we have coming to us. If we spent so far $600 billion, then send a bill for $600 billion in oil that belongs to the American people and make the government of Irak give that oil to the people through a state by state rebate. For every gallon of oil we buy at the pump, we get a proportionate x number of gallons free until all the oil that is ours representing the cost of our services in Irak is repaid. anything else is bad business.
I do not think George Bush Jr. is the smartest guy in the world nor that Cheney is either, but when it comes to protecting this nation from extremist terrorists, they right now are the right guys for that job.
By the way the economy is not doing bad, except I think the dollar shouls recover now bigtime because as the dollar recovers so does the international image of this nation.
Iran is going to be a big problem very soon. They are dangerous radical thinking bigots. I think we should have Israel invade them if they get the bomb and the U.S. support Israel in that endeavor. It is not going away, this problem will have to be dealt with swiftly.
Comment by Kurt V on 29 May 2007:
In response to jorge garrido sanchez:
1. Nice revisionist history-- First, Carter did order deregulation of the banking industry, but JUST 6 MONTHS BEFORE Reagan was elected. Reagan had every opportunity to reverse the actions of Carter, but he agreed that deregulation was critical to the breaking of stagflation, and to helping the economy.
2. Carter was a socialist? What are you smoking? He deregulated the airlines, trucking and banking industries! The exact opposite of a socialist.
3. Are you honestly blaming Carter that the military helicopters failed in the hostage rescue attempt?!
4. Are you honestly defending Bush for outright lying to the American public about the reasons to invade Iraq?? Even you admit it was not about nuclear weapons. Lying to the American public is agruably an ACT OF TREASON! You seriously believe taking out Hussain was worth the deaths of 3500 American troops and 100,000+ Iraqis?
5. We should charge Iraq? Are you completely insane? We invaded them!
6. You need to open your eyes. Carter's assessment of Bush Jr. is dead on correct: Bush is arrogant, incompetent and dangerous. He is easily the worst president ever.
Comment by jorge garrido sanchez on 15 January 2008:
I am glad that you at least have the courage to admit that Carter deregulated the banking industry. Although, then you try to shift the blame of Carter's own poor decision,on Reagan, because you allege that Reagan left that piece of legislation the way Carter's adminitartion passed it.
So what, if carter's failed decision was made 6 months before Reagan's election. Carter, nevertheless, did it on his presidential watch. However, you do not say a word about the fact that it was the savings and loan debacle created from Carter's descision that brought that noble american institution (of the savings and loan industry) to its feet and with it the credibility of the american banking system among the citizens of this great nation. You are the one who doen't know what you are talking about. Your writing is pure demagoguery
Yes, Carter is a socialist. He has socialist tendencies proven through his actions and proven by the recent award of his nobel peace prize, generally given by the socialist state that sponsors such a prize to mostly socialists. Don't be so confused my friend, Socialism exists in Europe on a widespread basis and it is not as radical as americans believe, yet, it still conflicts in many ways with the ideals of a democratic capitialistic state. That is my point. Where did you get that because Carter deregulated the banking industry, that action is correlated to Carter not being a socialist? You're so uncultured and politically ignorant. You probably only speak one language too and do not know much about other people in other countries around the globe. To make a statement as that, is a clear siganal of your profiling tendency of thought. Socialist countries do privatize industries as the elderly care industry in Spain is now almost completely in the hands of private industry. You're beyond help on the knowledge about all this. It is pure fact what I am stating.
Yes, I am blaming Carter for being a wimp and giving credit to Reagan for ending the hostage crisis as he was taking his oath of the presidency when the hostages were released. Carter was the commander in chief of the armed forces and it was under his watch that the mision couldn't even get off let alone arrive at the accorded place to carry out the mission. It was Carter's full responsibility,not the executive chef's responsibility at the White House.
Bush did not falsify information on nuclear weapons. He is the commander in chief and he called for an invasion right after 9/11. I am sorry for the 3,500 troops that died fullfilling their job (to follow the orders of the commander in chief by being in a volunteer army when you voluntarily join and are not drafted)
Yes, we should charge Irak for every single penny of our expense to liberate that country. I as a capitalist believe that Irak has more than the resources to pay back this nation for our expense and it is justified. No, you're insane. So what if we invaded them. It was their country's misgivings that forced us to invade them and they weell should pay for that, knowing they pretty dam well have the resources. Put it to the american public for a vote and see the results and then you will realize that you are insane for thinking the way you do.
I have my eyes open and my facts correct. carter was the worst president that I can remember in my lifetime. Your personal comments lack the fortitude of analitcal assesment supported by facts as I again have written here.
Comment by jorge garrido on 27 October 2008:
Oh!, by the way...your write from and in the UK.
Therefore(and how appropriate the following comment), I forgot to mention in additional response to your statement that because Carter deregulated the banking industry and the airline industry he is not a Socialist--as if socialists don´t oversee capitalist tasks, well what about Tony Blair(?), yes, your former prime minister represented the labor party, my uninformed writer. So just who do youthink the laboreres of any nation side with? RIGHT: Socalists, so do labor unions in the United States. That doesn´t mean that being a socialist is reprehensible or bad it is just what it is. Carter´s administration was the stupidest administration in the history of U.S. Harry Truman finished his adminsitration with similar percentage approvals as George Bush. Through the years history will make Bush the President that stopped terrorism on its tracks, as it made Harry Truman the President who put U.S. on a midas touch with the post war era, in later the end after Korea.
This is your daily reckoning portion.