With the passing of Jimmy Carter at the age of 100, there is a scurry to rewrite the history of our 39th president. According to the popular narrative, Carter faced economic and foreign policy challenges, yet his accomplishments, such as the Camp David Accords, are remembered, as well as his lifelong dedication to humanitarian efforts and winning the Nobel Peace Prize.

Carter’s true legacy is quite different. He was a godly man who was unprepared to serve as leader of the world’s superpower. His good — but naïve — intentions too often created disastrous results for our nation. His administration was soundly rejected by the American people, with a landslide loss for re-election. Voters were fed up with high inflation, gas prices that doubled, and a scarcity of gas with rationing and long lines at stations to fill tanks.

On the international stage, our enemies deemed Carter weak and took advantage of his nice-guy policy of “co-existence.” The Soviet Union stormed Afghanistan, while Islamic revolutionaries took control of Iran and held Americans prisoner for the remaining 444 days of Carter’s presidency.

In his post-presidency, Carter undermined American leaders in foreign policy. He wrote letters to Arab leaders to persuade them to abandon support for the United States. In North Korea, he undermined the efforts of our leaders to stop the buildup of a nuclear arsenal. In the Middle East, he befriended PLO terrorist leader Yasser Arafat, condemned Israel, and embraced Hamas.

One of Carter’s most infamous domestic policies was the creation of the Department of Education. Its establishment was a marriage of political expediency and dissatisfaction with Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty, which failed to end poverty despite massive government spending — more than

© American Thinker