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It's fascinating how many things that started under Carter people misremember and attribute solely to Reagan. We really do reform our memories to conform to sim

by gmarx 10y ago

It's fascinating how many things that started under Carter people misremember and attribute solely to Reagan. We really do reform our memories to conform to simple stories

gumby 10y ago
Carter's decision to do this reminds me of Johnson's comment about "losing the south for a generation" with the civil rights act. Despite the stereotype, typically the economy sucks under republicans and is repaired by democrat (Eisenhower is an exception, and Roosevelt took a while to figure out what to do, but I did say "generally"). Remember the concern under Clinton that the national debt might be retired and what a disaster that would be? Since I'm in the realm of gross generalizations it's often under Democrats that wars have ramped up: well, Roosevelt again, Kennedy and Johnson Vietnam, and, yes, Obama on the secret side) while republicans can close them off: Nixon (Viet nam & the cold war with China, Reagan/Bush sr Cold War with Russia. But this link is even more tenuous.
- gmarx 10y ago
  perhaps but if you look at per capita growth over the past hundred plus years in the US, aside from the great depression, you see pretty uniform growth no matter which party is in office. Also, the Clinton debt thing is overblown (my opinion) all that happened was a shift from public to private borrowing and I don't see what positive effect that had, temporary though it was. The whole Clinton miracle was a combination of coming out of a recession into an investment bubble.
  - gumby 10y ago
    Indeed, I was making a gross generalization to point out the inanity of the stereotype "Republicans strong on defense and good for business". Thanks for looking up the statistics. > Also, the Clinton debt thing is overblown (my opinion) Well I think it's creditable that there was a willingness not to increase the debt simply because it was easier to service (different under Reagan and Bush jr). Though it's congress that borrows, not the executive, right?
hackerboos 10y ago
Iranian hostage crisis comes to mind.
- gmarx 10y ago
  Really? I was alive at the time and the hostage crisis remains indelibly linked to Carter in my mind (aside from the belief of many on the left that Reagan cut some kind of deal with Iran to hold the hostages until after he won). Do younger people recall it differently?
  - hackerboos 10y ago
    Well, there's a conservative effort to re-write that history: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/jan/17/marco-rubio/rubio-wrongly-credits-reagan-1981-release-hostages/ http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/jan/...

by gmarx 10y ago

It's fascinating how many things that started under Carter people misremember and attribute solely to Reagan. We really do reform our memories to conform to simple stories

gumby 10y ago

Carter's decision to do this reminds me of Johnson's comment about "losing the south for a generation" with the civil rights act. Despite the stereotype, typically the economy sucks under republicans and is repaired by democrat (Eisenhower is an exception, and Roosevelt took a while to figure out what to do, but I did say "generally"). Remember the concern under Clinton that the national debt might be retired and what a disaster that would be? Since I'm in the realm of gross generalizations it's often under Democrats that wars have ramped up: well, Roosevelt again, Kennedy and Johnson Vietnam, and, yes, Obama on the secret side) while republicans can close them off: Nixon (Viet nam & the cold war with China, Reagan/Bush sr Cold War with Russia. But this link is even more tenuous.

gmarx 10y ago
perhaps but if you look at per capita growth over the past hundred plus years in the US, aside from the great depression, you see pretty uniform growth no matter which party is in office. Also, the Clinton debt thing is overblown (my opinion) all that happened was a shift from public to private borrowing and I don't see what positive effect that had, temporary though it was. The whole Clinton miracle was a combination of coming out of a recession into an investment bubble.
- gumby 10y ago
  Indeed, I was making a gross generalization to point out the inanity of the stereotype "Republicans strong on defense and good for business". Thanks for looking up the statistics. > Also, the Clinton debt thing is overblown (my opinion) Well I think it's creditable that there was a willingness not to increase the debt simply because it was easier to service (different under Reagan and Bush jr). Though it's congress that borrows, not the executive, right?

hackerboos 10y ago

Iranian hostage crisis comes to mind.

gmarx 10y ago
Really? I was alive at the time and the hostage crisis remains indelibly linked to Carter in my mind (aside from the belief of many on the left that Reagan cut some kind of deal with Iran to hold the hostages until after he won). Do younger people recall it differently?
- hackerboos 10y ago
  Well, there's a conservative effort to re-write that history: http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/jan/17/marco-rubio/rubio-wrongly-credits-reagan-1981-release-hostages/ http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/jan/...