Jimmy Carter: Hero or Failure?

It was nice to read about Jimmy Carter’s activities in “retirement” (“Legacy of a Crusader,” by Jeffrey Gettleman, Aug. 5). What a treasure this guy has turned out to be. It made me wonder who among his four successors would be found stooping to enter a Guyanese polling place to help with a solution to fair elections. Bill Clinton, perhaps. But that is about it. It makes you want to cry to think that the pathetic nonentity currently occupying the White House has been foisted upon the American people. What a shame.

David Weber

West Hollywood

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Why are the media so enamored with Carter lately? Your puff piece is a prime example. Could it be his Bush-bashing in recent weeks? He said that he disapproved of everything Bush has done so far. That convinces me even more of what a great job Bush is doing. Carter had one of the most disastrous presidencies in American history. It was during his watch that the term “misery index” was invented. We had double-digit inflation, high unemployment, an energy crisis far worse than we have now (remember the long lines and “odd-even” gas rationing?) and a laughable foreign policy. Emboldened by our weak president, the former Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan and Iran held Americans hostage. By the time he left office, our economy was in ruins and communism was on the advance throughout the world.

Judd Silver

Irvine

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Thank you for the article on Carter. He was not one of our more notable presidents, but he has become a very inspired ex-president. He and wife Rosalynn are involved in a wide variety of projects that just might help make the world a better place. It goes to show that if we put our talents, resources or strengths to use for a good cause, we can make a difference. Every time I read an article about Carter, I am impressed and inspired.

John Hurley

Norwalk

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Why am I not surprised that Carter’s Nobel Peace Prize nomination has been rejected 10 times? He was instrumental in making some 35 million people living in Iran, who were on the road to modernization, hostages of a bunch of zealot mullahs taking the country back to the Middle Ages. What does he expect? A pat on the shoulder?

Henry A. Sarkissian

Los Angeles

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Carter is the only ex-president of the last 50 years to behave as though he were still the president. Thanks for calling attention to his diligence and courage.

Robert Greenfield

Goleta

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Your article on Carter’s legacies omitted his most unforgettable and calamitous one: the giving away of the Panama Canal.

William S. Koester

Anaheim

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You know your three Rs, but do you know your three Cs? Carter, Clinton, Condit. Which of these three men holds to the highest standards of morality? If you chose either Clinton or Condit, you lose. If you chose Carter, you win.

Robert H. Williams

Monterey Park