Well past time to set the record straight on the Carter presidency

[Major Nikon]

I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but this needs to be said again. We've all heard the myth of Carter being a lousy President and Reagan being such a great one, but pretty much everything about this is exactly wrong. Here's all sorts of bullet points here, but I'll cover the big ones:

1) Carter caused stagflation, Reagan fixed it

This is perhaps the biggest lie and is so misinformed it's pathetic, but still keeps getting repeated. The reality is stagflation was caused by the failed monetary and fiscal policies of Fed Chairman, Arthur F. Burns and Nixon's interference and failed policies. Carter replaced him with Paul Volcker who economists of all stripes credit with fixing stagflation. He was so successful Reagan was forced to reappoint him, and Reagan's fiscal policies were so disastrous even Republicans in congress eventually reversed them. Still this myth persists and it's 180 degrees from reality.

2) Carter was soft on defense, Reagan was strong on defense

This myth began with the leaked lies of Team B which was an effort created by Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, and Bush Sr. We now know virtually everything they produced was a lie, but somehow this myth persists. Carter began to cut the defense budget because he knew the Soviets were swirling the bowl. He knew this because the CIA was providing him with accurate intelligence we now know was in fact completely accurate. That didn't stop the ratfucking of Carter or Reagan exploding the defense budget completely needlessly, all based on the lies of Team B. This is arguably the greatest example of the disastrous consequences of politicizing our intelligence community and we never learned from it.

3) Carter rationed fuel and caused long lines at filling stations.

Fuel rationing and lines at the pump started under Nixon. Carter was the first president to even have an energy policy and had we followed it the US and the entire world would be a much better place today. Carter understood energy better than any other president and was truly a visionary foiled by a public who can't see beyond the next election.

The reality is that Carter was by far the greatest president of my lifetime. Anyone who disputes this is probably basing their opinion on pure unadulterated bullshit. One of the saddest parts about his last trip around the sun is he won't get the credit he so richly deserves in his lifetime.