European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - January 16, 1981, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Doily Magazine the Carter presidency political Miracle gone awry perhaps to ask him to be both decent and moral and a Tough and effective Leader was too much historian James by Terence Smith new York times history will treat him More kindly than the american people did on said Clark who has been watching presidents come and go for 40 but there was Noth ing epochal about his nothing really what will be Jimmy Carters legacy As president what will come to mind when his presidency is recalled in the future it is too soon to make a historical judgment on the Carter but the answers Given in the last few weeks by half a dozen president watchers Sug Gest that perhaps Carters most memorable achieve ment was getting elected in the first the Israel egyptian peace treaty was one achieve ment full diplomatic relations with China and the Energy program were others but the phenomenon of the Carter electoral Triumph in 1976 May be esteemed his most remarkable a governor of Georgia elected was suggested As a headline by Harry White House counsel to Lyn Don when he was asked to sum up the Carter the commentaries by the Histo Rian James David authors Theodore White and Theodore a former White House press George and Austin a Politi Cal scientist and resident scholar at the conservative american Enterprise were generally critical and sometimes they tended to Mirror the findings of a Gallup poll that was released Only 3 percent of americans think that history will regard Jimmy Carter As an out standing the poll while 46 percent expect he will be rated As below average or in a final Gallup assessment of Carters performance in conducted last 34 percent expressed his immediate Gerald received a s3 percent approval rating As he completed his final weeks in in the latest Gallup 549 adults were interviewed in 300 places from 5 to Carter received the lowest popularity rating of any president in the last four decades 21 percent in july he also was not at the top of the Gallup polls list of most admired men in the world in 1980 a list he led the three years with some incumbent presidents routinely top that on the other a majority of americans have consistently described Carter Over the last four years in Gallups surveys As a Man of High moral a religious person and one sympathetic to the problems of the polls who served As press Secretary to president Johnson and now is Dean of the Marquette University school of doubts that Carter will leave much of an impression in the Public consciousness either he sees him As someone who served in a period of such rapid and traumatic change in the nations fortunes that he had Little Opportunity to make his transitional periods produce transitional he noting that the last Strong president was Rich Ard Carters main achievement was to slow the country Down a bit after the Shock of he times were not right for much More than this was one of those periods when presidents tend to disappear into the like 1848 to we All re member but what can you recall about Zachary Taylor who periodically advised Carter on policy but never developed the close Bond he had had with previous tended to agree with Jimmy Carter was a Man who came from he flashed across the political had some solid accomplishments in his four years but ultimately failed to establish a political then the peo at their first returned him to there was nothing exceptional about no new theory of government was it was just one of those rare moments that historians will rack their brains to under stand and but Clifford feels strongly that Carter earned his place in american political history with his Longshot Victory in he said Jimmy Carter is very Likely to be remembered As the Man Back in about Analysed the mood of the electorate very accurately and devel oped a concept of How to be elected he started with something like 3 percent in the polls and pulled off a practical political Ranney also sees Carters election As his greatest Tri he was the first person to understand the significance of the Mcgovern reforms in the democratic Par he referring to the changes in the party nominating those reforms put a Premium on Campaign skills and separated the Job of winning the nomination from the task of Carter will be remembered As a failure in both eco nomic and foreign Ranney inflation characterized his record on the Retreat characterized the in their final weeks in top Carter aides say they resent that kind of assessment Ana insist that it overlooks some real Stuart Carters chief Domestic policy listed five major areas when asked to summarize january 1981 the highlights of the Carter he mentioned the Energy the administrations environmental re the deregulation of trucking and airlines civil service Reform and the Camp David accords on the Middle he did not although most administration officials the passage of the Panama canal administration officials feel the Carters got Little or no credit for the cultural events at the White including the nationally televised sunday afternoon con the Carters were seen As country one official observed and nothing they did could change that an aide to president was not critical of the Carter but he was scathing in his assessment of the Impact of his the Carter administration will go Down in history As proof of the inability of those who have no experience in National or International issues to govern the country he the president came in with the Best of intentions and a High Quality but the Lack of experience and sensitivity that he and some Mem Bers of his White House staff displayed so undermined his effectiveness at the Start that he never overcame Sorensen predicted that history would categorize car Ter As the second Engineer after Herbert who was intelligent and worked hard but failed to enunciate a Broad and coherent one of a group of Washington democrats who advised and helped the Carter White House on a regular but unofficial seems to Jimmy Carter came across to the Public As a political he he never displayed that Freint Debelly Quality that people want in a Polit ical the Public never knew where he what he really cared they finally decided that his Over driving purpose was to stay in so they turned him that not the stuff of a historian and author of books on the presi thinks that Carter will be remembered for the things that did not happen in his it was four years without a social he considering our recent that no Small Barber also noted that Carter had emerged from his term in the White House with his image of decency and integrity perhaps to ask him to be both decent and moral and a Tough and effective Leader was too he White offered a concise summation of the Carter Jimmy Carter will be recalled As the president who let inflation get out of control and As a totally moral Man who didst know How to Cope with the bestial immorality of the the combination 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