Enough American voters agreed with them to put Obama in the White-House.
Half way through his first term, those same left leaning Europeans are now comparing Obama, rather unkindly, to Jimmy Carter.
See: Will Obama Be the 'Jimmy Carter of the 21st Century'?
The left-leaning Berliner Zeitung writes:
"If Barack Obama isn't careful, he will become the Jimmy Carter of the 21st century."
"In his speech, Obama tried to make a virtue of an emergency. He said a shift to new energy sources was now a 'national mission.' Just as the nation once mobilized its powers for World War II, now it needs to conquer its devilish dependence on fossil fuels … If Obama wins this debate, and achieves a true shift in energy dependence, then his name will perhaps be mentioned again in the same breath with great American presidents."
"Politically, though, it's fraught with risk. His opponents have already charged Obama with using the Gulf catastrophe to advance his climate agenda in Congress. Republicans rely on the tendency of Americans to prefer cheap fuel and big cars with a certain level of power. Over 30 years ago, after all, another president called for smarter American energy policies in a televised speech from the Oval Office. He wanted to know, 'Why have we not been able to get together as a nation to resolve our serious energy problem?' That president's name was Jimmy Carter."
The bloom is off the rose.
Technically I was around for the Carter adminstration, but I was primarily concerned with toddler-related stuff....because....well, I fit into that demographic.
ReplyDeleteYes as early as November 2008 I was wondering how far into the new administration the Carter comparisons would be and how valid they might be.
According to older relatives around at the time, Carter was inept. 0bama's just inept (at least according to infamous right-wingers like James Carville or Chris Matthews) AND as a bonus, doesn't give a crap- especially if you live in a red state like Tennessee, Arizona or Louisiana....