[Spagbol]

I have not done significant research, but the more I have read about Jimmy Carter the more I am convinced he is very underrated, and the more I read about Reagan the more I beleive he was a bad choice for the average U.S. citizen long-term (e.g. destroying the U.S. lead on climate tech, and creating policies that ultimately eroded the wealth of the middle class) Reagan was certainly charming, but I beleive he didn't have the integrity of Carter. While Reagan let dictators like Pinochet commit heinous human rights abuses so long as they were anti-communist, Carter put actual pressure on the regime and sought answers. I consider him a long-term thinking leader rather than your average short-term thinking politician. I think that history will end up being much kinder to Carter in hindsight.

[zeroonetwothree]

I view both of them positively (unusual I suppose). Honestly compared to the poor presidents we’ve been getting in this century, the 20th makes me very jealous in retrospect.

[johnnyanmac]

The best 21st century presidents can barely do much, so are basically nothing burgers. Any policies they do pass are basically negated in 4 years. And the worst ones make me yearn for Regean. At least he pretended to care about the american people.

That was definitely the biggest change in 50 years. There seemed to be a lot more bipartisan support for things overall that would actually help the country. Now it's a pissing contest at the turn of the century. Good bills won't pass simply because of who's name is on the bill.

[johnnyanmac]

philisophically, it does a lot of reflections of what people vote for. The economy was bad under Reagan, Reagan fixed the short term at the "cost" of letting corporations slowly spiral out of control. By the time people notice this Reagan would be long out of office, possibly long dead.

Jimmy overall was thinking long term and made tough decisions that were unpopular. Leading to one of the biggest blowouts in decades at that point (one that has not yet been replicated since). The only surprise here is that Carter didn't become jaded and just live out his life peacefully on his own terms.

[metabagel]

I hope you’re right, but there is an entire cottage industry dedicated to propping up Reagan’s legacy.

[Spagbol]

I was thinking longer-term history when those incentives have eroded. And of course these things are always easier to see in hindsight