CNN

MARI: Why don't you check your history the viatnam war was started with the covert actions of JFK before his demise and was carried on by Johnson. Nixon was voted in once we were occupying Vietnam

MARI:
January 7th, 2009 11:22 am ET

TYPICAL OF PEOPLE TO NOT KNOW THEIR HISTORY…….CARTER INHERITED A DISASTER FROM NIXON & FORD!

We had just ended ANOTHER illegal war VIETNAM, spending billions there as well!

HOW EASY it is to blame Carter, when in FACT, Nixon & Ford were the REAL DISASTERS!

HISTORY IS REPEATING ITSELF WITH GEORGE W. BUSH………BARACK OBAMA IS INHERITING A ……….DISASTER…… WILL THE FAR-RIGHT-NUTS THEN BLAME OBAMA IN 4 YEARS……… YOU PEOPLE HAVE SELECTIVE MEMORY!

CARTER DID HIS BEST.

See, a GOOD LEADER (Obama) seeks advice and consults with the only men that can give him REAL advice. Men that have served in the same position. Sure, Obama will ask personal questions about handling the media, foreign affairs and raising kids in the White House. Its nothing like getting advice on how to handle the job from people who have held the job. Any good military commander that takes over a new job will tell you to FIRST, observe, get a feel for the job...then start to impliment your changes. I'm sure Obama will be a "student" listening to these former presidents. EACH former pres. can give Obama candid advice on the office, the pros and cons, public opinion, and how THEY felt while serving. Obama will take off of this valuable information, talk with HIS staff, and move forward. Only good leaders know how to listen and learn from others.

George Bush is absolutely the worst president in history, at least since me. I am really counting on everybody saying that he is even worse than me. I was a nice guy. Spineless and clueless, but nice. If the 76 election had been held a week later, I wouldn't have even been elected. The more people knew about me the more they knew I wasn't president material. I should have remained a peanut farmer and a sunday school teacher.

George W's daddy is a friend of mine. He doesn't like W much more than I do. Jeb was his favorite. He told me. George and I are both members of an international secret society that is stronger than any political party. That's why we get along so well. Don"t tell anyone, but George voted for Obama, but the truth is, I think George W did too.

I'm glad that people have forgotten what a rotten president I was. Of course, about half of them that voted for me have since died of old age. The guy I ran against has died. His VP has died. When a few more die, I may even be more popular. Thirty years from now, most of the people who hated W will be dead too. He will be more popular than I am.

There are two kinds of tests normative and criterion based.

On a criterion based test one makes a list of observable traits and measures each subject against the target performance.

Every ex-president has areas were they would do well and poorly with this type of test.

We tend to use the normative method with our ex-presidents. That is where you judge each subject in relation to the others making what looks like a "bell curve" the worst on one end the best on the others and everyone else somewhere in the middle.

Although each of the ex-presidents mentioned are somewhere in the middle they all got a jump towards greatness when George W Bush took this county, his party, and the budget surplus down the toilet.

Ya gotta admit....Dubya was good for laughs !!!!

Somehow I think George W. may be the exception.

Ok, time for a wake up call for all you dummies. George W. Bush will go down in the history books as a GREAT PRESIDENT. He will be on equal footing as Washington, Lincoln, FDR and Reagan. What he has done to our economy will make us strong and #1 again in the world. Invading Iraq will make democracies throughout the Middle East. A couple years from now, Iran will be one of our closest allies. Russia, China and India will submit to our economic power. We will be feared and respected.

George W. Bush deserves to be on Mount Rushmore.

Long Live George W. Bush.................THE BEST!

Mari –

Buy a history book. Nixon did not start the Vietnam War; he stopped it. The war actually started during Kennedy's administration, and escalated under LBJ. Ford had absolutely nothing to do with it; it had been over for a year when he became president.

September 11 happened after Bush was inaugurated, as a result of Clinton's spending more time with interns in the oval office than going over what was happening with intelligence advisor.

The hostages came home from Iran after Reagan was inaugurated because Iran knew we finally had a leader with a backbone instead of a milquetoast who wore sweaters in the White House and gave canals away to dictatorships.

I was there. You obviously were not.

I am totally baffled! How can a person who is not even in the Presidential Office yet, be getting high marks for a President. For crying out loud, he did nothing while he was in Illinois and will probably do nothing again when he becomes President. These people who are giving him high ratings have lost their minds. How about you all wait and see what happens first and then judge him. The only good thing is that he is pulling in people from previous presidents.

Jimmy (america and israel hater) Carter, the worlds' worst president will always be remembered as the father of islamic terrorism for his support of all of the ayatollahs. the hostages were released because they feared reagan not jimmy (i fold) carter..

My only comment will be, Georgie will be my favorite President of all time. No other President in the history of this country has been as stupid and clueless as him. Next to Carter Georgie looks like the village Idiot he is.

All of them together, all their combined failures, do not add up to 1/2 of the disasters that George has visited upon this country.

CNN is just participating in the Republican Facist cabal effort to rewrite history to say George wasn't that bad.

George, IS....THE....WORST.....PRESIDENT....EVER...!

Worse than Hoover, Grant, all othe others.

Carter's presidency historically shines. The peace agreement he reached with Isreal and Egypt stands today. He inhereited a mess from failed Republican administrations again with war on their hands. All the Iranian hostages came home alive and as Carter himself said, for him to go in militarily (which he did try to do and the military failed their mission) would have ended the lives of the hostages and started a war with Iran WHICH WOULD HAVE SOLVED NOTHING

Speaking of remembering: remember 9/12 and what was the president going to do about the 9/11 attacks? Had he done nothing – how would you feel now?

Okay, to top the list of the worst Prez, please answer this question: Which Prez, left us 5 trillion worth of debt?

I'm a Christian and W is a Christian (10% Christian and 90% politician), but let me tell yeah, he's as close as we can get to a dictator. Thank God for the Consitution and Thank God for the Bible or we'll see Hitlers, lining up for Prez spots.

To Mari

This is the reason why I'm so proud of both parties. The Republicans always create a Katrina deficit mess and the DONKEYS, always end up CLEANING up after THEM. The ELEPHANTS are fierced fighters, but battery-operated by the DONKEYS. An elephant is needed for its fierce and STRONG nature and a donkey, for hard-times to carry loads through TREACHEROUS mountains of unknown entities. America, be brave!! God, guts and guns, will save us.

Yes, Carter had to put America through 21% interest rate.

@ DAN........SEPTEMBER 11TH HAPPENED ON BUSH'S WATCH...... HE.......DID.............NOT............KEEP.........US...........SAFE!

Steve in Arizona@-The republicans did not control congress during the Carter administration. The democratically controlled congress of that era, got itself screwed up in a lot of problems that had nothing to do with the republicans.

TYPICAL OF PEOPLE TO NOT KNOW THEIR HISTORY.......CARTER INHERITED A DISASTER FROM NIXON & FORD!

We had just ended ANOTHER illegal war VIETNAM, spending billions there as well!

HOW EASY it is to blame Carter, when in FACT, Nixon & Ford were the REAL DISASTERS!

HISTORY IS REPEATING ITSELF WITH GEORGE W. BUSH.........BARACK OBAMA IS INHERITING A ..........DISASTER...... WILL THE FAR-RIGHT-NUTS THEN BLAME OBAMA IN 4 YEARS......... YOU PEOPLE HAVE SELECTIVE MEMORY!

CARTER DID HIS BEST.

I am flabberghasted at the attempt to paint Carter in a worst light than W.

It isnt even close. Even with Carters domestic problems, you can still point to monumental successes. There is a REASON he won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in the Middle East. And for all of the moaning about the hostage crises... THEY ALL CAME HOME ALIVE without shredding the consitution or starting a war.

Shame on all of you enablers and apologizers of W. Shame on all of you history revisionist propaganda pawns. Shame on you.

Not that this post will ever see the light of day... I have been banned from posting at cnn, while Mike in Syracuse and others of his ilk are free to spread propaganda and divisive hate. And with that... Shame on you, too, CNN.

How many of the 64% who approve of Carter's bungling were actually alive or can remember his presidency.

Yep, Carter was 80% Christian and 10% politicians..

i love Jimmy Carter!

GDP was at 4.7 percent 4th quarter of 1992. Economy was rising at the end of George HW Bush's term. His stimulus plan and tax hikes helped the economy.

He is remembered for being president during a recession but what isn't remembered is the economy was on the rise before he left office and he left it in a good place for Clinton. I always thought George HW Bush got a bad rap on his presidency.

Another thing:
The economy was lousy during the Carter administration, but at least he didn't have to revert to Socialism, like W did!

THEY ARE ALL PAST CROOKS AND HAD A LOT TO DO WITH US BEING WHERE WE ARE TODAY. CNN ASK THEM IF THEY WILL GIVE UP PART OF THEIR PENSION TO HELP OUT THE ECONOMY

To TCM:

Were you alseep during Carter's presidency? Here's the facts:

-Believe it or not, Iran was a staunch ally of ours until Carter allowed the Shah to be deposed and the Ayatollah Khomeini to take power which gave birth to the whole Islamic revolution and all of the problems that has followed.
-The inflation rate during Carter's presidency was up to 12%
-The unemployment rate during Carter's presidency was up to 7.7%
-Interest rates during Carter's presidency was up to 20%

The Carter presidency was the definition of failure.

Common CNN, tell the truth. Give us the actual question(s) asked in your poll and what the responses were on each question. I can see JC getting favorable ratings as a person, not as a president.

It has reason behind these opinions. The current mess in Iraq shows the wisdom of Bush Sr and his leadership of desert storm operation. Jimmy Carter has done lots of humanity work after his persidency. So people has positive feeling on him as a person.

As I look back at Jimmy Carter, I still give him very low marks because of his ineffectiveness.

But I give W even lower marks because of his lack of intelligence, his stubbornness and his deer-in-the-headlights approach to problem solving. A reporter once asked him if he regretted any of his decisions, and he couldn't even think of any!

Carter was bad, but you have to admit that some of his problems were beyond his control, like the Iranian hostage crisis. He tried to free them, but failed. He also had to deal with high inflation, which is followed by high interest rates.

@Norom and TCM:
Under Carter unemployment was 10% (it's 6.7% now)
Inflations was double digits
Interest rates hit 21.5%
We had the Iranian hostage crisis
We gave away the Panama Canal
He pardoned Vietnam draft dodgers, who should have rotted in Canada
There were gas lines (never happned this time)

Carter is definitely in the running for worst US President.

I'd give George Bush higher marks than I did in 1992, but I still think that Jimmy Carter sucks. And I'm a democrat!

Time must be kind... George H. W. looks younger (in some ways) than George W.

My oh my what short memories we have. Here's a little refresher....Jimmy Carter was absolutely the worst president in the history of this great nation.

David January 7th, 2009 8:55 am ET

Most of those polled probably never lived through the Carter horror show. Can you say 20% interest on mortgages?

Right, having your home foreclosed on, or having no job is SO much
better than 20% interest.

For everyone bad-mouthing former President Carter, remember this (and YES, I was an adult during his presidency):

The Repblican-controlled Congress blocked almost every piece of legislation that he tried to introduce.

His energy plans are now being enacted. He was far ahead of his time.

He had the audacity to tell the American people that they shared some of the blame and burden of the economy.

He has done more for Middle Eastern peace than any president in the history of the country. Read up on the Camp David Peace Accords and educate yourself.

So much of what people blame President Carter for, he had no control over.

My first research paper on Polk back in high school showed me just how dark our history is. And as someone who lived through our modern-day Polk's bloody reign, I will never forget.

I pray that George Bush and those who served him are charged and convicted for all of their barbarisms and atrocities. And history will not be kind to this monster-what we already know about his administration sends chills through us, but the probes of history may reveal far more than we ever wanted to know.

Carter was by far a worse president than Bush, or Nixon, or any other US president. Unfortunately, many people have short memories.

Bush was the worst / not to mention the Dumbest one.....Then NIXON was the 2nd worst......Bush # 1 wasn't exactly good, either......He was also a puppet for the Republicans.....

Larry C.
Houston, Texas
(where money is still flowing like water)
(no recession here)

G W will not be that lucky-of course the other 2 Presidents didn't try to destroy the Constitution and the country.

Who are they polling about Jimmy Carter? That's a joke that 64% approve of the job he did now...he was the worst president in modern times (yes even worse then Bush 43).

I loved president Carter. Too bad he's not getting his props until now....

Let's all play nice , We are Americans first!

Okay lets get to the real reason....Compared to "W" any past president looks really really good; naturally their numbers have gone up we've now had an an example of truly incompetent.

Yes, well, time was kind to Nixon as well. People have short memories. Let's hope that we all remember how George W Bush screwed up the country and world because of his policies, greed and stupidity. It will takes a decade to fix his mess. Let us NOT forget.

Carter is being largely vindicated by history. He tried to put into place preventative measures 30 years ago, these measures he tried to put in place are now being ressurected as emergency fixes. We can only wonder what the world would be like now if Reagan didn't undo the progress Carter made. His work after he left office showed that Carter was not only a good president, but a great man.

George H. W. Bush, while I have many policy disagreements with the man, was a moderate and a pragmatist. He did things carefully and well, if only he could have taught that method to his son before he took office.

I do find it Ironic that of the five presidents in my life time, the two who only had one term rank the highest.

Our current President reminds of the one child in the family who was the deliquent teen..but then..just nearing adulthood surprises everyone and does the right thing....sort of they way his legacy will be remember years from now because of his recent Enviromental legislation. That was truely a biggie that won't be realized until years later.

I always thought Pres. Carter was on the side of God, or is that God on the side of Carter, and it fits Biblically as most people did not agree with is stance in the beginning and are only now starting to see his vision was really right.

Though most people adored Pres. Clinton as I initally did I have been disturbed by his poor moral choices and it's impact on our country...
as well, never satisfied with the response of the man who mysteriously died early in his adminstration. He was gifted by God with such intelligency...perhaps he can now use those gifts to get it all right in consult with his wife (SOS).

Daddy Bush viewed the office as a corporation and an entitlement to his boys....is that really the memory you want to leave history? I have struggled to see him any other way...

PE Obama has been fourtunate with the turn of times..but if we really look at history..including Bibical..he has quite a calling to adhere too and grave consequences for any failure.....He'll need our prayers.

So, did CNN Science tech send any of those robo recording flies to the meeting and get the scoop?

Susie, I commend you on your wonderful use of the English language. It was such a breath of fresh air compared to the usual mangled, misspelled, kindergarten-level tirades one usually has to suffer through in this forum. In fact, it was so well-written I could almost overlook the fact that almost every word of it was dead wrong. But thanks anyway for misstating the facts in such a thoughtful manner.

Q: Why does Jimmy Carter keep calling GW Bush "The worst president we've ever had?"

A: Because he's been trying to get rid of the title for thirty years.

After watching 8 years of GWB in action I would have to think that would make anyone's ratings go up.
I didn't think they came any worse than Carter but GWB was able to make him look smarter.

I'm a democrat but had always considered Carter the worst president in my lifetime. I also think he has been the best ex-president we've had because of his charity work. Dubya has moved into Carter's old spot. Sorry Jimmy...you're number two now. Historians in the future might have a different view of Bush II in the future. It's just those of us alive now that look at him as a disaster. I agree with many of the posters on here that the ex-presidents look better because of how bad W. has been. If Obama is even a mediocre president during his first term he will be re-elected because even mediocre will appear to be outstanding when compared to our out-going president.

Even George W. Bush could not make Jimmy Carter look good. You just can't camouflage crap enough to look like an orchard.

To everyone who thinks Jimmy Carter was a lousy president. I was alive and well during his administration and:

We were not involved in any wars.

There were no acts of terrorism on our soil.

The stock market did not crash.

People had jobs.

The Big Three automakers weren't about to go under.

President Carter forged a peace agreement between two bitter enemies, Israel and Egypt, which has held for 30 years.

I PRAY EVERY DAY THAT ONE DAY WE WILL NEVER HEAR ANYTHING FROM GEORGE H W BUSH ,GEORGE W BUSH AND JED BUSH. THREE CROOKS THAT DESTROYED AMERICA AND CAUSED AN INCREASE IN TERRORISTS GANGS AROUND THE WORLD.

Former Presidents George H.W. Bush, left, and Jimmy Carter can smile now about their performance in polls....Before you think about running for PREZ take a Good LOOK @the Snap shot above ...Oh my just like going to the ZOO!!!

I remember Carter as a great man who was a less than great president. He stuck by his principles, even when it was inconvenient & not politically expedient to do so. He micro-managed things, & this caused his presidency to suffer, but he was a good, honest man who called a spade a spade, & he was not pragmatic about human rights.

Time may have been kind to some former preseidents, but I don't think GWB is going to be one of them. I mean come on financial crisis, recession, 9/11, Iraq, Afghanistan, Gitmo, warrentless wire tapping, completely disregarding the constitution, shal I go on? I mean the man and his VP are war criminals, if this was another country the world would be asking for their heads on a platter. I've got the next 60 years to remember how much of a moron this man was!

Personal to GWB2012:

Nice to see you had blinders on for the last 8 years – you're just the kind of big tninker the GOP likes!!!

Won't you be cleaning out the underside of your double-wide trailer soon?!

Just wait a couple of weeks.

Well, anyone would look like a princely statesman compared to George the Second...

Carter had a tough presidency but was easily the most decent man in the White House.

Clinton enjoyed the most success even though he was an amoral louse.

Either Bush was a failure, and it statred with Prescott Bush back in the 40's when he lost his companies under the "Trading With The Enemy Act" for money laundering with the Nazis – pure opportunistic family with no moral values or concern for the constituency that elected them.

It is clear the Obama is a student of history and will learn from these mistakes and the good fortune of his predecessors!!!

BUT THE BUSH FAMILY SHOULD BE FLOGGED!!!

There is such a stark difference between Bush Sr. and Bush Jr. Sr. knew when to stop and knew on the world stage, we need to work with others to get a buy in. The first war was won because we were able to take onto our side countries like Saudia, Egypt and even Syria. Soon after that he started the peace process between Israel and the Arabs, to pacifiy the muslim world about being fair. He even managed to get UN to do all the dirty work of disarming Saddam.

Compare that to Jr. who has made even our closest allies our enemies.

I would think that after 8 years of W., pretty much anyone looks good in retrospect.
But I also think that the humanitarian efforts of the former Presidents has helped improve their image in people's minds. They've all done some good work since leaving office, and hopefully will continue to do so.
I only hope and pray that Bush Sr. wasn't serious about wanting to see Jeb take a run at the White House. I think we've had enough of the Bush family

That's because most of the nitwits who give high approval marks to Jimmy Carter are simply too young to have lived through his miserable years.

Time will have to be awfully kind to Dubya

I don't know who you're polling but no one I have ever met thinks Carter did a good job and most consider him the worst President we ever had.

Anyone who can read and differentiate fact from fiction (clearly not all the posters here) will understand the difference between 2 bungled presidencies of the past and the sheer disaster of the present. Would anyone with a brain and a house and a retirement account, not to mention an awareness of the world outside our borders, prefer our present predicament to the end of either old Bush or Carter's presidency? It wasn't rosey, but I'd jump at the chance to get there than here. Obviously GWB has lowered the standard to such a level that even the past goof-ups look brilliant.

Obama has a nearly impossible challenge ahead and our only hope is that we help him fix the mess–all of us acting like Americans rather than idiots.

Next time you pump gas. Remember back in the 70's, that was a 2 hour ordeal, thanks to Jimmie and his 64% approval rating.

Baloney!

GWB2012 January 7th, 2009 8:47 am ET

It's fun sitting back now and watching all the in fighting among the dems right now. It's like the Beverly Hillbillies moved to Washington.
----------------------------–

It's really funny to watch Republicans brag about how THEIR kind of democracy doesn't have any of this messy debate stuff in it, and how they NEVER compromise.

Personally, I prefer actual democracy, but to each his own.

Wasn't there a guy named Reagan in between these two, I believe his rating would be way above those mentioned, but can't have that put in writing on CNN. If we'd just follow his example, we'd be better off. Bush II ratings will go up in time no matter how bad Dem's and the media have treated him.

Wonder what congress' ratings have been over the last 30 yrs.....

""W"'s approval rating will climb to 100%, when Americans one day look back on how well he protected the country through 2 terms in office, after 9-11."

Only if they forget, as you obviously have, that his administration allowed the attack to happen after being warned about it.

I don't think George W. Bushs' ratings are going in the near future. The most significant thing he's done is keep us safe from another terrorist attack. History may look at him favorable for that, but it won't forget all the other malarky he's gotten us into. If he gets higher than a 40% approval rating I'll be shocked.

The problem isn't our leaders, it is we voting citizens. We know that there is no free lunch and that debt is not a good thing, yet we allow our leaders to do it anyway.
Our grand children, great grand children and great-great childeren are going to hate for our being so irresponsible.

Yeah, the presidents from the recent past all look a lot better since "W" lowered the bar.

Time will still say George W. Bush was the worst president in history. There is no way to erase his multitude of failures to our country.

Actually, the current president has set the bar so low, almost any other presidency will look like a glaring success. Even Carter can thank DUHbya for making him look good.

13 days till the end of the Bush administration.

Funny how the "conservative, Christian" Republicans blast the only truly Christian President we have had–Jimmy Carter. He ran afoul of the media because he tried his best to follow Christ...someone GWB could never emulate, nor does he want to! Bombings, torture, shredding the Constitution to advance your agenda-these are acts of fascism, not Christianity.
GWB will be remembered for what he is-a lying, manipulative, insecure, power-hungry man who did his very best to ruin this country. We will not recover from his machinations for decades. And if and when people are ready to hear the truth about what went on behind closed doors, they will realize that he should have been jailed for his treasonous behaviors. Amazing that Clinton is impeached for a personal failure, but Bush smirks his way out of Washington having tortured, bombed innocent people, ruined our financial health, and says "So what?"

"...know you all at CNN have been pampering him like a baby instead you all should have been digging into every move he made much the same as you’re doing to Obama now..." You've got to be kidding!!! Yes, they 'dig' into Obama – with a positive spin on the most mundane of activities. No one trumpets Obama louder or more positively than the liberal media (of which CNN is top dog)

Just to refresh everyone's memory..... the woes of the late 70's were all OUR fault (Americans) according to Jimmy "I'll never lie to you" Carter in his "malaise" speech. And he started the ball rolling on appeasemant as an international policy. Worst president EVER.

the USA citizens will never be kind to the Idiot W. Except of course he sheep or the millionaires he helped get richer. Thank god there's more of us than them.

It's so wonderful people are engaged and paying attention to our elected 'leaders'.

Maybe we don't always get it exactly right, and everyone has an opinion. But Politicians beware,

WE ARE WATCHING YOU NOW AND PAYING ATTENTION TO WHAT YOU'RE DOING. (I'm shouting) Better get it right or you'll be voted out of office.

I REMEMBER BOTH VERY WELL, CARTER IS A GOOD MAN BUT LETS FACE FACTS AS A PRESIDENT, HE WAS NOT VERY GOOD INFLATION, HIS MORAL LECTURES ETC., WERE A DRAG OF COURSE HE INHERITED ALOT FROM THE POST VIET NAM PRESIDENT NIXON. BUSH #1, I WAS DOWN SIZED REMEMBER THAT PHRASE, UNDER 1, LIKE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS PER WEEK, AND HIS POP CORN FART OF DESERT STORM WAS NOT FINISHED AND #2, TRIED TO BEST HIS FATHER. LETS BE REAL THE BUSH'S ARE NOT LEADERSHIP MATERIAL THEY ARE MORE FOR THE RICH THAN MOST AMERICANS. ;-(

Yeah, we all think so highly of Herbert Hoover...?

Oh boy, I wonder if they will give PE Obama words of wisdom.

1. Jimmy Carter: a dweeb, remembering 52 American Hostages.

2 G.H.Bush: Persian Gulf War and read my lips no new taxes.

3. Bill Clinton: zippergate, but did leave us a surplus of what 7 trillion dollars?

4. G.W. Bush: let us in debt, that our children's children, children will have a hard time paying it off, two wars, health care in turmoil, no jobs, foreclosers, torture, and spying on Americans and saying we need to keep our Country safe,

President -Elect, you are on your own, Goddess help you.

Could these results be influenced by the timing, i.e., the end of a very unpopular presidency?

Cater was a horrible President

While an average poll may forgive and forget presidential deeds, bona fide historians and historiographers will not be so generous.

The Bush admin was so bad that even after all of us that lived through the Bush admin are dead, the videos the documentation on Bush will still be around to tell the real story. There's not enough years or ignorance to whitewash the Bush admin with positive spin.

Carter's approval rating is from Habitat for humanity...not the presidency!
Bush 41 did a great job with the Gulf War....and our gratitud was to not vote him back in
Clintin did nothing (Ruanda, Alqaeda,etc) (abused and destroyed the life of a young intern)...and we think he is great, amazing!
Bush 43 showed true leadership in very difficult times....and we just don't appreciate it (stupidity, ignorance or both)
kept us safe, help with aids, malaria, environment...nothing that he does is good enough
we are told by the "media" that he is "bad" and some just beleive it
what is the approval rating of american citizens? zero!
we forgot the fundamentals of our nation
and we vote in a PR product with no roots in the struggle of Black Americans Go figure!

Carter's approval rating improved because many of the raters are too young to remember what kind of a president he really was or possibly have let that "good old days" mentality coloud their memory.

My impression (having lived throught the Carter years as an adult) was that he was one of the 2 worst presidents of the 20th century but he was a decent man. However, seeing some of his actions in he last few years, I have begun to doubt his decency as well.

Carter is the biggest joke in United States history.
US lost it's credibility around the world during his presidency.
The rise of Islamist terror groups in Middle East.
US lost Iran, Lebanon and Soviets invaded Afghanistan.

Many of the people giving those approval ratings to Carter were not around for his mortgage rates of 15 to 18%. Inflation was so bad if you pciked up a loaf of bread for $1 when you entered the store it as $1.50 by the time you hit the checkout line. He also was in charge when he allowed the Iranians to hold our citizens hostage forever. His admin was one of inaction to any problem. I believe he is being judged by his humanitarian work rather than his presidency.

Of course their numbers have risen. When an absolute failure like Bush Junior comes along, it automatically makes everyone else look better.

all this does not matter...Obama will save us all

however, he stills owes me a check

I'll take several grains of salt with that!

The Carter years where pure HELL and I haven't ever talked with a person who thought otherwise!

The Bush Sr. years where Scary.....we would be told one thing and then suddenly the opposite was done.

As we are nearing adding another ex-President to the pile, I'm hoping an indictment will provide his legacy. Just yesterday, he appointed 45 positions in an in your face parting gesture to President Obama who doesn't need any additional hurdles yet Georgie is determined to bury our nation and walk off unscathed. I would love to see Obama knock Georgie out on the White House lawn or at least present him with an indictment at the swearing in ceremony!!!

It is just another failure of our academic process and an incompetent media. People are not taught or reminded just how bad the Carter administration was. I am sure the liberal media and teachers will not fail to constantly remind us how evil W was.

NY republican: I agree with you. Carter has gone on to do great things as well as Bush and Clinton, through their work with Tsunami relief.

I am opposed to many of GWB policies, but his work in reference to AIDS in Africa is one achievement that is often undeservedly overlooked.

If you ask people who didnt live at the time these fools were president sure. But if you look at what they did and whos interest and what shape they our country was in when they left office which is what history looks at our current president bush is worse in my life of 55 yrs his dad second carter third and than nixon . Kennedy was good, johnson ok, clinton best for country My pool shows democrates better for our country...

People have very, very short memories. That is why we continue to vote in corrupt politicians and accept ethically-challenged elected officials as the norm. After all, everybody does it.

Most of those polled probably never lived through the Carter horror show. Can you say 20% interest on mortgages?

Pat

You must be from another planet to even suggest that Bush was pampered by CNN as opposed to Obama. I'll bet you even blame Bush for your lack of intelligence. If he's a half wit, what are you? Bush is over and done with, let's move on and try to be positive.

I believe President Carter benefits from the work he has done after his presidency and President George H. W. Bush rates so high because his presidency is compared to his son's. Sadly, history will eventually cut George W. Bush a break.

It's fun sitting back now and watching all the in fighting among the dems right now. It's like the Beverly Hillbillies moved to Washington. haaaa

My recollection of Carter was that he couldn't fight his way out of a wet paper bag. The only part of his legacy that I remember vividly as president was the horrible fiasco at an attempt to rescue the hostages from Iran. But otherwise, he has redeemed himself as a fine Christian leader and humanitarian, despite his criticism of the republicans (which is status quo for most dems) and his recently obvious left leanings. History is usually kind to most former Presidents regardless of political party affiliation because we just keep our heads in the sand, only to bring them out every 4 years to elect another politician without regards to what they can or cannot do.

Pay @ 8:09am says "PLEASE.. the damage that Bush and co. have done not only to Iraq and
Afghanistan"

Because they were doing well before, right?

CNN, did not american died in Mumbai terror attack?
why there is no news that pakistan finaly admit that lone survivor
Kasab is a pakistani national, and that makes all other terrorist also pakistani.
Pakistan is terrorist state and sucking 10 billion from USA aid on the name of helping to fight terror.

Carter was and STILL IS a LOSER! Another DUMBOCRAT who disgraced the United States. What a creep and an anti-semitic bum!

While their presidencies may not have produced the best results for their respective time periods, Bush 1 and Carter behaved with some integrity and propriety. The politics of old was much better in terms of basically human behavior (disregarding the occasional lawlessness). At the end of the day, the politicians treated each other with respect and occasionally with friendship (ie: O'Neill and Reagan).

These days, you have a relative lack of mere politeness. Harry Reid kicking Bush while he's down (deservedly down, I might add). Nancy Pelosi and her "my way or the highway" attitude. I find it all unseemly.

I believe people do start looking back on the good. I still look at Bush, Senior and when he was even in office aside from the Desert Storm, he was not all bad except for 'Read my lips.........NO new taxes.'. I did not hold the new tax statement against him back then even, because I knew that was virtually impossible.

However, Presidents Carter and Bush did not send our soldiers to get killed and mamed on a LIE. Presidents Carter and Bush did not have Gitmo and the world stage hating America.

I feel Dubya will be hated by most even down through my grandchildren. I don't want my grandchildren to forget history and when you let someone steal an election, this is what happens. Like the Holocaust, NEVER AGAIN!

How about the Blair House? This administration is by far either the most arrogant, or just plain stupid.

GOOD RIDDANCE TO BUSH...I AM SURE HE SLEEPS AT NIGHT BECAUSE THE FOOL IS TOO DUMB TO CARE ABOUT THE MESS HE HAS MADE AND STILL IS.

I HOPE THAT AMERICA WILL NEVER EVER SEE PRESIDENTS LIKE THE BUSHES AGAIN IN THE HISTORY OF THE COUNTRY. THESE PEOPLE ARE A CURSE-–CASE AND POINT-–CHECK THEIR LEADERSHIP RECORD AND APPROVAL RATINGS. NFG

Jimmy is a great man and did a great job as president cleaning up after the Nixon/Ford fiascoes! Too bad, RayGuns/GHWB ruined his work.

Apparently, those who have been kind to Carter do not remember the high interest rates for home loans, the employment rate, gasoline lines, and the high cost of heating one's home. I remember his standing before a crowd and stating that he had to wear long underwear around the White House because of the heating bill. Then, let's not forget the hostage crisis, the failed rescue attempt, and his gutting of the military. How can anyone look at that and give him kudos? How can anyone look at the Carter years and proclaim that we are in the worst shape since the Great Depression? We aren't worse off–just more spoiled. And, apparently, we believe everything the press feeds us.

After experiencing the worst president of all times....even the average to below average look good.

What Bush has done to the country is a crime. He has lowered the standard that so many worked to elevate.

Carter's a respectable man, just not one we needed to have as a president. Maybe an advisor on human right issues...but, to have him in charge...well, we're fixing to see it all over again.

Jimmy Carter was way ahead of his time on energy policy but his primary failure was in his relations with Congress and his communication with the voters. He told the truth about oil and our use of it but it wasn't good news so we fired him and hired an actor.

Were these people alive when Carter was President? He's a wonderful human being but was an ineffectual micromanaging putz as a President. I guess when you compare him with G.W. Bush he seems pretty good. Let’s hope that GW is not the yardstick against which all future presidents are measured.

I wonder what percentage of those surveyed weren't alive when Carter was president??

Oh, sure, there is a reason for it – many people either don't remember or were too young to remember those horrendous days. This applies to both these oldies.

Please. Any poll that finds 64% in favor of the Carter Presidency is a joke.

64% give a thumbs up to Carter? That'll give Republicans some spasms. I can understand H.W.'s decent numbers. He merely muffed a minor recession and didn't pay attention to people's anxieties over health care. The economy and Iran were policies that should place Carter in the bottom ten of past presidents. Similarly, Dubya's rating should be in or near the bottom five, due to the implosion of the economy and his reckless foreign policy, which includes the failed Bush Doctrine of pre-emptive war.

PLEASE.. the damage that Bush and co. have done not only to Iraq and
Afghanistan, but the entire economy of the US by borrowing BILLIONS to
pay for illegal wars will NEVER be forgotten. He is lesson in point of never voting for a half wit.
I know you all at CNN have been pampering him like a baby instead you all should have been digging into every move he made much the same as you're doing to Obama now.
You're country is in the toilet. It will take at least two whole generations to straighten out the mess Bush and Co. have done so NO history will NEVER LOOK KINDLY ON BUSH ET AL.

"W"'s approval rating will climb to 100%, when Americans one day look back on how well he protected the country through 2 terms in office, after 9-11.

I still remember bound and blindfolded hostages (Carter) and botched rescue operations. I still remember the Iraqi Republican Guard being allowed to retreat and Saddam Hussein left in power (Bush, HW type). Also, "read my lips, no new taxes!" and the several tax increases that followed.
Both men have gone on to do great things but not during their respective Presidencies.

i'm glad that time has been kind to these former presidents, they played the hand that they were dealth, they like all humans made some bad choices, but at the time surely they thought it was the right thing to do, they are good men, bless them always.

thats because we are stupid and have no memory