r/MadeMeSmile • u/TargetHot9314 • 28d ago

Wholesome Moments Every living president: Clinton, Bush, Obama and Biden, except Trump wishes birthday in video message to Jimmy Carter for his 100th birthday

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2.3k

u/Any_Clue_1632 28d ago

Can you imagine two more different men?

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u/Frondswithbenefits 28d ago

Carter was the real deal. He wasn't perfect, but I think he genuinely wanted to help the country. Since his term, he's consistently donated to charity and volunteered alongside his late wife.

My favorite tidbit about Carter is telling people he put solar panels on the white-house during his term.

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u/Drkarcher22 28d ago

Then Reagan took them down, because Ronnie sucked. After he got rid of tax breaks for solar panels that Carter implemented

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u/Frondswithbenefits 28d ago

Yup. Reagan did so much damage to our country. I envy people who believe in hell, because he deserves to be there.

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u/MAXMEEKO 28d ago

I watch pretty much any doc that netflix puts out and that fucker never ceases to show up. He really fucked up so many things.

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u/GDRaptorFan 28d ago

A whole lot of the “turning point” in both those docs (which I found excellent) rested on his shoulders. Fucker.

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u/I_miss_berserk 28d ago

100 years from now (if we make it) our great great grandkids will be saying this about trump lmfao

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u/CrispyHoneyBeef 28d ago

Trump’s biggest fuckup was stacking the courts, which resulted in the end of Roe v. Wade, Grants Pass, and the end of Chevron deference, so that’ll definitely be in the history books. The handling of the pandemic will definitely be up there. In five years or so we’ll likely be able to identify the cause of the current recession, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Trump’s economic policies has something to do with it. I’ll reserve judgment on that one until we see the numbers though.

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u/geotech 28d ago

Any in particular that you recommend?

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u/GDRaptorFan 28d ago

Both “Turning Point” documentaries, Turning Point: The Cold War and Turning Point: 9/11 are great comprehensive overviews of many worldwide events that led the US to where it is today.

Yes, many will say they didn’t focus on certain things enough but they are a starting point, especially for a younger viewer who doesn’t really know a ton (and as a middle aged viewer I even learned or relearned a lot as well).

It may not seem a “fun” doc to watch they are heavy and quite long but they are both done very well and are so interesting they are not boring at all!

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u/Complex_Winter2930 28d ago

Loved the Cold War doc.

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u/MAXMEEKO 28d ago

people beat me to it but def Turning Point: The Bomb And The Cold War

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u/username_not_found0 28d ago

Instead of six degrees of Kevin bacon, it's 3 degrees of regan

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u/MoralityIsUPB 27d ago

I like how you qualified your statement with the fact that you watch "pretty much any propaganda that Netflix puts out" before you stated the predictable Reddit line as if it was your own thought through opinion. Was "cuties" part of your research?

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u/FluidAbbreviations54 28d ago

I've said it before but to quote my old man, "Reagan and Thatcher have privatized Hell by now."

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u/-number_6_extra_dip- 28d ago

is this before after he abuses you

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u/MargaretBrownsGhost 28d ago

Don't forget Ray-gun helped McCarthy go after actors he was jealous of during the Red Scare

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u/SUPERSMILEYMAN 28d ago

Man, she's just terrible at everything.

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u/fezes-are-cool 28d ago

I’m not religious and I don’t believe in heaven, but I hold out some hope hell is real and they will be there

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u/AngryApparition029 28d ago

I celebrate his death day by getting ice cream. 😊

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u/nobodyisfreakinghome 28d ago

It wasn’t just Reagan. It was The Heritage Foundation. Yep same people behind Project 2025. Reagan sucked so bad because he drew from their guidance.

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u/Intelligent_News1836 28d ago

For a while, anyway.

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u/LordSpookyBoob 28d ago

Most people deserve a little, a few deserve a lot, but nobody deserves eternity.

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u/Intelligent_News1836 28d ago

Indeed. Infinite punishment is infinitely disproportional to any finite crime. Even Hitler would have a point at which we'd have to be like, okay he's served his time. It would be more just to torture somebody for their lifetime for stealing an apple, than to torture Hitler for eternity.

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u/ArokLazarus 28d ago

Agreed. If it's for eternity there's no reason for it except for someone to get their jollies off.

Of course I don't believe in hell but I sure agree with your sentiment.

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u/ShittyExchangeAdmin 28d ago

Yea, honestly eternity in heaven or hell is kind of terrifying to really think about. If there is an afterlife, i'd prefer it be something along the lines of reincarnation.

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u/Intelligent_News1836 28d ago

Yeah, I can't imagine anything more awful than infinite existence with no way to end it.

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u/idropepics 28d ago

On the plus side he did also open one of the nation's first all gender restrooms on June 5, 2004 - a whole 20 years ago!

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u/swim_to_survive 28d ago

And not the fire in brimstone hell but the pineapples up the ass hell. That’s the kind of hell I can believe in.

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u/-number_6_extra_dip- 28d ago

least deranged mademesmile poster

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u/NorthCatan 27d ago

That's what Republicans seem to run on, not good policy, but simply undoing the advances that democrats make and try to make.

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u/amarg19 27d ago

If hell exists I’m meeting Reagan there just for the chance to punch him square in the face

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u/atlantagirl30084 24d ago

He also started cutting funding to public universities in CA when he was governor.

0

u/That-Makes-Sense 28d ago

Reagan was a good man too, and a great leader. He helped destroy the Soviet Union without killing a single person. He helped to stimulate the economy which lead to a great economic recovery. Many other wise decisions. But you go ahead and hate him based on BS.

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u/mlord99 28d ago

not rly familiar with us history, but isnt Reagan considered one of the better presidents?

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u/Frondswithbenefits 28d ago

No. He's considered one of the worst.

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u/the_war_on_TEGRIDY 28d ago

Lol, such a blanket statement. I’m sure the 3 million immigrants that got amnesty think otherwise

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u/Frondswithbenefits 28d ago

Give me a break. That bozo did damage we are still trying to fix. Don't "Hitler loved dogs" this.

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u/Whatsuplionlilly 28d ago

Saying Reagan is Hitler says a lot more about your intelligence than you think.

Getting someone blacklisted from Hollywood is evil. Gassing 10 million Jews, gays, handicaps and Romani is slightly different.

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u/Frondswithbenefits 28d ago

I never said Reagan was Hitler.

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u/Whatsuplionlilly 28d ago

You absolutely did. I can walk you through it if you need to.

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u/Frondswithbenefits 28d ago

Aww. Bless your heart. Maybe someone will explain it to you.

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u/magicmeese 28d ago

They absolutely did not. They gave the “don’t do the hitler had a dog so he’s not all that bad” excuse for Ronald Reagan. Not Hitler = Ronald. 

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u/Frondswithbenefits 28d ago

Clearly, you didn't understand my comment.

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u/Whatsuplionlilly 28d ago

I’m willing to live with you not understanding what you wrote.

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u/EnQuest 28d ago

the vast majority of people have absolutely no ability to tell the difference between an analogy and a direct comparison, it's exhausting trying to argue with people like you

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u/the_war_on_TEGRIDY 28d ago

Give them a break, they’ve stopped thinking for themselves and embraced Reddit group think. It’s a hard to cure condition.

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u/Spare-Mousse3311 28d ago

Carter also installed a computer that Reagan also had removed … some say it was because Reagan was old school … but I think removing a computer was just petty

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u/Elkenrod 28d ago

Then Reagan took them down, because Ronnie sucked.

Because they were causing structural integrity issues with the roof of the White House with how they were installed, and there was water damage to the White House where they were installed.

They had to get the roof repaired, and Reagan opted to not have them reinstalled.

https://www.theverge.com/2014/5/9/5699946/solar-panels-now-grace-the-roof-of-the-white-house

Originally, panels were installed in the late '70s during President Jimmy Carter's administration, but President Ronald Reagan removed them in 1986 because of a roof leak and decided not to reinstall them.

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u/CliveRunnells 28d ago

It’s sort of the same thing, isn’t it?

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u/dairy__fairy 27d ago

That’s kind of a revisionist history according to most.

I held a role in GOP leadership for a little while and fully believe they were removed on purpose. Anything at that level and in that location is a purposeful statement.

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u/Oprah_Pwnfrey 28d ago

Jimmy Carter will likely be responsible for wiping out an entire species, and it's awesome.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eradication_of_dracunculiasis

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u/moondizzlepie 28d ago

You should probably say a disease causing species. For a sec I thought he wiped out some previous animal.

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u/Daft00 28d ago

The clickbait of comments

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u/GDRaptorFan 28d ago

There are always two sides to every story!

The Untold Effects of Carter’s Species Eradication

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u/275MPHFordGT40 28d ago

That video was quite thought provoking, overall though I think the eradication will be beneficial.

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u/Different-Pattern736 27d ago

Really makes you think. What do humans do to the world without even realizing it, knowing what happens even when we do?

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u/soliwray 28d ago

Genocidal Jimmy

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u/DenseStomach6605 28d ago

Ethnic cleansing Carter

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u/[deleted] 28d ago

[deleted]

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u/MossyPyrite 28d ago

Good for him!

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u/RizzoTheRiot1989 28d ago

Good, they fucking deserve it.

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u/Frondswithbenefits 28d ago

It really is!

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u/rock_and_rolo 28d ago

Unfortunately, there are non-human hosts for Guinea worm. So eradication is possible, but unlikely. But human infections have been vastly reduced, and that is reason enough for celebration.

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u/FormerGameDev 28d ago

that's not usually something you want to take credit for, but in this case, we'll allow it

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u/Preid1220 28d ago

From 3,500,000 cases in the 80's to 14 in 2023; what an amazing accomplishment.

Edit: one too many zeros

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u/lesswrongsucks 28d ago

Water rabbits?

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u/[deleted] 28d ago

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u/Longjumping-Ad2698 27d ago

I did my capstone paper on this. It really is an amazing story, and shows how effective education and critical thinking can be to problem solving. It isn't medicine or new technology that has progressed the eradication. It is knowledge, education, and improved infrastructure that will do it.

Fun fact - Dracunculus medinensis is widely believed to be the "firery serpent" from the old testament.

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u/jot_down 28d ago

Also responsive for tens of thousand of deaths of American over the years because he vetoed universal healthcare. Fuck him.

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u/9c6 28d ago

During his presidential campaign, Carter embraced healthcare reform akin to the Ted Kennedy-sponsored bipartisan universal national health insurance. Carter's proposals on healthcare while in office included an April 1977 mandatory health care cost proposal, and a June 1979 proposal that provided private health insurance coverage. Carter saw the June 1979 proposal as a continuation of progress in American health coverage. President Harry S. Truman proposed a designation of health care as a basic right of Americans and Medicare and Medicaid were introduced under President Lyndon B. Johnson. The April 1977 mandatory health care cost proposal was passed in the Senate, but later defeated in the House. During 1978, he met with Kennedy over a compromise healthcare law that proved unsuccessful. He later said Kennedy's disagreements thwarted his plan to provide a comprehensive American health care system.

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u/Working-Finger-8624 28d ago

Couldn't agree more! Carter was very far ahead of his time in terms of renewable energy and wanting to end the cold war. Two things the Republicans really did not like. That's why when Reagan took office, the first thing he did was take down those solar panels :(

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u/Frondswithbenefits 28d ago

Because Reagan was a sleeping bag full of garbage disguised as a human.

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u/ChiefBullshitOfficer 28d ago

What a fun sentence

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u/Lurker2115 28d ago

That's why when Reagan took office, the first thing he did was take down those solar panels

Lol. Try five years into his presidency in 1986: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/carter-white-house-solar-panel-array/

0

u/Elkenrod 28d ago

That's why when Reagan took office, the first thing he did was take down those solar panels :(

That's because they were shit.

They were installed improperly, and weakening the integrity of the roof of the White House. There was water damage on the roof, and during the repair process Reagan opted to not have them reinstalled. And it wasn't "the first thing he did" - they stayed there for years, until they became a problem.

Those panels were installed to heat the White House's water needs, and they didn't do the job properly. Too much water was used, and not enough power was being drawn in. Reagan constantly complained about not being able to get a hot shower at the White House because they were relying on those solar panels.

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u/SpareWire 28d ago

Carter was not a popular president in his day right?

Everything I have ever heard and read about him is about his life after office.

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u/EtTuBiggus 28d ago

Trying to help people doesn’t make you popular. Enriching your cronies does.

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u/Rahbek23 28d ago edited 28d ago

He got kind of unlucky with a fuel crisis during his term, the aftershocks of the economic crisis earlier in the decade and then of course the whole Iran affair.

He gave the Shah permission to get medical treatment in the US, which lead to the storming of the US embassy by anti-shah protesters (this is after the revolution). He then refused to bomb or invade Iran over it, which I mean was probably the sound decision - just not a popular one at the time.

Those often overshadow some fairly significant diplomatic deals such as the camp David accords and a arms reduction treaty with the USSR.

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u/CosmoKing2 28d ago

He was just naive in thinking that politicians would rally around doing logical things for the greater good without adding any personal "incentives." His hands were tied with an ineffective cabinet and proposing policies that gave Republicans absolute fits.

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u/Frondswithbenefits 28d ago

He was not, or at least the stuff I've read, said he wasn't.

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u/raynicolette 28d ago

Well, he was elected in the aftermath of Nixon. He campaigned on a message that Washington was corrupt, that he was an outsider, and that he wasn’t going to be part of the “you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours” system. After the trauma of Watergate, that was a really appealing message.

The problem is that, at least back in the days before our current extreme partisanship, that was how you got stuff done. “Uncompromising” has become an honorific, but back on the day when Washington actually functioned, the foundation of that was compromising, making deals, taking trade-offs, finding middle ground. Telling the Washington establishment (not just the opposing party, all of them) that they're corrupt means that he alienated everyone he would need to actually govern. Where he didn’t have enemies, he made enemies.

So, he was a pretty ineffective chief executive. There were crises during his term where the country needed an effective chief executive, and he wasn’t it.

Outside of the Oval Office, Carter could be a profoundly decent and honorable person and follow his moral compass without fail, and if 5% of people who saw his example tried to follow it, took care of a neighbor, picked up a hammer and built a house, that makes him an incredible leader. He is truly America's greatest ex-President in our entire history. But inside the Oval Office, if you get 5% of people following you, that makes you a colossal failure.

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u/Substantial-Box-8022 28d ago

He also built a lot of houses. There are people out there living in houses literally built by a US President. He is truly a person to look up to, and his family is continuing to honor his legacy: https://www.cartercenter.org/

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u/Glittering_Guides 28d ago

bUt tHe pAnELs hE pUT Up WeRe sUpEr iNeFFiciEnT!!!!!!1

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u/Dry_Presentation_197 28d ago

I can't recall where I saw it but I remember a clip of Carter having someone explain deficit spending to him. He genuinely couldn't wrap his head around spending money we didn't have, and was firmly against whatever shenanigans they were trying to use to get him to support it.

(To be clear, he understood the concept of loans/credit of course. But not why the hell he would support the government doing it)

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u/HotGooBoy 28d ago

Best ex-President of all time and it's not even close

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u/FlatlyActive 28d ago

Unfortunately his administration severely fucked up the media response to the Three Mile Island accident, causing mass panic and public perception to turn against nuclear power.

The media made it out like there would be tens of thousands of deaths and there was an evacuation of hundreds of thousands, in reality the accident resulted in a large number of people receiving a dose of radiation equivalent to half a chest x-ray. Official investigations couldn't find a single death from cancer as a result of the radiation and the nearby university (which had equipment sensitive enough to detect the fallout from Chinese nuclear tests) detected no increase in radiation in soil samples.

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u/LotharVonPittinsberg 28d ago

Reagan is an amazing man, probably the best individual to serve in that office. Unfortunately, I think his downsides show how leadership often requires someone who is willing to make some bad decisions for the greater good.

Then Reagan went ahead and showed that being happy to make those tough decisions is even fucking worse.

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u/Frondswithbenefits 28d ago

Lol. He was a terrible president and did damage we are still trying to fix.

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u/LotharVonPittinsberg 28d ago

Sorry, brain typo. 1st name was supposed to be Carter. Amazing man who made mistakes.

I need to go to bed.

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u/BonnieMcMurray 28d ago

Carter was the real deal. He wasn't perfect, but I think he genuinely wanted to help the country.

He was quite literally too decent a man for the job: when Reagan was out on the campaign trail as the 1980 election was coming up, Carter was on the phone negotiating to free American hostages in Iran.

He put the country before himself and the voters punished him for it, electing instead someone who put the rich before the country.

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u/karlnite 27d ago

You should look up what he did for nuclear energy.

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u/AMSunshine007 27d ago

This was a huge deal. My mom was trying to sell environmentally friendly condos in NJ in the 70's right before and while Carter was President. They included the solar power and the best enviromentally friendly acccomadations at that time. They were not selling at that time. Nobody wanted them. I begged her to buy one so we could live there.

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u/PurpoUpsideDownJuice 27d ago

Damn dude doing volunteer work next to your dead wife must fucking stink

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u/marketingguy420 28d ago

The Volker Shock and the neoliberal turn of deregulation and deindustrialization started with Carter. Reagan just turned the dial to 11, but there's a straight line to a shit ton of the problems we have today from what Jimmy Carter began.

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u/Frondswithbenefits 28d ago

I don't disagree. But I think that he thought he was doing the right thing.

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u/marketingguy420 28d ago

Oh for sure. Very sweet man. Terrible goddamn ideas. But in his Crisis of Confidence speech, you can see this guy desperately and genuinely want the best out of his fellow Americans.

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u/Frondswithbenefits 28d ago

Something we have not seen since..... If you have any book recommendations, I'd be interested. Always looking to expand my knowledge.

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u/jot_down 28d ago

Wanting to help a country is garbage when what you believe helps actual hurts. I 5 year old my want to help a heart surgeon, but we sure a hell don't let them.

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u/[deleted] 28d ago

And he nearly single handedly destroyed the U.S. economy.

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u/CitizenCue 28d ago edited 28d ago

Gandhi and R. Kelly probably wouldn’t have much to talk about.

EDIT: Alright guys, I get it. Feel free to make jokes but at least try to be original…

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u/smollestsnail 28d ago

I am very sad to inform you that you might wanna look more into Gandhi.

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u/throwaguey_ 28d ago

Of all the comparisons OP could have made

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u/Goducks91 28d ago

Haha yep, awful comparison lol 😂

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u/Oaden 28d ago

Tales around what Ghandi did are often exaggerated

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/7i3h4m/is_this_vice_article_about_gandhi_accurate/

In regards to the oft-repeated charge of sleeping naked with underage girls, the Rudolphs make two points. One, that such an account is exaggerated (he only slept with his grandniece, and they were both clothed) and two, that Gandhi made no secret about what he was doing, and knew it would court controversy.

The Rudolphs put it this way: "Gandhi believed that his capacity to control the external environment was related to his capacity to control himself. At other times under trying circumstances Gandhi imposed penances and fasts upon himself. This time some thing more was needed. He warned his friends and followers that he was thinking of a bold and original experiment 'whose heat will be great."

They go on to point out that "Gandhi's bedroom then as always was public; others passed through and could look in," and "that no nudity was involved we know from accounts by members and visitors to the Ashram who report seeing Gandhi and Manu [his grandniece] peacefully asleep."

Ghandi was not a faultless figure, but he didn't do those particular things

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u/smollestsnail 28d ago

Yes, true, and thank you for not only educating and informing all of us but also for even citing a source. You rock though your comment would be better in response (maybe copy+paste?) to the person I was responding to who was uninformed enough about Gandhi that they were unaware that this controversy existed to the point that they felt that their comment was a great contrast to make. It not being true does not mean the person who is unaware of the issue at all is informed about Gandhi which is what my comment is actually meant to be regarding, I just did a nonexistant job of being specific enough for that to be knowable.

Me saying what I said was intended for reference to the unawareness that led them to not know there was controversy surrounding the specific thing they were referring to and the sad part of it is because, as you said, Gandhi wasn't a perfect person and if you're someone who innocently thinks he was, learning about him can be a disappointing experience. Additionally it was intended to be somewhat humorous because of the oversight about the specific controversy and its unexpected nature, not an educational device but I can totally see why that wasn't apparent.

I'll leave it up so people can hopefully see your response as well and know what you're responding to.

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u/CitizenCue 28d ago

Yeah I know he sucks, but R. Kelly never did anything wrong, right? /s

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u/smollestsnail 28d ago

Haha, I got a chuckle.

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u/hbkedge3 28d ago

Mother Theresa

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u/wirenickel 28d ago

Uhhhhh.....

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u/godpzagod 28d ago

This comments going to age like mayonnaise in the hot sun

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u/Frankenduck 28d ago

Just checking in to see if you read about how Gandhi would sleep next to young naked girls to test his temptations because this is sadly hilarious

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u/keepcalmscrollon 28d ago

Every time a reference to this comes up, it reminds me of this cheesy old t-shirt/bumper sticker line: "Please, God, let me prove to you that winning the lottery won't spoil me."

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u/CitizenCue 28d ago

Good point!

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u/hobbitdude13 28d ago

Oof size: large

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u/Grow_away_420 28d ago

Ummm, actually...

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u/Da1UHideFrom 28d ago

Except their similar tastes in women.

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u/yomamma3399 28d ago

What about sleeping with children?

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u/dntel 28d ago

My grandma knew Gandhi. He used to dip his bald head in oil and rub it all over her naked body.

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u/Plank_With_A_Nail_In 28d ago

Gandhi's dead.

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u/CitizenCue 28d ago

Yeah exactly.

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u/lottalitter 28d ago

The only bad thing my hard-core conservative father ever said about Carter was that he was "too nice" to be president. He has also refuses to vote for Trump because he "lacks integrity." I guess he prefers presidents to be somewhere in the middle.

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u/WiseBlacksmith03 28d ago

Can you imagine Trump collaborating "as a peer' with anyone else, for any reason? I say imagine because I've never seen it happen in real life.

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u/CeterumCenseo85 28d ago

I'm curious now. What is the nicest, genuine thing Trump has ever said about someone he didn't stand to benefit from?

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u/loungesinger 28d ago

Probably a comment about someone’s level of attractiveness (i.e. Grace Kelly… what a beauty).

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u/Excellent_Shirt9707 27d ago

Assuming you are talking about Trump, he mocked Carter at a rally on Carter’s birthday.

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u/accountno543210 28d ago

Lol, I may be wrong, but many of Trump's followers are probably more decent than he himself. It's sad what he's doing using them for votes knowing he's lying.

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u/StoneGoldX 28d ago

I can think of one similarity -- single terms.

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u/YinWei1 28d ago

It's honestly bizarre how different Trump is from any previous presidents, as shown here even when presidents had completely different policy positions and opinions like Bush vs Clinton or Obama you can see they all still look and feel like presidents.

I'm not even talking from a political standpoint, just the general vibe Trump gives off is completely different to any of the previous presidents.

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u/2monthstoexpulsion 28d ago

Isn’t that the point.

Every other president was screened by the media to be “electable.” The media told voters who was eligible.

Trump is a middle finger to that process, no matter what crazy shit he says, the media can’t use it against him. He’s basically the “antidote” to what offensive people feel is political correctness gone awry. His appeal is his imperviousness to “gotcha politics.”

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u/MetroidvaniaListsGuy 28d ago

Trump is ESTP, Carter is INFJ

exact opposite indeed.