Photo courtesy of The Elders Flickr page - Jimmy Carter with his grandsons: https://www.flickr.com/photos/theelders/4150589762/in/photolist-7jLRJs-oX1WF-8koe83-5nHBsM-89DrRy-8DS6AK-5SZq78-b5qaeT-7jGYfV-7jLSu1-7jGYpF-8kk2wv-8koe5L-8kk2wP-MZxpG-eeoHpb-eei15r-uGsA6S-4JwjNp-kz42WV-pJnffg-5FbFTp-2XAg8e-eE1frf-5QDy4K-uiktS-o31Sc1-rEGZZ7-uiktW-g6cCBD-5T55Ls-5SZq5H-5FbwDz-j9wBgW-uiktQ-5FbwGD-uiiAt-uiiAp-uiktT-4PnZXt-39afGA-dVku6U-5FbG62-RqGKa-dVhyFC-dVhyGL-eeoPbb-qXcAAB-mV9YNZ-mVq3Bk
It is an interesting question, because a lot of what has happened in recent decades,the political trends that have prevailed in the United States and, since it has been so influential, in much of the rest of the world, can be directly traced to the election results of November 4, 1980.
But how might the world be different had Carter defeated Reagan in 1980, instead of being handed the resounding defeat that he suffered on that day?
That was the subject of a fascinating radio program that I heard yesterday on NPR's The Takeaway, and it raised some interesting questions, as well as points.
Of course, there is no way to know, for sure, exactly how things would have been different had Carter won a second term. But we can have educated guesses, and that was what this program was all about. And there are some things that we can be fairly certain would have happened, and some things that we could be fairly certain would not have happened.
What would have happened?
- The United States would have likely had a stronger environmental record, and would have invested much more heavily on the development of alternative energy, and pursued more environmentally friendly policies.
- There likely would have been no Bush v. Gore, since there is a good chance that Carter would have appointed justices to the Supreme Court. Also, likely no Rehnquist or Scalia.
- Military spending would not have been jacked up so dramatically. Yet, it is likely that the Soviet Union would have collapsed anyway. Carter administration officials foresaw the impending end of the Soviet empire.
- Possibly, there might have been no Neocon Revolution, and there likely would have been no "Reagan Revolution." Certainly, even if conservatives had had their moment in the sun, it would have taken a different shape or form, and might not have been as extreme as it was.
- There is a good chance that we do not get involved in Middle East wars, which have been the running theme since the early nineties. Imagine what the country might look like if it had not engaged in so many wars.
And here is one aspect of history that might have changed, and might have been radically different, that I had not thought about until reading some of the comments to the linked below. This thought was brought up by John Tighe from San Diego, and he mentions that Jimmy Carter, and not Ronald Reagan, would have been shot on March, 1981. Hinkley had been watching Carter before he was ousted from office, so there is no reason to think that he would not have taken the same action when the opportunity presented itself. That leaves the question as to how things might have been different, and if Carter would have survived. How might history have been different in this regard? Very interesting question!
Of course, Carter did not win the election, although people forget that just days prior to the election itself, there was no evidence that he was going to get blown out of the water to the extent that he did. The election seemed to be closer than that right up until the day of the election itself. So, despite some people (mostly conservative) detractors who suggest that this is almost an unthinkable and entirely unrealistic conversation, I think it is actually something that could feasibly had happened, if history had occurred just a little bit differently than it did.
But alas....it is just a conversation, just reflection. A fascinating conversation which I enjoyed, and wanted to write a little about here.
So, does anyone else have some thoughts on this subject? What might the United States have looked like now, if Carter had been a two-term president?
What Life Would Be Like if Jimmy Carter Won a Second Term « previous episode Thursday, October 01, 2015
http://www.thetakeaway.org/story/what-life-would-be-if-jimmy-carter-won-second-term/
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