Showing posts with label United States presidential approval rating. Show all posts
Showing posts with label United States presidential approval rating. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Deconstructing the Meme: “The Worst President Since Carter”

President Carterby Nomad


If you are unlucky enough to encounter a die-hard neo-conservative or tea-party member, you are quite likely to hear them use this phrase to castigate President Obama.
"Obama? He’s the worst president since Carter.”
Its use has all of the hallmarks of Rovian propaganda. As a phrase, it is mindlessly repeated without any clarification, and dropped into a discussion like a finely-rolled ball of manure as if these twin statements were facts beyond question or debate.

According to its own logic, Obama is a terrible president just like Jimmy Carter was a terrible president. They rarely elaborate or feel the need to, since it is, they seem to think, a matter of common knowledge.
Lately even Candidate Romney has been attempting to put this comparison into use. Recently Romney said. “Who would’ve guessed we’d look back at the Carter years as the good ol’ days, you know?” To some, that kind of talk smacks of desperation.
Given the disastrous interval between the years 2000 and 2008, I thought the phrase "the worst president" deserved a closer look.