Carter Rehabilitated: What Caused the 39th President's Press Transformation?

While he served in the White House, President Jimmy Carter received poor reviews for his leadership from the nation's leading political journalists. In their assessments, Jimmy Carter lacked the political know-how needed to work his will in the nation's capital. Today, something quite rema...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Presidential studies quarterly 1993-04, Vol.23 (2), p.317-330
Main Author: Rozell, Mark J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Canals
Carter, Jimmy
Christian Science
Columnists
Comparative analysis
Ethics
Executive branch
Government
JIMMY CARTER
MASS MEDIA (NEWSPAPERS, MAGAZINES, TV, RADIO, ETC.)
Media studies
News media
Perception
Perceptions
Political culture
Political history
Political leadership
Political morality
Politicians
Polls
Presidency
PRESIDENCY (ALL NATIONS)
Presidents
Press
PRESS, JOURNALISM
PUBLIC OPINION
U.S.A
Wall Street
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Summary:While he served in the White House, President Jimmy Carter received poor reviews for his leadership from the nation's leading political journalists. In their assessments, Jimmy Carter lacked the political know-how needed to work his will in the nation's capital. Today, something quite remarkable is taking place on the pages of the country's leading news and opinion publications: the rehabilitation of Jimmy Carter's reputation. This rehabilitation indeed is remarkable when we contrast what journalists are saying about Jimmy Carter today with what they said about him during his presidential term. This paper identifies and assesses the causes of this sudden transformation in journalistic perspectives of Jimmy Carter. I argue that there are three explanations for the emergence of the new and improved Carter image: 1. With the benefit of hindsight, a number of opinion elites assess that Carter's administration accomplished a great deal more than acknowledged by presidency observers during the Carter years; 2. When compared to Ronald Reagan's leadership failings, Carter's leadership-particularly in the public ethics arena-looks increasingly impressive; 3. Jimmy Carter is a great ex-president. Oddly, Carter's presidential reputation is being rehabilitated because of his post-presidential activities.
ISSN:0360-4918
1741-5705