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Jimmy Carter is a man of goodness and mercy. We have not seen his like in a long time. His life’s accomplishments give us all a great deal to ponder.

The chicanery that cost him a second term as president and resulted in the disaster that is Reaganomics is also a matter to ponder. History is showing us the slow but steady economic damage to the middle class and poor that the Reagan Revolution has had.

We need more like Jimmy Carter, especially now.

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May 19·edited May 19

The Washington Post disrespected Jimmy Carter constantly making front page stories out of nothing, for example, the killer rabbit story, the lusting in my heart story. It loved Reagan and featured his constant state dinners which were breathlessly reported on the front page—what the menu was, what Nancy wore. Reagan wasted money while he tried to shrink the government by calling civil service employees lazy. Maybe that was the start of msm trying to make news instead of reporting it. I was a lowly GS-5 then and didn’t appreciate Jimmy Carter’s honesty and efforts and how sneaky Republican methodology can be. https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2015/04/24/sot-jimmy-carter-rabbit-attack-reliable-sources-2010.cnn

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Imagine - lusting in your heart being a "story" and compare that with what Trump has done. Even if you leave all out all the adulterous behavior, he has had three wives! Carter was married to Rosalynn forever. I wish men that behaved as he did got more attention.

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Tffg cheated on all 3 of his wives and at least one mistress.

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Folks follow salacious stories not Good Samaratins

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founding

Yes. They treated Carter like he was a back woods "hillbilly". He was intelligent, thoughtful and good. Reagan ushered in "greed is good" and was infuriated when he saw a waitress in a diner pick up a tip realizing that she wasn't paying taxes on it. He singled out the the true American Villain, the Welfare Queen who collected welfare checks so she could live comfortably in poverty. He made sure the wealthy paid as little as possible in taxes and he hated the poor who needed to work harder at getting rich. I went to see Mort Sahl and he did nothing but gush over how Reagan was witty and how he brought fun and class back to back to the White House and how boring liberals were. Reagan crashed the economy 1987 as the party was over. So much for Mort.

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Reagan was wrong about so many things. Servers, do, in fact, pay taxes on tips. And in some cases, they're expected to pay taxes on standard estimated amounts per shift. Therefore, it's possible to be taxed on more money than one has actually made (been there, done that).

As for former President Carter, Ronnie Raygun was probably just jealous that his predecessor graduated Annapolis and was a multi-decorated veteran. And, of course, had a number of significant accomplishments in office.

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Mort Sahl would have loved Trump. That's one of the many reasons why I personally loathed Mort Sahl.

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We do. After leaving office he and his wife spent so many years..until they couldn’t any more… helping others. It was never about them. The world is a much better place because of their work.

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AMEN

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Unfortunately they don’t make them like him anymore 😞

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There still are people like him out there but they don't get the attention they should. People doing positive things just don't enrage the ignorant public, so those stories don't get the clicks. Because of that, those stories aren't publicized. We've become a nation of rats pushing bars to get treats.

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This shows audibly that Jimmy has been a man of the people for his entire life!

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👍🙏🏻☮️

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What a wonderful man. This made me smile.

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What a great way to kick off my Sunday morning! President Carter may well be the most underappreciated man to ever serve in the Oval Office. He was a consummate professional and the manner in which he hosted this gathering typifies this. As he approaches age 100, our country needs to be grateful for the sacrifices, service and leadership he provided over his lifetime. Thank you for sharing this reminder.

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He should have been a two term President. I will stay mad about Reagan’s election in 1980 forever!

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Save your anger and use it for fuel to ensure TFG does get back in the White House! We were blessed to have President Carter even for one term and his life of example about what true service looks like.

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I am even more angry that Trump was elected in 2016. I can’t believe anyone is going to vote for him again 🤯

I am all in for Biden/Harris 24.

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Do you mean -- save your anger & make certain TFG DOES NOT get re-elected...??? Huh-- Yes. I thought so..

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Love this! Thank you!!

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Thank you. Always love your Reason to Smile posts. Love Jimmy Carter and jazz .

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🙏 for this reason to smile❣

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It was my privilege to volunteer at The Carter Center in Atlanta for 15 years, and to see President Carter and “Mrs. Rosalynn” often. Both of them were down-to-earth and always took time to thank those of us who were docents and gave tours. To think of outdoor concerts being held on the South Lawn with famous jazz bands playing live, and both President and Mrs. Carter singing warms my heart. Thank you, Dan Rather, for giving us a “reason to smile” this morning! ❤️

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Thank You.

Peace & Love.

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Thanks for sharing this Sunday morning smile. President Carter gave us so much. Almost Happy Birthday to a wonderful man.

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Wonderfully light hearted story. So nice to be reminded of how far back the celebration of various cultures goes!

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Many thanks, Dan, Jimmy Carter was a Peoples President dedicated to peace and humanity: not a bullet was fired, not a bomb was dropped in war during his four years in office. No other president in recent history can make this laudablle claim! Jimmy Carter's extraordinary legacy will live on!

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founding

Great choice to start a Sunday. Jimmy Carter is an amazing man. I’m glad he is living such a long life. The world could use more people like him…in government service and many other areas of human life. The concert at the White House must have been great…only one person missing, Dan Rather.

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I am really trying to not stereotype folks here, but I'd like to see a "study" of pictures showing presidents genuinely laughing/smiling like President Carter is in these picture. I don't think anyone could find any of Trump and few of the Bushes. Carter, Obama, Clinton and Biden just seem to have a joy that the Republicans don't have. Their laughter and smiles are real, not forced and I find them contagious. Their joy is in the delight of others (often their spouses) not in having any power or material things. I want to live in a nation where more folks are like Jimmy Carter and none are like Trump. How lucky I've been to have lived at the same time Jimmy Carter has and to live in a time where because of the media I get to be exposed to his goodness. His poetry touches me in a way few others do and his joie de vivre always encourages me. He can still find goodness and things to rejoice in while condemning the evil in the world. Lets be more like him...speak out against what is wrong but don't lose sight of the good things. While we still have a long long way to go, the world that the Black performers in this clip faced was still pretty hostile to persons of color and yet you see joy on their faces. How sad that much of the US citizenry chooses to focus on hate (think MTG and her childish comments regarding the appearance of a fellow congresswomen rather than focus on legislation that could make the nation better for all those who are underserved in whatever way).

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I share your viewpoint. I have often commented on Trump's seeming inability to genuinely laugh. I can't even imagine his having an event like this.

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I think it's just a different world the trumps live in...one with no laughter or joy and the only "happiness" is derived from hurting others as much as you can. I find that a weird way to raise children but that is their approach to life as it is now the GOPs approach. I do wonder about the schools that MAGA children attend...do they all support bulling? Instead of kindness weeks do they have lets see who can be the biggest bully weeks? Is it easy to find teachers who want to teach like that? I have no idea. Some folks say not all Republicans are "bad" but the few that are vocal about how awful Trump/MAGA is are, well very very few. Even if trump wins the election, I prefer my world to his and I know he will do a lot to take away joy but I think it will survive. I think (but am not sure) that the Black communities that survived slavery and Jim Crow and the resurgence of hate and discrimination we see today have managed to continue to have joy and celebration is spite of all the horrors they have experienced and I hope that those of us who enjoy joy will learn from them somehow. They seem to rejoice in each other and how they can help one another. Or something. I don't think I'm doing a good job of expressing what I think! I don't know if the Black experience is different that the white experience partly because so many of them have in their history surviving slavery and white Americans don't have, as a group anything like that that binds us together. A best it may be that we share a heritage of hating others who are not like us and doing all we can to be sure they have no power. From our treatment of Native Americans from the beginning of our time on this continent to our embracing slavery to now having so many Americans (although I think a minority but a minority that votes when the majority does not vote) who hate any non straight non white person and feel women deserve no rights. That hatred does indeed bind together the GOP but I think the rest of us don't have something that strong. I hope some of the Womens' movements are providing that for women and even men. I live in a 99.9% MAGA area and fear any visible support for anything non MAGA because or the likelihood of retaliation (and yet the local school gladly accepted a grant of $400,000 from the Biden Administration, but they will not acknowledge Biden was responsible for it). But I hope in other areas these groups are providing an environment that will help women maintain joy. I hope somehow those of us who do not have much of a shared history or hate to keep us together will still find the joy that the musicians and Mr. Carter showed in this clip.

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Wow! What a wonderful event to share. Thank you, Dan Rather, for making me smile. Also, you have reminded me of the pride I felt when voting in a presidential election for the first time. I, and the country, certainly made the wise choice in electing Jimmy Carter to lead us. It's too bad such a day of stellar performers wasn't captured in its entirety!

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Smiling big and tapping both feet, right now. What a wonderful night that must have been. We definitely need reminders of such good times, such innocent times, in the White House. Thanks, Dan Rather, for bringing us this Sunday morning gift!

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Thank you, Dan Rather. What a good humanitarian- Jimmy Carter. A good President. Unfortunately stuck with the Iran Hostage situation of the American embassy staff. The rescue mission failed too, otherwise would have turned the tables on trigger happy image of Ronald Reagan.

President’s often get caught in bad cycles. There is no comparison for the 45th. He is an indelible stain on the American Presidency.

My two cents.

Thank you.

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What an amazing time in music!

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