Rorotoko

The Carter presidency should not be dismissed as a blip in time before Ronald Reagan assumed power in the 1980s. Carter had a unique vision for America’s role at home and abroad. His realization that America’s power is real but also evanescent, is crucial to rethinking what we should be today. In fact, President Obama’s inaugural address had many lines similar to Carter’s speech from 1979. Obama spoke of a “crisis of confidence” existing in America. He talked about the need to learn some hard truths about the state of our democracy. Like Carter, Obama has a deep interest in the theological teachings of Reinhold Niebuhr—who emphasized that humans are sinful and naturally self-interested.

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