To the editor:

Jimmy Carter was a President much reviled as he left office in 1981.

Let’s face it. During his administration America experienced a period of 21% inflation and 20% interest rates. While he was not at fault for these problems, his reaction seemed slow and inadequate. Of course, the Republicans were ferocious! And why not? it was politics and President Carter was to blame. In fairness to him, no one forsaw such a disaster. We had not dealt with anything similar in three generations.

Then came the fall of the Shah of Iran and all our embassy personnel held hostage. President Carter was faced with a new paradigm. Never in history had such a situation occurred. Still not bringing our people home was during his administration and, therefor, his fault. It seemed he wasn’t a leader of action, but reaction causing America to be constantly “behind the 8-ball.”

He was also the bravest President America ever had, and America was fortunate to have him at a specific time and place in our history. In February, 1979, a movie called The China Syndrome, about a nuclear meltdown, was released. On March 28, Three Mile Island occurred. 72 hours later, 90% of the panicked people in a 100 mile radius, some 40 million were packing to go. They never left. President Jimmy Carter and First Lady Rosalynn were driven to Three Mile Island to inspect the damage.

C. John McEnelly