What were the main factors in western expansion

during the debate over his landmark energy policy proposal, president jimmy carter failed to consult one of the most powerful senators, louisiana’s russell long, who would have a big say over whether the legislation moved through the upper chamber. this was classic carter. with a strong distaste for congressional politics, the president simply refused to do what most other presidents would consider routine, such as courting key senators. long became so irate with the president that when he was finally invited to a white house dinner, he stood up to ask a question and, before doing so, proceeded to sarcastically introduce himself: “i’m russell long, chairman of the senate finance committee.”

this interaction is a revealing moment in stuart e. eizenstat’s fascinating new history of carter’s presidency. the former peanut farmer from georgia was a president who, according to conventional wisdom, didn’t care much for party politics; nonetheless, in eizenstat’s view, carter’s legacy on domestic and foreign policy has been vastly underappreciated. the author paints carter as a “bold and determined” leader who bravely attacked the challenges of his time. eizenstat goes so far as to argue that carter might very well be the most successful one-term president in american history.

the presidential debate between carter and reagan in 1980 was ranked among the highest ratings achieved by any television program in the previous decade (the 1970s). carter focused on portraying reagan as a "war hawk" and a "right-wing radical", which could be considered as comments with no factual evidence. however, reagan openly criticized medicare and social security benefits, stating the fact that national debt was approaching $ 1 trillion. these arguments, plus his closing remarks, in which he asked viewers to question themselves "if it is easier for them to buy things in the store or find employment than 4 years ago", were key to him win the election by a vast margin during that year.

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