지미 카터 대통령의 지도력에 관한 소고

A Study on the Leadership of President Jimmy Carter

The main purpose of this paper is research into the essential qualities of Jimmy Carter s leadership. Robert Shogan, political correspondent for Newsweek and Los Angeles Times, said that Jimmy Carter was exceptional human being. Shogan found that Carter was hunted by the fear that he would fail to achieve the goals he set for himself. Then, what is the sense of exceptionalism to Carter? Especially, what is the sense of exceptionalism to Carter as politician, American president? This is, Carter thought that he was superior politician to others. He thought selfishly, no doubt, that his morality was better than other politician. To this point, there is the essential qualities of Carter s leadership. Generally, while many politician have been the leadership of political ideology, but Jimmy Carter have been the leadership of moral and religious ideology. There were political events, Nixon s Watergate and Ford s pardon, to the background of the Carter s election. But Carter made clear and turned to account these as moral and religious events. To a public still smarting from Watergate and disenchanted with government, Carter emphasized his rural roots and his lifelong distance from Washington. A deeply religious man and self-described “born-again” Christian, he seemed to offer a religious salve for the nation s wounds, reassuring audiences that they deserved a government as “decent, honest, truthful, fair, compassionate, and as filled with love as our people are.” Once in office, Carter continued to make effective use of symbolic politics to demystify the operations of governments and create an impression of rule by the common people. No inauguration sin that of Andrew Jackson had the informality and lack of pomp of that of Jimmy Carter. He reduced the size of the White House staff by one-third, ordered cabinet officers to drive their own cars, and ended the playing of “Hail to the Chief” at his public appearances. These behavior and endeavor of Carter is different from any other presidents. Carter s symbolic politics helped briefly to soothe the nation s troubled conscience, but effective leadership over the longer term required the president to reconcile the conflicting and contradictory claims on government that characterized American politics in the 1970s. In 1970s, there were many difficult problem in America. Especially inflation forced the Carter to make tough, perhaps impossible, choices. So, Carter tried to alleviate inflation pressure by narrowing the budget deficit. He told the nation that “I believe that we must firmly limit what the government taxes and spends.” As a result of, the fiscal maneuverability of Carter administration was limited. Carter thought that the established politicians, mainstream washingtonian, are just the same with a den of iniquitous special interests. He believed that congress are just the same with many niches in which special interests could hide. So, Carter tried to purify these situations. This is self-righteousness of Carter. Jimmy tried to solve simply the suffering of economy and diplomatic problems as some morality and religious believing. This is an exceptionalism of Carter. Carter is certainly a good and moral man, but was a failure as president. In the White House, he was long on good intentions but short on accomplishment. having come to Washington as an outsider, his leadership never reached an accommodation with the interests and institutions he had campaigned against, but whose support he needed to govern. He was a president who never adequately formulate a mission for the country. The result was that his leadership was obstinate to the moral values.