--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm a political scientist and I study…" description: "\"I'm a political scientist and I study these things, and I know that economic problems, with the rising unemployment and inflation and low productivity ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/873/jeane-kirkpatrick-12763_carter_i-m-a-political-scientist-and-i-study-th_2888698.jpg" --- # I'm a political scientist and I study these things, and I… ![“I'm a political scientist and I study these things, and I know that economic problems, with the rising unemployment and inflation and low productivity and so forth, were a factor in that election, in that defeat of President Carter.” quote by Jeane Kirkpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/873/jeane-kirkpatrick-12763_carter_i-m-a-political-scientist-and-i-study-th_2888698.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/873/jeane-kirkpatrick-12763_carter_i-m-a-political-scientist-and-i-study-th_2888698.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/873/jeane-kirkpatrick-12763_carter_i-m-a-political-scientist-and-i-study-th_2888698.jpg) > “I'm a political scientist and I study these things, and I know that economic problems, with the rising unemployment and inflation and low productivity and so forth, were a factor in that election, in that defeat of President Carter.” [Jeane Kirkpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeane-kirkpatrick/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Economic hardship contributed significantly to President Carter's defeat in the 1980 election. **In simple terms:** Economics shaped the election outcome. Key Takeaway Recognize economic factors in politics. Themes politics economics election history Mood analytical historical Type political economic When to use this quote - campaign strategy - policy analysis - public opinion research Key Concepts macroeconomic cycles voter behavior Questions to Reflect On - What other factors influenced the 1980 election? - How do current economic trends affect elections? A Different Perspective Economic issues are not the sole cause of electoral loss. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carter/) [Defeat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defeat/) [Economic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economic/) [Economic problems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economic-problems/) [Election](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/election/) [Election Defeat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/election-defeat-4045129/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Inflation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inflation/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Political Scientist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-scientist-247499/) [President](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/president/) [President carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/president-carter/) [Productivity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/productivity/) [Rising](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rising/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Scientist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scientist/) [Study](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/study/) [Unemployment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unemployment/) ## Related quotes > [When I worked in the White House for President Carter, we tried to do comprehensive tax reform and we made some progress, and other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rubenstein/when-i-worked-in-the-white-house-for-president-carter-we-tried-to-do/) [David Rubenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rubenstein/) > [Regret what? That secret operation was an excellent idea. It had the effect of drawing the Russians into the Afghan trap and you want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zbigniew-brzezinski/regret-what-that-secret-operation-was-an-excellent-idea-it-had-the/) [Zbigniew Brzezinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zbigniew-brzezinski/) > [I would like to dissolve the $10 billion national Department of Education created by President Carter and turn schools back to the local school…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/i-would-like-to-dissolve-the-10-billion-national-department-of/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [President Carter famously said the hostages were the first thing he thought about in the morning and the last thing he thought about at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-koppel/president-carter-famously-said-the-hostages-were-the-first-thing-he/) [Ted Koppel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-koppel/) > [According to the official version of history, CIA aid to the Mujahideen began during 1980, that is to say, after the Soviet army invaded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zbigniew-brzezinski/according-to-the-official-version-of-history-cia-aid-to-the/) [Zbigniew Brzezinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zbigniew-brzezinski/) > [“President Carter was One of the Greatest presidents Our Country ever had. Soon: Captain Mark Richards, polygraph test.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trump-is-a-child-rapist/president-carter-was-one-of-the-greatest-presidents-our-country-ever/) [TRUMP is a CHILD RAPIST](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trump-is-a-child-rapist/) > [President Jimmy Carter inherited an impossible situation - and he and his advisers made the worst of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaddis-smith/president-jimmy-carter-inherited-an-impossible-situation-and-he-and/) [Gaddis Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaddis-smith/) > [History buffs probably noted the reunion at a Washington party a few weeks ago of three ex-presidents: Carter, Ford and Nixon - See No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dole/history-buffs-probably-noted-the-reunion-at-a-washington-party-a-few/) [Bob Dole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dole/) > [One of my most often repeated quips was the one I made when former Presidents Carter, Ford and Nixon stood by each other at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dole/one-of-my-most-often-repeated-quips-was-the-one-i-made-when-former/) [Bob Dole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dole/) > [We saw what happened in Jimmy Carter's administration. President Carter was a good man with the best of intentions. But he came to Washington…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-hunt/we-saw-what-happened-in-jimmy-carter-s-administration-president/) [Jim Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-hunt/) > [I spent a lot of 2012 going around the country saying that President Obama was the most liberal and most incompetent president in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-jindal/i-spent-a-lot-of-2012-going-around-the-country-saying-that-president/) [Bobby Jindal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-jindal/) > [In his 4 years in the White House, President Carter worked to make the Federal Government more competent and compassionate and more responsive to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-deal/in-his-4-years-in-the-white-house-president-carter-worked-to-make-the/) [Nathan Deal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-deal/) > [President Carter's lifelong conviction of service was guided by great compassion and a selfless will to look after the people and world around him.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-kim/president-carter-s-lifelong-conviction-of-service-was-guided-by-great/) [Andy Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-kim/) > [Well it did not make excessive sense to say that 20 million people are the recognized government of a billion people that have their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-kissinger/well-it-did-not-make-excessive-sense-to-say-that-20-million-people/) [Henry A. Kissinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-kissinger/) > [At 2:26 AM on 3 June 1980, Colonel William Odom of the Strategic Air Command alerted National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski that the US…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stansfield-turner/at-2-26-am-on-3-june-1980-colonel-william-odom-of-the-strategic-air/) [Stansfield Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stansfield-turner/) ## More by Jeane Kirkpatrick > [A doctrine of class war seemed to provide a solution to the problem of poverty to people who know nothing about how wealth is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeane-kirkpatrick/a-doctrine-of-class-war-seemed-to-provide-a-solution-to-the-problem/) [Jeane Kirkpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeane-kirkpatrick/) > [It was not malaise we suffered from; it was Jimmy Carter - and Walter Mondale.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeane-kirkpatrick/it-was-not-malaise-we-suffered-from-it-was-jimmy-carter-and-walter/) [Jeane Kirkpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeane-kirkpatrick/) > [When Marxist dictators shoot their way into power in Central America, the Democrats don't blame the guerrillas and their Soviet allies, they blame United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeane-kirkpatrick/when-marxist-dictators-shoot-their-way-into-power-in-central-america/) [Jeane Kirkpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeane-kirkpatrick/) > [That is simply that Marxism has been tremendously fashionable in our time, so it has infected a very large number of major institutions in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeane-kirkpatrick/that-is-simply-that-marxism-has-been-tremendously-fashionable-in-our/) [Jeane Kirkpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeane-kirkpatrick/) > [There is an absolutely fundamental hostility on the part of totalitarian regimes toward religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeane-kirkpatrick/there-is-an-absolutely-fundamental-hostility-on-the-part-of/) [Jeane Kirkpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeane-kirkpatrick/) > [Truth, which is important to a scholar, has got to be concrete. And there is nothing more concrete than dealing with babies, burps and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeane-kirkpatrick/truth-which-is-important-to-a-scholar-has-got-to-be-concrete-and/) [Jeane Kirkpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeane-kirkpatrick/) > [And I think detente had manifestly failed, and that the pursuit of it was encouraging Soviet expansion and rendering the world more dangerous, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeane-kirkpatrick/and-i-think-detente-had-manifestly-failed-and-that-the-pursuit-of-it/) [Jeane Kirkpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeane-kirkpatrick/) > [Cultural constraints condition and limit our choices, shaping our characters with their imperatives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeane-kirkpatrick/cultural-constraints-condition-and-limit-our-choices-shaping-our/) [Jeane Kirkpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeane-kirkpatrick/) > [Look, I don't even agree with myself at times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeane-kirkpatrick/look-i-don-t-even-agree-with-myself-at-times/) [Jeane Kirkpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeane-kirkpatrick/) > [ Decades, if not centuries are normally required for people to acquire the necessary disciplines and habits. In Britain, the road \[to democratic government\] took… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeane-kirkpatrick/decades-if-not-centuries-are-normally-required-for-people-to-acquire/) [Jeane Kirkpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeane-kirkpatrick/) > [Democracy not only requires equality but also an unshakable conviction in the value of each person, who is then equal. Cross cultural experience teaches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeane-kirkpatrick/democracy-not-only-requires-equality-but-also-an-unshakable/) [Jeane Kirkpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeane-kirkpatrick/) > [Democracy not only requires equality but also an unshakable conviction in the value of each person, who is then equal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeane-kirkpatrick/democracy-not-only-requires-equality-but-also-an-unshakable-2/) [Jeane Kirkpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeane-kirkpatrick/) > [Americans need to face the truth about themselves, no matter how pleasant it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeane-kirkpatrick/americans-need-to-face-the-truth-about-themselves-no-matter-how/) [Jeane Kirkpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeane-kirkpatrick/) > [For all their faults, right-wing authoritarian regimes more easily accept democratic reforms than left-wing totalitarian states.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeane-kirkpatrick/for-all-their-faults-right-wing-authoritarian-regimes-more-easily/) [Jeane Kirkpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeane-kirkpatrick/) > [All of us confront limits of body, talent, temperament. But that is not all. We are, all of us, also constrained by our time,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeane-kirkpatrick/all-of-us-confront-limits-of-body-talent-temperament-but-that-is-not/) [Jeane Kirkpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeane-kirkpatrick/) [Explore all 53 Jeane Kirkpatrick quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeane-kirkpatrick/) ## More Carter quotes > [I am somewhat influenced by the years that I've spent trying to actually get things done, whether it was reforming education in Arkansas or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-am-somewhat-influenced-by-the-years-that-i-ve-spent-trying-to/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [Benny Carter came up to me and said to me, "You know, in the whole history of the alto, I think Phil is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-gordon/benny-carter-came-up-to-me-and-said-to-me-you-know-in-the-whole/) [Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-gordon/) > [Trying to make it from the bottom. His sins Feeling as hard as Vince Carter's knee cartilage is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-sweatshirt/trying-to-make-it-from-the-bottom-his-sins-feeling-as-hard-as-vince/) [Earl Sweatshirt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-sweatshirt/) > [ \[A\]n Obama presidency would be an amusing approximation of the Carter administration, complete with vaporous moralizing and foreign policy bungling. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmett-tyrrell/a-n-obama-presidency-would-be-an-amusing-approximation-of-the-carter/) [Emmett Tyrrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmett-tyrrell/) > [When I worked in the White House for President Carter, we tried to do comprehensive tax reform and we made some progress, and other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rubenstein/when-i-worked-in-the-white-house-for-president-carter-we-tried-to-do/) [David Rubenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rubenstein/) > [They know where Carter at, straight off the launchin pad marching on the moon muthafuka I've been to Mars and back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-wayne/they-know-where-carter-at-straight-off-the-launchin-pad-marching-on/) [Lil Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-wayne/) > [ I've kept the people who've been in my career who I feel are my family. Kathy \[Kennedy\] had been with me since 1978. Janusz… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/i-ve-kept-the-people-who-ve-been-in-my-career-who-i-feel-are-my/) [Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/) > [ Here's a foolproof method for keeping America safe. Always do the exact 180-degree opposite of whatever \[Jimmy\] Carter says, as quickly as possible. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-coulter/here-s-a-foolproof-method-for-keeping-america-safe-always-do-the/) [Ann Coulter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-coulter/) > [“Time crawls in the silence. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tock. Tock. Tock.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-mckay/time-crawls-in-the-silence-tick-tock-tick-tock-tick-tock-tock-tock/) [Emily McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-mckay/) > [No doubt the ridiculous politicians are right to like politics. They have found careers in which success can be achieved by being ridiculous. Imagine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/no-doubt-the-ridiculous-politicians-are-right-to-like-politics-they/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [Over the weekend, former Enron executives Jeffrey Skilling and Rebecca Carter married each other during a huge ceremony in Houston. The happy couple is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conan-o-brien/over-the-weekend-former-enron-executives-jeffrey-skilling-and-rebecca/) [Conan O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conan-o-brien/) > [Look at what Jimmy Carter did. Look at the risks he took for a country that wasn't his. Israel has benefited unbelievably from that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-wright/look-at-what-jimmy-carter-did-look-at-the-risks-he-took-for-a-country/) [Lawrence Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-wright/) > [After my bad experience as a kite, I simply refused to go about as a glowing Sadie-headed chicken. That’s fine for Carter, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/after-my-bad-experience-as-a-kite-i-simply-refused-to-go-about-as-a/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [- "Women should all move to Amazonia, or at least vacation there four times a year." - "Amazonia?" - "It's the girl world in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/women-should-all-move-to-amazonia-or-at-least-vacation-there-four/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [“Mine own people do not care for me, John Carter; I am too unlike them. It is a sad fate, since I must live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/mine-own-people-do-not-care-for-me-john-carter-i-am-too-unlike-them/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) [Browse all 437 Carter quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carter/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm a political scientist and I study these things, and I know that economic problems, with the rising unemployment and inflation and low productivity and so forth, were a factor in that election, in that defeat of President Carter.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jeane Kirkpatrick" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeane-kirkpatrick/i-m-a-political-scientist-and-i-study-these-things-and-i-know-that/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Carter" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeane-kirkpatrick/i-m-a-political-scientist-and-i-study-these-things-and-i-know-that/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/873/jeane-kirkpatrick-12763_carter_i-m-a-political-scientist-and-i-study-th_2888698.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/873/jeane-kirkpatrick-12763_carter_i-m-a-political-scientist-and-i-study-th_2888698.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/873/jeane-kirkpatrick-12763_carter_i-m-a-political-scientist-and-i-study-th_2888698.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'm a political scientist and I study these things, and I know that economic problems, with the rising…” — Jeane Kirkpatrick", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Jeane Kirkpatrick", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeane-kirkpatrick/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I'm a political scientist and I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeane-kirkpatrick/i-m-a-political-scientist-and-i-study-these-things-and-i-know-that/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeane-kirkpatrick/i-m-a-political-scientist-and-i-study-these-things-and-i-know-that/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```