Jimmy Carter: An American
Disgrace
Dismissing America's worst
President
It isn’t too often that one who pens opinion
articles will fully allow himself to “let it all out,”
and quite possibly say more than ever intended.
Here then, is one of those rare times--a time when I cannot contain
myself, consequences be damned. For today, I will speak in no
uncertain terms about one of America’s greatest elective
mistakes, James Earl Carter, Jr.
That is the last time I will use Carter’s full Christian
name in this space, so cherish the reference if you must. But
even that simple courtesy should be denied, in my mind.
If one were to pick a single word to describe Carter, what would
it be? Could one stop at a single word? Would one want to? Some
answers in a moment.
America’s 39th President of the United States, former President
Carter is anything but presidential in retirement. Behaving as
an embittered embarrassment to the country at large--and overseas--it
is hard to believe that this man was ever entrusted with the well-being
of the nation, much less a simple speech at a funeral.
The funeral would be that of the first lady of civil rights,
Coretta Scott King, the wife of slain civil rights icon, Martin
Luther King, Jr. In the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in
suburban Atlanta, thousands gathered to pay their last respects.
The list would include poets, performers, and four U.S. Presidents.
When it became Carter’s turn to speak to the assembled,
he wasted little time in turning what should have been a somber
and reflective speech regarding Mrs. King into a political cudgel
to beat George W. Bush over the head with.
In reference to the current hyperventilating over the so-called
“domestic spying program” that Democrats and the mainstream
media are trying to hammer Bush with, Carter thought it an opportune
moment wield that political cudgel:
“It was difficult for them [the Kings] then personally
with the civil liberties of both husband and wife violated as
they became the target of secret government wiretaps.”
What this boorish former president forgot to mention was that
a couple of Democratic “Gods” in the way of Attorney
General Robert F. Kennedy--whose brother just happened to be the
35th president of the United States, John F. Kennedy--wiretapped
the King family. But to Carter, the facts would only get in the
way of a good smear.
Carter wasn’t finished. He decided that the only thing
better than a church full of black people from the civil rights
era would be a church full of angry black people. What better
way than to do that then to once again remind blacks that President
Bush controls the very weather that produces racist hurricanes?
“This commemorative ceremony this morning, this afternoon,
is not only to acknowledge the great contributions of Coretta
and Martin, but to remind us that the struggle for equal rights
is not over. We only have to recall the color of the faces of
those in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi…Those who were
most devastated by Hurricane Katrina know that there are not yet
equal opportunities for all Americans. It is our responsibility
to continue their crusade.” (http://www.drudgereport.com/flash8.htm)
Held out as a “celebration” of her life, the King
funeral had its fair share of Paul Wellstone moments. Few can
forget the out and out carrying-on by Democrats--and the hateful
treatment of Republicans--at the memorial for Democratic Senator
Paul Wellstone, who, along with his wife and daughter, perished
in a plane crash in October, 2002.
Because of the raucous and incredibly distasteful behavior of
the Democrats, it is thought by many to have cost them the elections
of 2002.
To be fair and honest (two attributes lost to Carter), there
were others who were just as inappropriate in their remarks. The
Reverend Joseph Lowery, co-founder of Southern Christian Leadership
Conference, was positively aglow in Bush-bashing fever:
“We know now that there were no weapons of mass destruction
over there…But Coretta knew, and we know, that there are
weapons of misdirection right down here. For war, billions more,
but no more for the poor!”
How the crowd cheered both Carter and Rev. Lowery! From my point
of view, I expect this from civil rights fossils like Lowery,
Jesse Jackson, and even Al Sharpton. Never one to pass up a good
bash at Bush, all three men and those affiliated with them only
have one directional speed: Backwards.
But from a former President, I expect more, and so should everyone.
It defies explanation how this humane but embittered man from
Georgia can say just about anything and not be condemned by a
press that certainly knows better.
But really, why should anyone be surprised? Carter has been doing
this to Republican Presidents since he was--with extreme prejudice--voted
out of office in 1980. Some of Carter’s verbal exploits
include:
* Regarding President Ronald Reagan’s talks with Mikhail
Gorbachev at Reykjavik : “I have always thought ‘Star
Wars’ was a big mistake. My judgment is President Reagan
missed a wonderful opportunity”
* Regarding President George H.W. Bush’s preparations during
the Gulf War: "We are not planning now a defensive deployment
of U.S. forces. We are now planning an offensive operation.”
Days later at a conference at New York's Hofstra University, Carter
states that if Bush attacks Iraq, the U.S. would “reap great
and very serious deleterious consequences politically.”
* Regarding George W. Bush’s “Axis of Evil”
comment in the 2002 State of the Union address: “I think
it will take years before we can repair the damage done by that
statement…it was overly simplistic and counterproductive.”
It was once upon a time that U.S. Presidents displayed the daily
prestige and cognizance of the office of President not only when
in it, but also out of it. Principally, criticism of current occupants
of the White House was most often relayed privately, and was rarely
seen on the op-ed pages of any major news organs. Sadly, former
President Carter has deferred to pageantry instead of principle,
an apt conclusion for a man whose Presidency was more caricature
than commanding.
There are numerous examples of former president Carter’s
innate resentfulness regarding the successes of others, but these
will suffice to show how history is likely to view this man.
If you remember, I asked if a single word could describe just
who Jimmy Carter truly is. If I had to choose, the word would
be “ineffectual,” for that is how Carter governed
when President, and that is how his words today must be viewed.
Instead of continually hitting a war-time President between the
eyes with that humanitarian hammer that he carries, Jimmy Carter
ought to go south, and build a few homes in New Orleans instead.
Heaven knows--as well as the average American--that is all he
is good for.
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