Is President Carter Irrelevant?
(AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Mr. Carter followed with a "my bad" moment on NBC's "Today" this morning, saying his remarks were "careless or misinterpreted."
So is Mr. Carter becoming irrelevant? I talked to CBS News consultant and presidential historian Douglas Brinkley, who says definitely not.
"He's not only a Nobel Peace Prize winner but he's listened to all over the world," said Brinkley, citing Mr. Carter's efforts around the globe to battle disease, poverty and political corruption through his work with the Carter Center.
"(The administration) may find him annoying ... or say his actions are disparaging to the troops, but irrelevant he is not."
However, Mr. Carter himself may feel otherwise. In his "Today" interview he said, "I don't claim to have any relevancy. I have a completely unofficial capacity."
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See all 52 CommentsWith all of the recent revelations by Geo. Tenet, etc., it is amasing to me that so many don't see how unwise it is to have a staff, a party, a country of only "Yes-Men" & "Yes-Women". Anyone with a successful business knows this is a recipe for problems when no one challenges the institutional thinking.
So when someone of Carter's experience voices his concerns / impressions that reflect 49-50% of the 2004 presidential voters, and that percentage has grown since then, he is relevant.
I did not appreciate the man when he was in office. Inflation raged like at no other time in American history. In the post-Vietnam world, the U.S. was at its lowest ebb militarily and in status.
He was my commander-in-chief for the end of his term. He could have sent troops in en masse after the taking of the hostages at the U.S. embassy in Iran. But he did not. He relied on diplomacy. And he was derided when the day Reagan came into the picture. The agreement was followed through by Iran and the hostages came home, but not until after they had humiliated him and his successful efforts.
Still, all of these years later, I must admit that perhaps, through his patience and faith in diplomacy, many 18 year olds' lives were spared, including mine.
Many forget that Reagan made a tragic blunder by forcing his way into Lebanon and it cost many good men their lives. But I cannot forget, because a good friend of mine died there.
I cannot agree with everything that Mr. Carter has done in his life. But, on the other hand, I am alive today to not agree.
So, if you do not mind, although I am not a Democrat or a fan of his, I will forgive him his words said and his deeds done.
Eric
This is not about Congress attempting to remove Carter's right to express himself. Of course Jimmy has the "Right" to say whatever he feels. What we are discussing here is etiquette. If you were a bride one day and then the next day you were invited as a guest to a wedding. Would you walk around the reception of the wedding you were attending as a guest and tell the other guests how ugly the wedding dress and boring the wedding was compared to yours. You had your time; and now either enjoy or not, but be gracious.
This "Free Speech" argument is lame and not well thought-out enough to even read the Constitution before saying such nonsense and as such is just an emotional statement that says more about the ignorance of the commenter.
Not one living person is irrelevant.
irrelevant
irrelevant
adj
not applicable: not relevant or important
-irrelevance, n
-irrelevancy, n
-irrelevantly, adv
Encarta . World English Dictionary ) & (P) 1998-2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Unfortunately this administration has made everyone who doesn't agree with it unimportant. That is the problem. Millions of people are being left out of the decision making process and that is bound to have repercussions. That is reality.
repercussion
repercussion
(plural repercussions)
n
1. result of action: something, especially an unforeseen problem, that results from an action (often used in the plural)
2. rebound: the rebounding of a force after impact
3. physics reflection: the reflection of light or sound
4. music point of reappearance in fugue: in a fugue, the return of the theme after an episode
[Mid-16th century. Directly or via French from Latin repercuss- , the past participle stem of repercutere , literally %u201Cto strike back through,%u201D from percutere %u201Cto strike through.%u201D]
Encarta . World English Dictionary ) & (P) 1998-2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
ir7rel7e7vant
ir7rel7e7vant [i rill%u0259v%u0259nt]
adj
not applicable: not relevant or important
-ir7rel7e7vance, n
-ir7rel7e7van7cy, n
-ir7rel7e7vant7ly, adv
Encarta . World English Dictionary ) & (P) 1998-2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Unfortunately this administration has made everyone who doesn't agree with it is unimportant. That is the problem. Millions of people are being left out of the decision making process and that is bound to have repercussions. That is reality.
re7per7cus7sion
re7per7cus7sion [r%uF7FDp%u0259r kzsh%u2019n]
(plural re7per7cus7sions)
n
1. result of action: something, especially an unforeseen problem, that results from an action (often used in the plural)
2. rebound: the rebounding of a force after impact
3. physics reflection: the reflection of light or sound
4. music point of reappearance in fugue: in a fugue, the return of the theme after an episode
[Mid-16th century. Directly or via French from Latin repercuss- , the past participle stem of repercutere , literally %u201Cto strike back through,%u201D from percutere %u201Cto strike through.%u201D]
Encarta . World English Dictionary ) & (P) 1998-2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
I do find the concept of calling a Noebel Peace Prize winner irrelevant even more laughable given Carter's efforts for peace in the Middle East and Bush's efforts to inflame the area.
Gave away the Panama Canal.
Attacked by "killer rabbit" while fishing - had to be saved the secret service - Yes google this!
2nd president to be openly critical of a current sitting president ( Bubba another president from the south started this tradition ) Except for Jimmy & Clinton I don't recall seeing another president seek out the limelight on the world stage to make bizarre criticisms of a sitting president.
Lost election to that idiot Bonzo actor Ronald Reagan.
Made our military a laughing stock during his four years. Embarrassing failed Iranian rescue mission where we left our helicopters behind in the desert.
The government is spending hundreds of billions more than it is taking in each year. That spending gives the economy a bump. It's a great scheme to make the economy look strong now, but it robs the future.
Check the national debt figures.
Unnecessary war in Iraq + HUGE increase in national debt warrantless spying on Americans condoning torture incompetence in Iraq limiting of stem cell research = WORST PRESIDENT EVER.
One more thing. The fed has hidden M3 for the past 6 or 8 months. They still have the data, they just don't publish it. They need a bit of secrecy to make sure folks don't rip money out of the banks & buy gold just yet.
Nevertheless, you can get a reconstructed figure for M3 that has a .99999 correlation with the old M3 at this URL:
http://www.nowandfutures.com/key_stats.html
So you have an economy that was growing 4% but is slowing and a money supply growing at 11% annualized.
That spells "WEIMAR REPUBLIC".
Isn't it out-of-bounds for the worst to declare a new "worst". Aren't they disqualified by common sense "conflict of interest" rules?
Your rose colored glasses are skewed by a sea of green. The fed has been exploding M3 to keep the markets from crashing, the dollar is at multi-year lows & the trade imbalances are at record levels.
Take a good look at the dow in euros or any other non-devalued, non-trashed currency & the scenario ain't so rosey. The fed is pumping up the dow to mitigate the effects of the housing collapse. The inflation numbers have been heavily massaged. We're getting set up for an inflationary Weimar republic here. That's the big picture.
While he was President, Carter allowed the Soviet Union to advance around the globe; our American hostages to be taken in Iran and held for over 400 days. During his four years at the helm, our military declined significantly and morale was poor both in the armed forces and throughout the country. In the Carter years, our economy was in shambles with the misery index of a high inflation rate and a high unemployment rate making economy conditions miserable. Interest rates were out of control, taxes were high, and Americans were facing soaring prices and a lack of real buying power.
Carter left all of this mess to Ronald Reagan, who, fortunately, was able to turn around the economy, the military, our standing in the world and the mood of the American people. History should always view Jimmy Carter as one of the worst U.S. Presidents of all-time, not based on opinion, but on his lousy record.
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