Well, it appears that we were quite unanimous in our view that 'Yes, Jimmy Carter is an idiot.'

Here's some more information to comfort you in your views:

[size=4]There He Goes Again[/size=4]
[b]Jimmy Carter, our “model ex-president.”[/b]

By Jay Nordlinger, from the May 20, 2002, issue of National Review

If there's one thing everyone "knows" about Jimmy Carter, it's that he's been an excellent ex-president — a "model ex-president," everyone says. But some of us have to wonder, sometimes.

Carter has resurfaced in recent weeks, sounding off on the Middle East and preparing for a trip to Castro's Cuba. The 39th president is never far from the surface, of course. He has often been an irritant to his successors in the White House. He exasperated Clinton on North Korea and Haiti, and he appalled the first Bush. [b]In the run-up to the Gulf War, as the administration was trying to assemble a coalition against Iraq, Carter sent a letter to members of the U.N. Security Council, urging them to thwart the administration's effort. [u]Some around Washington were heard to mutter "treason[/u]."[/b]

Whatever the weather, Carter has enjoyed a reputation as a Middle East sage, owing to his role in the 1979 Camp David accords. Yet that reputation rests on shaky ground. The painful truth is, Sadat and Begin had their deal worked out before ever approaching Washington. Prof. [b]Bernard Lewis, dean of Middle East scholars, put it this way to PBS's Charlie Rose recently: "The popular mythology is that Sadat made this enormously courageous and imaginative gesture of offering peace. . . . [Sadat and Begin] then went to the United States to discuss it further, and thanks to the wise statesmanship of Jimmy Carter and his staff, they were able to bring [their work] to a successful conclusion, to a peace treaty." Why, in fact, did the two principals ring the White House? "Well, obviously," explained Lewis, "[u]they needed someone to pay the bill, and who but the United States could fulfill that function[/u]?"[/b]

Still, Carter is immensely proud of his rendezvous with Middle East history, and he trades on it constantly. No one should assume, however, that he's an honest broker — at least anymore. For the past many years, he has been passionately anti-Israel, more or less embracing the PLO line. He has repeatedly been at the service of Yasser Arafat. After the Gulf War, the PLO chief was on the outs with Saudi Arabia, because he had backed Saddam Hussein. So he asked Carter to fly to Riyadh to smooth things over and restore Saudi funding to him — which he did. [b]Arabs are also robust funders of the Carter Center, the ex-president's redoubt and vehicle in Atlanta.[/b]

While Carter has many warm words for Arafat and for dictators around the world (as we will see shortly), he has nothing but contempt and scorn for the democratic leader in Israel, Ariel Sharon. In Carter's eyes, the Arab-Israeli conflict is not unlike the pre-civil-rights South, with the Israelis as the oppressive whites and the Palestinians as the innocent blacks. As he told his chronicler, Douglas Brinkley, [b]"The intifada exposed the injustice Palestinians suffered, just like Bull Connor's mad dogs in Birmingham."[/b]

See remainder of article at:[url]http://www.nationalreview.com/20may02/nordlinger052002.asp[/url]

Eric The(Righteous)Hun[>]:)]

And a round of bronx cheers for the ex-president who [i]really[/i] belongs in a carnival haunted house scaring little children.  The man exceeded his grasp by many 10-foot poles.

Carter is a SMALL tool.lolol

When will this man realize he is irrelevant and obsolete?

the_reject

[b]CONDUCT GUIDELINES[/b]

1)[b]No racial slurs or comments[/b]. This isn't about being "PC" it's about respecting each other.

7) [b]No personal attacks towards ANYONE[/b]. If you have a problem with someone, then take it offline with them. If it's with a member of the staff or a moderator, then contact someone from the Senior Staff. Attacking a person, ANY PERSON, in a non-joking manner (clearly visible as a joke) will not be tolerated. Joking and teasing are fine, but if you cross the line, apologize before things get worse. This includes provoking someone into an attack.

[b]Tell me how this thread doesn't violate these 2 rules.[/b]

Dis-respecting a former president and using/taking up for a worse former president with statement such as these "[b]He exasperated Clinton on North Korea and Haiti[/b] is a sure sign it it takes one to know one.

IMHO while I didn't vote for him, he was one president who was a real person that actually cared and still does care about the common folk. A constant champion of Human Rights, founder of Habitats for Humanity and a man not afraid to get his hands dirty. He damn sure doesn't need to be slandered by the likes of you.

Mike

1) What's it got to do with race?

7) Those rules regard abuse of members and guests of THIS BOARD.

[thinking]

Mr. Carter would no doubt appreciate your support, but he's not an icon of goodness to everyone. You have your opinion, they have theirs. Waving around the rules in this case is sort of silly.

[rolleyes]

Post from mr_wilson -

Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! That is surely a good one! The 'one president' who was a real person! Heh-heh-heh-heh. You slay me, brother!

Still cares 'about the common folk...' Ho-ho-ho-ho! Stop it! Stop it!

Heh-heh-heh. Oh, seriously, now, you've simply got to stop this liberal BS routine you've started! 'Champion of human rights'? Yeah, tell that to the Moskito Indians of Nicaragua who were being ethnically cleansed by Daniel Ortega and his Sandinistas all during the 1980s with former President Carter serving as their champion and spokesman!

I may be a slug, but even as a slug, I am head and shoulders above that prick!

Go back to the National Public Radio program you were listening to and leave the heavy discussions to others!

Eric The(Comprende?)Hun[>]:)]

This thread certainly took a u-turn...  Let's turn back to more Carter-bashing.

the_reject

Both Clinton and Carter were poor presidents - in my opinion.
Now Carter is a first-class human being and a former president who was not very effective.  That leaves Clinton.

Actually, [b]mr_wilson[/b], I tried to take my problem with 'Jimmy' Carter offline, but it just didn't work!

Seriously, my friend, the rules you cited (BTW what's with the no racial slurs/comments???) apply only to other members on this Board.

Right?

I'm certain you must believe that as well.

Don't make me go looking for your posts that may criticize someone not on this Board![:D]

Eric The(CarterBlowsCastro!How'sThat?)Hun[>]:)]

[:D]

How can Mr. Carter be a 'first-class human being', [b]subsailor[/b]?

He's an idiot, both now and while he was president.

You don't think that he's undercutting the present Administration with his ill-timed visit to Cuba and the ridiculous comments that he's made, so far?

Boy, you spend a couple of hours in the sun hammering some nails for a couple of project homes, and then you can sit back on your laurels, eh?

Not quite!

BTW, the USS Liberty folks were turned down flat by your 'first class human being' President when it came to their request for reopening the investigation...., oh, but you knew [u]that[/u]!

Eric The(SomeHumanBeingsJustDon'tgetIt)Hun[>]:)]

Primarily because of his work with the Habitat for Humanity.  These folks actually go out and do something - they build very decent, affordable housing.  Even O'Reilly recommends Habitat.
--------------------

After attacking the USS Liberty killing 34 U.S. sailors and wounding 171 more, the Israelis stiff the U.S. government out of paying for the Liberty.

"Yet despite the modest amount requested, and the agony its armed forces had caused, the ISRAELI government spent '13' years in an unseemly battle to avoid paying.
By winter 1980, the interest alone had reached $10 million................
PRESIDENT CARTER on his way out of office, agreed and in December 1980 accepted the paltry $6 million."

Excerpted from:  Body of Secrets, Bamford, James, Doubleday 2001, pages 229 and 231

I've always thought of Jimmy Carter as a basically decent person with good intentions but this trip to Cuba is a really bad idea. The timing couldn't be worse. One would think he was deliberately trying to undermine American foreign policy during a particularly dangerous period. Maybe he is. Maybe I should re-evaluate this Carter fellow.
 By the way, I think  calling Carter an "idiot" is inappropriate. He may be a fool or a gull, (he may even be a traitor, we'll see) but I don't think he's an idiot.

Imagine having to be on his SS protection detail.....

Sorry, [b]subsailor[/b], but Jimmy Carter was, at one time, a declared Southern Baptist.

If he was doing all this work for humanity in the name of the Lord, I might agree that he was a first class human being.

He's doing all this work in the name of a bunch of panty-waisted liberal a**-holes who wouldn't support the Second Amendment if their mothers were being raped in front of them!

Just go to the Habitat for Humanity website and see the other 'first class human beings' who hang out there.

Oh, ask if its OK in their planned communities if your family owns a gun - see their knee-jerk reaction.

Eric The(GetReal)Hun[>]:)]

Post from ludwig -

Your opinion is noted. I differ.

While there may have been better choices, such as  ass, imbecile, jackass, jerk, nincompoop, ninny, fool, cretin, feeb, half-wit, imbecile, moron, simpleton, dullard, dumbbell, dummkopf, dummy, ignoramus, or stupid, I'll stick with the 'idiot' label for now.

Eric The(Lazy)Hun[>]:)]

I wonder if you recall how he feels about you and your AR-15?

Might his "caring for humanity" also be his reason for wanting to disarm [b]you[/b]?

[b]He[/b] has publicly slandered [b]all our character[/b] in his support of banning these weapons. We serfs are obviously unfit for such things.

When "caring" outpaces logic and reason - and in the end exacerbates the very condition one wants ostensibly to cure, the "caring one" may rightly be called an idiot. People too squeamish to use the term are being [i]played.[/i]

Emotional motivations are meaningless in the face of results. I'd rather have a President that "cared" not a goddamn bit for my economic well-being and simply left his hands off. Carter's own shoddy understanding of economics deepened the energy crisis during the '70s, and his Habitat for Humanity, while perhaps noble, will do nothing long-term to ensure the best supply of housing at the lowest prices. In fact, this endeavor shields him as an advocate for other obviously disastrous ideas. Even from criticism by those who should be most opposed to him.

As you have just illustrated so well.



"The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule."

-H.L. Mencken

Ha Ha!

Jimmy Carter is sooooooooooooooo smart.  Sure he may have had a degree in Nuclear Physics, but that just makes him a "well educated idiot"!

At what point during his presidency did he ever prove otherwise?

Amazing how someone with a high IQ can get used by the same dictator twice.  And that's just Cuba.  Just goes to show how overrated IQ can be.  A little common sense would go a long way with Mr. Carter.

Actually, Jimmy's brother Billy was the idiot.

Jimmy was just a dufus.  [:D]

Clinton's brother Roger is ALSO an idiot.

What's with Democratic presidents brothers??? [:D]

Actually, the model ex-president is Ron Reagan. Of course, his dissappearance from the scene was largely health related. But ex-Presidents should realize that when their time is up, so is their spotlight. Quit trying to build a legacy Jimmy.

Jimmy Carter is an Idiot......

Tell me something I don't know already.[:D]

Jimmy Carter is OK as long as he doesn't try to do any "president" stuff........

[:\]

Jimmy Carter's achievments as President:

DOMESTIC -
* Stagflation - the seemingly impossible combination of negative economic growth and rapid inflation.
* 20% "misery index" (inflation + unemployment)
* 13.5% inflation
* 7.2% unemployment
* 18% mortgage interest rates
* 70% top marginal income tax rate
* 14+% poverty rate
* Formed the Dept. of Education = entrenching the Teachers Union in the Federal Gov't.
* The 1979 "oil crisis" and more gas lines.
* He told America to wear sweaters, turn down the heater to 68 and just do more with less from now on.
* He ran a whopping 23% approval rating during 1980 campaign.
* He lost in a 489 to 49 Electoral landslide for Reagan and Republican control of the Senate in 1980. (Thank God!!)

FOREIGN AFFAIRS -
* Gave us 444 days of non-stop world-wide humiliation at our impotent and ineffectual President.
* Approved a poorly planned and botched "rescue" that only added to America's humilation around the world.
* Watched detente crumble with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
* Pulled out of the 1980 Olympics - for spite.
* Gave away the Panama Canal.
* Failed to exlain a mysterious $250,000 payment from Libya to his brother Billy.
* Allowed three countries to fall to communism under his watch: Benin, Nicaragua, and Zimbabwe.
* Oh yeah... he made Sadat and Begin shake hands.

Jimmy Carter also favored:
* Equal Rights Amendment
* National Health Insurance
* SALT II missle treaty
* Unilateral disarmament

Jimmy Carter is nothing but an spineless, impotent, embarassingly-ineffectual, gutless, socialist, moronic fool who should never have held any Gov't position higher than a paper-clip sorter for Barney Fife.




[i]Since there's multiple "Carter Sucks" threads running, I repost this in each.[/i]

HE`s there to buy land for himself......the hullabaloo is just cover............

He was a failure as POTUS, and is desperately trying to create a positive legacy. I think that he will always be remembered as the buck-toothed Georgia peanut farmer who could not cut it in the White House.--Loser!!!

ARH

I'll bet the HUN missed reading this post !

Not a chance, [b]subsailor[/b], not a chance![:D]

But, hey, Carter's your baby, if I'm not mistaken!

Navy, silent service, ahem!

He also shares your views on the evils of Israel! And the poor schlub believes in the absolute genuineness of Yasser 'You'd Almost Think I Was a Christian The Way I Carried On About That Church' Arafat!

But I know you don't feel that way.

You know that Netanyahu will most likely replace Ariel Sharon as Israel's next Prime Minister, so what's the lowdown on Bibi?

You must know the scuttlebutt on this boy - is he a murderer too, like Sharon?

Just checking his [b][i]bonos fides[/i][/b] in advance!

Eric The(Tolerable)Hun[>]:)]

naa he just wanted to refill  his stash of cigars and get some cheap nookie

Carter is an act, like most liberals.

In a college economics class, the professor handed out some pamphlets from the Carter Administration about what causes inflation.

It went like this:  "The causes of inflation are many and varied.  It has to do with...blah blah blah blah..."

It went on to justify all the weird price controls and deprivation rhetoric Carter spewed out as a solution to the energy crunch and inflation. Nothing mentioned the one and only cause of inflation, which was the creation off too much money chasing after too few goods, resulting in rising prices.

IT WAS ALL COMPLETE BULLSHIT!!!  Nothing in that pamphlet, with the clarity of 20/20 hindsight, was correct. It was all lies and smokescreen.

When you add up all the abysmal things Carter did to actively undermine the US's position in the world, you really understand what an enemy of what we cherish as the USA he was.  He is very much a friend of those who would like to see the US taken down a notch and humiliated.

yes,
that commie-sucking socialist is an idiot.

While the first or most common definition of "idiot" is "person in the lowest class of feeblemindedness" I find that the second definition is "very foolish person; blockhead".
So, while "idiot" is not my first choice as Carter descriptive I can agree that it is appropriate if not the most apt.

"Only Nixon can go to China" - Vulcan proverb

and only Bush can send Carter to Cuba.  Let me explain:

It's in US's best interest to normalize relationship with Cuba, if only to close that chapter in our history.  But mainly we would benefit from trades with Cuba.  Let's face it, Cold War is over for over 10 years now, and Cuba poses very little threat to US; I seriously doubt that Cuba will be a staging area for Al Qaida.  But no US president would even dare suggest such a move while Castro is still in power, not with a large Cuban expatriat voting block in Florida, largest electorate count second only to California, and not with the historical baggages we have been carrying since Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis, that a winky-dink island should defy US and be a thorn on our side for so long.

Castro won't live forever; he might not even live past 2005.  He'd like nothing more than to die as a revolutionary hero, and so would the Cuban people, such is his cult of personality.  What really matters is what comes after Castro.  We'd like to send out some feelers to the Cuban people, and more importantly, the ruling elite and possible successors.  If you are POTUS, what can you do?  You certainly cannot come out and say "Let's normalize relationship with Cuba."  That would be tantamount to betrayal.  "Let's normalize relationship with whoever after Castro" won't go over too well, either.  So you need somebody to send out the good vibes, somebody respectable and with some prestige, but not in or close to the current administration.  Who do you have?  Jimmy Carter.  Granted he screwed up royally during his term, but he's been rehabilitated, with his humanitarian works at home and abroad and keeping a low profile and his mouth shut, he has earned a certain level of respectability and prestige.  He's the perfect man to send to Cuba, somebody with some weight (being an ex-president), but also with plausible deniability (not in the current administration, going to Cuba on his own and not as a Bush emissary, or so they said), scandal-free and doesn't like to draw attention to himself.

Other candidates? Ford is not taken seriously by most.  Kissinger is too cold-war era.  People from Reagan or Bush the Elder admins are not high profile enough (Casper who?)  You can forget about ANYBODY from Clinton admin.

So he goes to Cuba, make some speeches, some criticism of US, few photo-ops, etc.  The whole trip is as choreographed as Bolshoi Ballet's Swan Lake.  IMHO the whole bio-weapon thing is just smoke screen to distance Carter from Bush administration so Carter will be seen as a honest broker and the talk of ending embargo and normalize relationship won't seem like a Bush agenda.

The upshot of this kabuki dance is that now Castro or his successor can loosen up without losing face, Carter plays the useful idiot/patsy and get some brownie points with the Nobel committee, Congress will have an excuse to take up the embargo issue again, and Bush may just be able to put this Cuban thing finally to rest, even if it comes after his terms.  Clinton can never pull this off because he's too impatient and wants all the credits for his own glory.

and that's my $.02

As Joshua Muravchik wrote in the New Republic in 1994 - when Carter was bollixing up then-President Clinton's efforts to stop
     nuclear proliferation in North Korea - "Jimmy Carter, for all his heroic advocacy of human rights, has a long history of melting in the
     presence of tyrants."

     At the time, Carter said of[b] Kim Il Sung, a brutal Stalinist dictator, "I found him to be vigorous, intelligent, surprisingly well-informed
     about the technical issues and in charge of the decisions about this country."[/b] As for the North Koreans, Muravchik wrote, Carter said
     the "people were very friendly and open." The capital, [b]Pyongyang, is a "bustling city," where customers "pack the department stores,"
     which looked like "Wal-Mart in Americus, Georgia."[/b] North Korea, it should be noted, has suffered from such government-imposed
     mass-starvation that millions have been forced to live off grass.

     While the first President Bush was trying to orchestrate an international coalition to remove Saddam Hussein from Kuwait, Carter
     wrote a letter to the U.N. Security Council asking its members to stymie Bush's efforts.

     As the "human rights president," Carter noted that Yugoslavia's Marshall [b]Tito was also "a man who believes in human rights."[/b] Carter
     saluted the dictator as "a great and courageous leader" who "has led his people and protected their freedom almost for the last 40
     years." He publicly told Romanian dictator Nicolae[b] Ceausescu, "Our goals are the same. ... We believe in enhancing human rights.
     We believe that we should enhance, as independent nations, the freedom of our own people."[/b] He told the [b]Stalinist first secretary of
     Communist Poland, Edward Gierek, "Our concept of human rights is preserved in Poland."[/b]

     Since Carter has left office, he's been even more of a voluptuary of despots and dictators. [b]He told Haitian dictator Lt. Gen. Raoul
     Cedras he was "ashamed of what my country has done to your country."[/b] He's praised the mass-murdering leaders of Syria and
     Ethiopia. He endorsed Yasser Arafat's sham election and grumbled about the legitimate vote that ousted Sandanista Daniel Ortega in
     Nicaragua.

     And, I learned from a devastating critique by my National Review colleague Jay Nordlinger, [b]Carter even volunteered to be Arafat's
     speechwriter and go-fer, crafting palatable messages for Arafat's Western audiences and convincing the Saudis to continue funding
     Arafat after the Palestinians sided with Iraq against the United States.[/b] So, yes, it's unfair to say that Jimmy Carter was history's
     greatest monster. But it's a safe bet that if Carter could shake the hand of history's greatest monster, he'd leap at the opportunity.

     Jonah Goldberg is editor of National Review Online, a TownHall.com member group.

     ©2002 Tribune Media Services

     http://www.townhall.com/columnists/jonahgoldberg/