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Why Didn't You Stand Your Ground, Mr. Carter?
I don't get it. First you speak an important truth to the American people. Then you take it back. Why didn't you stand your ground?
I'm sure I'm only one of millions who felt heartened to hear the news that the former president, Jimmy Carter, had declared that, the Bush administration was the worst in American history in terms of international relations. But then, Mr. Carter, just a couple of days later there was the news that you'd backed down. Why?
Is it because you decided you should have obeyed that unwritten code according to which former presidents are supposed to go easy on their successors? I'd have thought that this "code," such as it is, would not be the most important consideration. For one thing, you're not the first former president to condemn a successor in strong terms (Hoover's attack on FDR is one such instance). But even more important, does that unwritten "code" warrant being given more weight than helping the American people see clearly how extraordinarily disastrous this Bush presidency has been?
But even if you were going to back down for that reason, I would think you'd have said so. I'd have thought that you'd have protected the integrity of your previous truthful statement by saying something like, "I regret my comment, because it's not my place as a former president to make such judgments publicly."
But that's not what you said. You indicated that your remark was perhaps "careless," and you tried to pretend that your statement was a less powerful indictment —that Bush's policies were not the worst in American history, just worse than Nixon's—than it clearly was.
What was "careless" about your remark? If we look at how the Bush administration has given us this huge and unnecessary disaster in Iraq, how it has besmirched America's standing in the world, and how it has systematically betrayed so many of America's basic values and principles, can there be any doubt that your original declaration was correct? What administration since George Washington can possibly compete for being the worst in its conduct of American policy in the world?
So why did you back down?
Is it because the White House started firing back, and you feared that you'd lose in the court of public opinion if you stood toe-to-toe with Bush's propagandists? But why should you lose such a debate if you've got truth on your side?
This was a teachable moment, Mr. Carter. Why did you squander it?
If you'd welcomed that debate, instead of backing away from it, you could have educated the American public about what has happened to the image of America all around the world. It's a lesson a great many Americans probably need.
In 2004, the great majority of the people going to the polls to vote for George W. Bush believed, falsely, that most of the world had applauded the U.S. invasion of Iraq. With the media all focused on your words, you would have had a chance to make sure that Americans know what polls around the world show, even in nations that have traditionally been our friends and allies: an unprecedented plunge in the regard and respect for the United States because of the disastrous and lawless international policies of this Bush administration.
But, instead of welcoming a chance to help break through the phony postures and lies which have held so many of our countrymen in thrall, Mr. Carter, you backed down. Why?
Andrew Bard Schmookler's website, NoneSoBlind.org, is devoted to understanding the roots of America's present moral crisis and the means by which the urgent challenge of this dangerous moment can be met. Dr. Schmookler is also the author of such books as The Parable of the Tribes: The Problem of Power in Social Evolution (SUNY Press) and Debating the Good Society: A Quest to Bridge America's Moral Divide (M.I.T. Press). He also conducts regular talk-radio conversations in both red and blue states. Email to: andythebard@comcast.
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26 Comments so far
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maybe Mr Carter found a freshly burned DVD in his mailbox (instead of the ol' VHS tape in a brown envelope)
plays it on the DVD player or PC and there is this friend/wife/family member, sitting on a chair, all hogtied, blindfolded and ducktaped.
couple of Blackwater mercs with Rambo-knives or boxcutters nearby...
"any questions, Mr Carter?"
remember, these guys stop at nothing. blwing up 2 towers and killing 3000 US civilians for their PNAC cause "a new Pearl Harbor" was nothing.
shutting up an old venerable man would be easy. very much so.
Yeah, I was disappointed in Carter as well. Sigh, I guess "once a politician, always a politician".
Probably the same reasons that Gerald Ford criticized bush posthumously. He finally had the courage once he was dead to "speak up".
These people are so insulated from reality that there is no way a poitician can relate to the average Joe. In that sense, there is no way a politician can truly appreciate or respect the average person either. How can they represent us if they don't even know what it is to be us? How can they represent us if they don't even know us?
Shame on you Mr. Carter, you don't have the courage of your convictions.
I had wished before that Mr. Carter could have done more for his nation and the world. He could have taken some actual actions, as being a former US president, based on what he seemed to believe. He was good, but not enough. And now, he is very disappointing.
The reality is, it's not only because of the bad guys in the White House, it's the society's self-centeredness, it's the backbonelessness and selfishness of politicians, celebrities in all the sectors of this country incubated this horrible regime.
"I don't get it. First you speak an important truth to the American people. Then you take it back. Why didn't you stand your ground?"
The answer is simple. He's a democrat.
I think sidguppy got it right...these guys are evil to the core, ends justify the means types. I would not doubt for a second that Carter received a threat against his family.
How many of us complaining about dems not having a backbone, would have the backbone ourselves to do something that would result in the death of a daughter, son, or spouse? I'm guessing most of us would cave instantly.
Sidguppy.....how does attributing the 9/11 attacks to Blackwater help this discussion at all? Aside from being inflammatory, illogical and totally without a shred of proof, that is.......?
Same Jimmy as always, which is why he was so bad. Veers close to the truth and then backs away at double speed.
Does anyone really think a spineless Democrat needs to be blackmailed in order to cave? All you have to do is say "Boo".
This is the "lesser of two evils" party?
David Vest wrote " What is really evil is having to choose between the village idiot and the people he keeps outsmarting."
To hell with the Democrats.
a couple of youz is a little paranoid...though apparently w did threaten david broder's kids if he didn't support w's war policy... :)
Everyone so quickly rushes to judgment, and condemnation. President Carter spoke the truth, as so many already knew it, and now many more have heard it, and there will be some of those who will look for the truth in his words, and find it. That truth is out there now, even if he did try to soften it later, for whatever reason - and in the times we're living in, who knows what his reasons might be.
Auberon,
You appear to have an imagination deficit disorder. I prescribe watching Alex Jones' videos (like JFK2) or the 2000 JFK video hosted by James Earl Jones (all on google video, btw) then read sidguppy again.
Ditch the doublethink.
sidguppy,
I think you hit the nail on the head.
How many of us could withstand the kinds of pressure the powers-that-be can bring to bear on individuals?
I believe Carter was threatened, but not with physical violence.
He still has the 1979 Iranian Revolution and Hostage Crisis hanging around his neck. Also, he helped set the stage for Gulf War II & III by declaring that the Persian Gulf was vital to America's strategic interest.
The right-wing "noise machine" is probably primed and ready to "swiftboat" Carter they way they did John Kerry and Howard Dean. They just gave him a glimpse - and he backed off.
At his age, Carter may be more concerned with protecting his Legacy than his current reputation. I'm disappointed by that, but this is not his generation's battle - it's ours.
Those of us who don't have a reputation to protect and are not standing for re-election must speak these truths in public. Big Media can't touch us... we're nobodys. But enough action by nobodys can pave the way for the somebodys to carry the torch. WE have to show THEM that it's safe to do so.
Losing funding is a big deal.
Disappointing.
IN DEFENSE OF PRESIDENT CARTER
The vicious attacks and groundless alligations against President Carter for his critique of the Bush administration reflects the success of the right wing media in their relentless campaigns to manipulate information & deflect attention away from the pertainent issues.
Carter never displayed Bush's brand of arrogance which has only demeaned our world standing & encouraged terror tactics against us. Instead, he was successful in several diplomatic efforts, such as his brokering a peace agreement between Egypt & Israel which still exists.
Had Carter's visionary environmental reforms been continued, we would be far ahead in our efforts to counter global warming and other environmental problems, and would be more secure due to a lessor reliance on foreign oil. As a result of his perceptive efforts, he was slandered by the special interests to an extent not seen against a president in recent history. Unfortunately their tactics to unseat him were successful, which enabled them to dismantle his vital reforms under Reagan.
Given the unprecedented environmental sellouts, war on science, and deceptive & secretive tactics exercised by this administration, President Carter had not only the right--but the duty--to critique the Bush policies.
Mr Carter; your critique was long over due--why did you wait so long? Your apparent retraction was a gross mistake and you must retract it.
rhsettgast@hotmail.com
carter backed off of an honest and harsh assessment, not because he really didn't believe it, but because there is an unwriten, unspoken code among those who reach that particular echelon - deserving or no. it says that to throw stones from the vantage point of "retirement" makes it appear as if one's judgment was ever so pure while in office, which is never the case.
let the pundits and the biographers (and virtually everyone else except dad and bill) add logs to the fire - there are no shortage of volunteers! but as someone inhabiting that rarified territory, carter has more important contributions he can make. giving the press "candid" thoughts about where george will rank in the presidential "american idol" contest, while red meat for progressives, may end up hurting carter's overall stature. however, once uttering those words, it's even worse to take them back. sadly, it gives all the more ammunition to his detractors.
You write —"In 2004, the great majority of the people going to the polls to vote for George W. Bush believed, falsely, that most of the world had applauded the U.S. invasion of Iraq."
No the great majority of Americans were never that delusional. Look who signed onto the war, look who didn't. This war was never favoured outside the US, including in Britain.
Sidguppy really did have it right! One of these days enough people will pay attention to the work of the 9/11 Truth organiztion to realize that the present crew running this country are treasonous and at the root of all of our troubles today. What's this got to do with President Carter's backing down? Who knows? But until we common folk rise up and throw the bums that infest the inside of "the Beltway" we will witness the demise of our Republic. President Carter just joined a bunch of other Congress persons in caving in to the dictators-in-chief in the White, no blood-red, House. Unless we the people rise up, we're toast!
I'm surprised to see so many respond to this issue. It speaks to the question, "Is George Bush the Wrost President in History" rather than why did Carter recant. There is a fear of George Bush and it is one is that is both unimaginable and unspeakable. This is a man who was regarded as a failure by his own family, a ne'er do well and over the years became very vengeful about his lack of accomplishments. I think most everyone in Washington is aware fo Bush's anger and that he may do something really impulsive and they're just not letting us know. This is George's last chance to thumb his eye at his father and dad's favorite that he will do anything to rise to the level of Son#1 (remember Neil fell out of grace with the savings and loan scandal, now he's pushing educational software for the "No child left behind act" fiasco). Daddy Bush cried at Jeb's honor celebration not out of pride for Jeb but because the no-gooder not only took the job Jeb thought was rightfully his, but he soiled the Bush name forever. Why do you think that the first acts of his tenure were to seal his daddy's records, make provisions to seal his in the future, make official an office of disinformation, set a record in "signing statments", twist the truth with double and triple speak, conceal information from the legislative branch, spy on us, keep Gonzales on as AG for future governmental misdeeds and stack his government with allies who will "lie on their proverbial swords" for him?
We are in trouble and the those not in the big house know it and they're not telling us. Carter is not necessarily afraid for himself, he is afraid for what he might do out of revenge to this country. Please watch the movie "The Dead Zone" (the original one made in the 80s) and watch the ending...we may not be as lucky.
While I have no data to back this up it would be my guess that the largest growth industry since 9/11/2001 is the Mercenary Industry. While seeming to be mainstream American and international corporations or subsidiaries of major corporations the cold hard truth of the matter is that they are guns for hire, work without any restraints beyond the whims of the guy giving the orders, who in turn works for the guy buying the service.
It is also now painfully obvious that this presidency has quashed dozens of investigations into dozens of criminal acts including the Plame outing, Muhammad Naeem Noor Khan's outing, the Chalibi leak on the Iranian diplomatic code, and the Sibel Edmonds investigation.
Can we exclude blackmail? We know the NSA has tapped millions of communications outside the FISA court's supervision and Jimmy Carter has admitted to "lusting in his heart." Would a proud and dignified man like Carter fear intimate details of his communications ending up on The Drudge Report?
Could Carter get a fair hearing in the main stream press? It is now painfully obvious that the MSM is corrupted beyond redemption. Carter would have been labeled a senile old fart too decrepit to comprehend the wonders of the enlightened 21st Century Bush administration.
Pick one from column A and one from column B, but remember this; Carter ain't no fool, he had a reason.
Maybe the bastards in charge of our top politicians sent Carter some glossy color pictures of JFK after he was shot, to remind him of what they do with those who don't cooperate.
The American presidency is an arm of the modern day mafia. They do as they're told or they're eliminated.
Those in charge are a bunch of sick miserable bastards who want more and more billions of dollars, and couldn't care less if they billions they amass are soaked with the blood of defenseless people of all ages. Their insatiable hunger for more and more money is like that of the morbidly obese people who are sometimes featured in tabloids, who don't know when to push away from the table, and are so fat that an industrial crane must be used to move them around.
They should be pitied - as the mentally ill people that they are.
"...Carter ain't no fool, he had a reason."
I totally agree...our 39th president is not only a Nobel prize winner, but a seasoned politician. There's more to his retraction than meets the eye. Carter has criticized the Bush administration numerous times, and in almost as negative terms as this last interview.
I also remember Carter and Gore gave the only impassioned speeches at the last Democratic Convention - Carter's especially had teeth. He was in fight mode and I truly enjoyed his speech.
I also was disappointed that he softened the statement, but I trust he had his reasons. Regardless of what they were, pretty much everyone knows he spoke the truth.
Peanut sized balls! What a shame when we need people to stand up to this administration so desperately!! And the real shame is had he stood by his statement instead of saying he was misunderstood,(What a crock!) he could have raised his own status in the eyes of the world and helped the other brain-washed citizens (I mean taxpayers) to maybe question Bush who actually believe were actually fighting terrorism instead of securing Iraq for EXXON-THE REAL TERRORISTS!! Bush stands on the back of fallen soldiers and thousands of dead Iraquis and holds in his blood-soaked hands the unholy grail overflowing with black crude as an offering and appeasement to the GODS OF OIL!!!
I cheered when Jimmy said it and was once again dissapointed by a Democrat when he backpeddled. Is there a Democrat out there with the balls to speak the truth and stand by it? Just use the Cheney reply when they ask you to apologize, stand up straight and say F*&k you.