Political Punch

He imagines himself as a brilliant mind. The Bible speaks of the "wisdom of the world being foolish unto him." Mr. Carter has no godly discernment and has shown that repeatedly. He doesn't understand what he is doing to our nation by his actions! Now, he is teaming up with another former president, Bill Clinton, who has been an embarassment to our nation and was the worst president we have had. Bill Clinton caused harm to America which actually led to our present day problems.

I am bewildered at the vicious rant emanating from virtually every comment. I have read Jimmy Carter’s book and find it pro-humanity and not anti-Semitic. Like a canary in coal, this book is an early warning of disastrous consequences if nothing is done to resolve Israel-Palestine conflict. To vilify and discredit Jimmy Carter is a poorly calculated attempt by pro-Israel lobby to suppress the truth.

You have to give credit to Jimmy Carter for not resting on his laurels. Not happy in the simplicity as the worst president of his day he has gone hell bent for leather to be the worst ex president as well.

Of course he bashes Isreal with wild abandon, lies, and misinformation.

But lets be fair... he's "also equally critical of Palestinian and Arab leaders."

Just like I could be fair, if I criticised Jeffrey Dahmer and the cops who arrested him equally...

I would be willing to give 10-1 odds that most of the folks spilling their bile against Carter have not read the book. If they had, they would be embarrassed at the wrong-headedness of most of their comments (most of which are ad hominem and irrelevant and slanders in any case.) Is it tough on some Israeli leaders? Yes--but he's also equally critical of Palestinian and Arab leaders. The plain fact is this: criticizing Israeli policy in any way inevitably evokes a fire-storm of accusations of "bigotry" and "anti-Semitism"--hardly a healthy atmosphere in which to discuss these critical issues. So please stop forming your opinion from ranting blogs, news snippets and misleading and slanted press releases from the ADL, etc. Please just take a deep breath and read the book. You may not like it, but I think--if you have an ounce of fairness--you will see that in tone and content it bears no relationship to the caricatured accounts from its critics.

Some that make comments did vote for Carter. Try,(you must be old) and remember who the choices were when Carter was elected. Some seem to forget the shape of the world then. The country that brought the world Baby Doc and Pinochet and the Shah of Iran forgets. Carter was ineffective with the help of the Washington machine, same one that keeps Bush's agenda limping along.
Yeah, Carter believes what he says, as W probably does. Idealistic fools, yes. Bad people?

The least said about Jimmy Carter the better.

I applaud Jimmy Carter's fearless rant against Isreal's casual policy of killing innocent women and children. His maverick position, of course, brought about a sudden united front of Jewish intellectuals to discredit his work. I think Jews contribute meaningfully to our society, but the American Jewish lobby is on the wrong side of right and I am one white man who is tired of the US supporting bias to Isreal. For all of Jimmy's failures in foreign policy I think he has usurped the moral authority the Jewish Lobby has lost.

I also voted for him, thinking him more honest than Ford. A terrible mistake for which I have long been ashamed--especially after watching his smug expression seated next to Michael Moore at the '04 Dem convention, not to mention his embrace of Arafat and other thugs. But the MSM and the Dems aren't the only ones who love the sanctimonious little weasel. Mustn't forget that the U.S. Navy has named a Sea Wolf attack submarine after him.

I watched President Carter discuss this theme with Charlie Rose. Although he is making an honest attempt to deal with conflict, he gets the culture of the Palestine people and Israelis wrong. He overestimates the rational of Palestine's people to make and keep any promise. The Hamas or PLO will make an agreement such as the recent cease fire with Israel. Then a few days later send rockets or bombers into Israel. When retaliated against, they claim defense against Israeli aggression. Until the region stops those aggressions and helps themselves to peace and prosperity, Israel and their allies will retaliate and dominate the disputed territory. The Arab population in Israel is not indicating apartheid by Israel.

By the way, Regan's 'success' with Iran was negotiated behind the scenes as was Kennedy's with Russia over the Cuba missile issue.

Hankmeister: Agree with what you said, but let us also agree that the very worst thing(s) this self-proclaimed Christian has done is speak ill of -- or maybe more accurately, speak with outright hatred of -- other Christians, beginning with our current President. In those ways, as far as I'm concerned, he has revealed where his faith stands in relation to his politics...a distant second. He has to answer for that, but not to me...

"Tulane historian Douglas Brinkley, author of the 1988 Carter biography, "The Unfinished Presidency," paints the dispute as more ideological than ethical."

Naturally. Lies, misrepresentation, plagarism--it's all just a new system of ideas, and Dr. Stein just happens to be an "idealogue" of honesty.

I liked him when he built houses for Habitat For Humanity, and when he and Rosalyn worked for vaccines for children in poor countries. He should have stuck to those things.

He is senile and anti American. very frightening to think he was once in the US Navy. Yes, everything that is wrong today began with his botched presidency.

Watch yourselves, the MSM loves this little weasel, ABC is doing their little occasional pretense at looking balanced. Carter, one term of vacuous misery by every standard, would be relegated to a sheltered workshop if the MSM didn't keep his bogus story, never the real details about it, alive.

At the moment that Reagan was sworn in, Iran, after 400+ days, released our hostages. Tell you something about spineless Carter? You'll never get an honest retrospective of Carter by the MSM.

Michael Moore as his guest at the DNC, a class act, I don't think so. He has never missed a photo-op with a thug. Google it.

I think the killer rabbit pushed him over the edge.

What other damage can this man do to his county before he passes into ignoble history? He has sold his county out again and again for aggrandizement of self. He has started the Iranian maniac's upon their war against Western Civilization, he has given the means to make an atomic bomb to our deadly enemies. There is not one despot on earth that he hasn't hailed above our own country, a despictable man; hopefully acturial tables will soon act upon this fool and put an end to him.

This is pretty shoddy by blog standards. Maybe you can get away with this in print or on air, but the readers here aren't stupid.

"Ken Stein ... doesn't trust the Palestinians as much as Carter."

Yea, that explains the accusations of plagarism and outright fabrication. He could have just said "Hey look everyone! Over there!" and you would have let him get away with it. Pathetic.

Chuck,

I agree completely. The beautiful thing about the blogosphere is that his book WILL be fisked and the lies and distortions will be made public. Someone commented elsewhere a couple of days ago that Carter has published something like 20 books since he left office. That raises a question -- is he really that prolific a writer, especially at his age? Or are others actually ghost writing and Carter is only adding his name to books that fit his worldview?

I first saw Mr. Carter speak in December 1975 at a Democratic Party caucus in NYC where I was working for one of his opponents. I was incredulous at his naive, pedantic, worldview at a time when our country was on its heels. His presidency did nothing to disabuse this first impression. He has brought dishonor upon the office of the presidenct and upon his country. Now he is simply a senile anti-American bigot.

I'm no fan of Jimmy Carter's but I googled the alleged quote re: "malignant influence of New York city [Jews]" and couldn't find a supporting reference. Is there any support online for this?

Ken, when I wrote that Dr. Stein should offer his own response to Carter's book, I didn't mean that it should try to refute on a point-by-point basis what Carter's arguments are. You're quite correct in that Dr. Stein's resignation speaks volumes. I was thinking more along the lines of something to indicate how distorted Carter's views and interpretations are. My mistake for incorrectly using the term "errata sheet," when that wasn't what I really meant.

Maybe not so much an anti-semite--just one of many among us who derive their moral authority from a tendentious and cowardly posture of self-righteous sneering at the "oppressors" of "victims". Carter learned very early on that he would be canonized by all the right-thinking people around the country if he would stand as the brave and lonely white southern man who would dare to criticize his "own kind"--in the process confirming all the comfortable prejudices of anti-southern bigots. Later in life, he repeats the act, bravely posturing to great accclaim from the global community of anti-US bigots.

Bah, I voted for Carter, thinking at the time that he was very intelligent - of which I was fairly quickly disabused once he took office. Imo, he's only gotten demonstrably worse since then, now also showing signs of amnesia, confabulation, delusions of grandeur, and senile bigotry.

Is that what they mean by being "progressive".

People must remember the overt anti-semetism and racism of the pro-segregationist Jimmy Carter --- He won the Georgia governership campaigning against the "malignant influence of New York City Kikes" (his exact words)

For those interested in a fisking of Mr. Carter’s book see the XDA blog http://rfraley301.blogspot.com. I was in the nuclear navy at about the same time as he was and I too voted for Mr. Carter, the first time, looking for someone who offered integrity for the Office of the President. I thought he had that, but he soon showed that he had little leadership ability. He got off to a good start with his center after his presidency. But that has now dissolved into something that seems to provide cover for any radically anti-American regime. Sadly Mr. Carter (and now Mr. Clinton) has broken the unwritten rule to not criticize succeeding presidents. I have now concluded that Mr. Carter is an utter disgrace as an ex-president and moving ever so close to Mr. Ramsey Clark’s ideology. Such a sad ending for one who I originally thought had so much promise as an American leader.

Chuck wrote "Perhaps Dr. Stein should issue his own response to Carter's book, an errata sheet if you will, to indicate precisely what misstatements the book contains."

I will offer up that due to Dr. Stein's stature, background, and decades-long involvement in issues relating to the middle east that his resignation sends a message sufficiently strong enough about the falsehoods in Carter's book that he doesn't need to refute Carter point-by-point. Carter's credibility as to honestly representing both sides of this issue are near zero.

Thank God his presidency was "Unfinished."

My vote for this evolving moonbat back in 1976 was one of two votes I've ever regretted casting. Double digit inflation, double digit interest rates, double digit mortgage rate and unemployment as high as 7 plus percent. The man was an utter failure as a President, couldn't get elected and he's lecturing the Bush Administration on how to conduct this nation's business? And let's not forget the nuclear deal he help broker with North Korea in 1994.

Ol' Jimmah Carter should be the act following Michael Richards at Comedy Central. Either that or go back to something he's good at like bending nails. That's the only thing I admire about the man, his work with Habitat for Humanity.

As a Christian, Mr Carter knows that God gifts all His children with different gifts. Mr Carter was gifted as a very good humanitarian, but got NO gifts of political discernment or political leadership. While he may be one of the best humanitarians of the last 25 years, he is undoubtedly the worst politician in my lifetime (50 years - and yes, I did vote for him). And, unfortunately, much of the good he has done in his humanitarian work is overcome by the damage his poor politics have wreaked on the world. He committed a grave mistake for a Christian--he misinterpreted his gifts, and pursued his own political ambitions, and it is to our harm that he did so.

Like John Kenneth Galbraith in Moscow, and Paul Robeson before him, Carter simply shows that you can drive a clueless American dignitary into a region where he doesn't know the language or the people and allow him to confirm the prejudices that he already has. Especially when the locals have the entire say about what you are shown or told.

Not content with being the worst president in recent history, Carter must also stake claim to worst EX president. He has demeaned the office and still bitter over his defeat by Reagan (I'm sure all the eulogizing about RWR drove him bats) he has lowered the discourse and professional ettiquette observed by almost all presidents re: their successors. He should know how hard the job is and the problems involved, god knows he screwed up enough, but yet he is content to demagogue and distort. Thank god someone finally called him on it.

Disgraceful man, Jimmah Carter. Shame on you.

Douglas Brinkley paints this as "more ideological than ethical." Given that "factual errors, copied materials not cited, superficialities, glaring omissions, and simply invented segments" can be declared ideological only by completely reinventing the word.

As Carter's hagiographer, Brinkley's bias is showing.

Only Al Gore could rival Jimmy Carter as a sore loser and a fool. Carter went the way of the dinosaur left years ago and will be remembered as the most incompetent, gutless fool to every hold the Presidency of the United States.

Dershowitz has enumerated the errors in the book

I'm pretty sure Ayn Rand is rolling over in her grave, wishing she had lived long enough to include a Carter-like character in her next novel. When it comes to deluded, messianic prosyletizers of despotism and ethnic cleansing, the ol' peanut farmer is sui generis.

Jimmy Carter truly is as bad an ex-president as he was in office. So many of today's real threats to world peace, from North Korea to Islamic terrorism, can be traced back to his mishandling. And he has long since lost the tint of honest broker. In reality he is a very little man with petty grievances with his own country.

You've got to credit Jimmy Carter for not resting on his laurels. Not content to simply be the worst president of his day he has gone hell bent for leather to be the worst ex president as well.

Ron Coleman- the only reason no-one has debated him about his public statements is that he will not debate. Just like Algore, his truths are self-evident; there is no debate, see?

Jimmy: nice observation! Leftist icons in meltdown do seem to exhibit a kind of "end of the world" look reminiscent of Marshall Applewhite

Could this be a medical phenomenon?

It probably began when he first saw the helicopters in the Iranian desert. The full crush of reality was so overwhelming that every last bit of him turned and ran for the (far left) hills. And now, in 2006, he finds himself using "Israel" and "apartheid" in the same sentence, just like neo-Marxist professors around the world do every day. Difference is: he's supposed to be a former US President, not a brainwashed, ahistorical, leftist psycho idealogue.

Prof Brinkley says the dispute is ideological not ethical. I can agree that Prof Stein and ex-President Carter aren't on the same page ideologically. However, there are ethical charges against Carter too, one of which is plagiarism ("copied materials not cited").
Carter has gotten a free ride. I'm glad to see someone take him on. The way that Brinkley twists what's happeneing doesn't help his credibility.

Jimmy Carter, factual errors? Say it isn't so! Imagine my suprise.

Carter's failure to react the 1979 Iranian hostage taking empowered radical Islam against the US. That is his legacy.

On the NewHour he appeared as the dottering fool he was, is and will forever be remembered as.

Carter's opinions are disgracefully anti-Israel but not anti-Semitic.

I've also noticed in addition to losing their minds they all start to look more and more like Marshall Applewhite.

Stein has committed to do this 'errata', if I understand correctly.

Any bets on which liberal icon will melt-down next? There's something about aging that seems to melt the wall of prudence away revealing their real agendas. Then the come out in books and on TV sounding like they're swilling drinks in liberal company at a Micheal Moore movie release party.

It doesn't surprise me that Carter's book is full of mistakes, omissions and skewed "facts," as the man is one of the most thinly-disguised antisemites in U.S. history. The mere fact that he references the word "apartheid" in his title should be a glaring indication that he is completely out of touch with what's going on in the Middle East.

The guy is a an antisemitic cornball who will be remembered as one of the worst presidents in U.S. history.

I am originally from the South and voted for Pres. Carter the first time. Then, because my husband was in the Air Force, I saw what he did to the military. I didn't vote for him the second time. His behavior since he left office is disgraceful and self-serving. I haven't any doubt he would falsify things to make himself look better. That is how poor he has shown his character to be.

It's lovely to have one of our worst presidents, a nasty, joyless scold who would have reached his peak of competence as a state highway engineer, called out as the mendacious toady to dictators and embarassment to the planet he is. Too bad he's shameless, as evidenced by his acceptance of the Nobel.

How can someone who considers himself a peacemaker and conciliator be credible when he accused one side of the dispute as engaging in "apartheid," a patent slander? He announces his bias in the very title of the book.

But he does make a great arguement. I've read most of Pres. Carters books and I will always trust this man over anyone who stands up against him.
Who do you think could stand up and argue any point with Mr. Carter. Put up your best man or woman. I haven't seen a elected person in the last ten years that I would trust.

I saw former President Carter's interview about his latest book on "The News Hour" recently and believed it would certainly provoke some discussion about its suggestions. I just never believed it would provoke discussion about its accuracy! Perhaps Dr. Stein should issue his own reponse to Carter's book, an errata sheet if you will, to indicate precisely what misstatements the book contains.