Jimmy Carter is an absolute disgrace.
This isn't the first time I've said that and I'm sure it won't be the last.
DENVER -- Former president Jimmy Carter called Republican presidential candidate John McCain a "distinguished Naval officer," but said the Arizona senator has been "milking every possible drop of advantage" from his time served as a prisoner of war in Vietnam.
Carter spoke Thursday with USA TODAY ahead of Barack Obama's acceptance speech to cap off the Democratic National Convention. Carter spoke of Obama's challenges facing the lingering effects of racism in America, the ability of the Clintons to bring their supporters over to Obama and decried Sen. Joe Lieberman's decision to "abandon" the Democrats by speaking at the Republican National Convention next week.
But he focused heavily on McCain, explaining how he was bewildered to see him during a conversation earlier this month with pastor and author Rick Warren at the Saddlebrook Church in Lake Forest, Calif. Carter said that whether the question was about religion, domestic or foreign affairs, every answer came back to his five-and-a-half years as a POW.
"John McCain was able to weave in his experience in a Vietnam prison camp, no matter what the question was," said Carter, a 7-year Naval officer who served aboard submarines. "It's much better than talking about how he's changed his total character between being a senator, a kind of a maverick at the time, and his acquiescence in the last few months with every kind of lobbyist pressure that the right wing Republicans have presented to him."
Carter was bewildered?
I can believe that. He's bewildered a lot. He was bewildered when he was president and he hasn't changed.
Carter should be ashamed of himself for saying that American hero John McCain is "milking every possible drop of advantage" from his years as a POW.
My God.
I don't know what to say. It's not that I'm speechless. It's that I'm editing myself.
Words come to mind that I prefer not to use.
For a former Commander-in-Chief of the United States of America to speak that way about an American serviceman in that fashion is jaw-droppingly disgusting.
Disgusting.
6 comments:
Didn't you just write a post saying that Joe Biden is milking his tragic story?
I had never heard the Biden story before he became the Vice Presidential candidate. It is a heart wrenching story that partly defines who Biden is.
I have noticed this past week that Biden never brings up the story, but is asked about it in every interview. I cringe each time he is asked about it, because he doesn't seem comfortable talking about it.
I thought your earlier post about Biden milking his personal story was your usual Dem bashing so I let it go without comment. Now that you seem so irritated by Carter questioning the amount of times McCain uses his own story just shows that you look past reason and simply follow party biases.
This is why I repeatedly point out that all of your criticisms of Obama (and many more) can also be made about the Bush Administration and most other politicians.
P.S. I'm watching the Dem Convention right now. Your claim that Obama had built himself a "temple" of a stage was mislplaced. If anything, it seems small and ordinary among the sea of people that surrounds it. If there is a "temple" at Invesco Field tonight, it is the tens of thousands of people who are there participating in a democratic event.
I didn't say that Biden WAS milking the story.
To the contrary, I said he should mention it.
Here is EXACTLY what I said:
The accident was a terrible, terrible tragedy and it was a defining moment in Biden's life. It should be mentioned, but Biden has to be careful about using the story to the point that it begins to feel like sleazy exploitation.
Please do not put words in my mouth.
Furthermore, I think there is a significant difference between a candidate repeatedly evoking the deaths of his loved ones and a candidate discussing his personal experience as a prisoner of war.
It's the cringe factor.
"This is why I repeatedly point out that all of your criticisms of Obama (and many more) can also be made about the Bush Administration and most other politicians."
Ah yes. The old "I know you are but what am I?" defense. Don't actually debate the issue, just redirect the debate with another question.
I'm debating many of the issues with Mary. I think we are having a good conversation.
I'm simply stating in this post that all her nitpicking of Obama is based on her support for Republicans because most of her criticisms are petty and could also be applied to Republicans. Too grand, too arrogant, not enough details, using personal stories for political gain, etc...
Mary, I didn't look for the Biden post before responding to this one, but "sleazy exploitation" is probably why I had a bad impression of your comments on Biden.
Carter is ready for the home - has been for a long time.
It's sad that Carter has destroyed his noble Habitat for Humanity post-presidency legacy.
He'll be remembered for his disastrous presidency as well as his disgraceful behavior as a former president. Sad.
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