Jimmy Carter, the most ex of our ex-presidents, doesn't like Senator Zell Miller (D-Olympus) anymore. In his speech to the Republican convention, Miller ripped Carter for being a "pacifist," and so Carter zings Miller for being "disloyal."
As the AP article notes, Miller placed loyalty to his family (and to his country, it's fair to imply) over party membership. Carter's santimonious words remind us that old age doesn't necessarily bring wisdom:
By now, there are many of us loyal Democrats who feel uncomfortable in seeing that you have chosen the rich over the poor, unilateral pre-emptive war over a strong nation united with others for peace, lies and obfuscation over the truth and the political technique of character assassination as a way to win elections or to garner a few moments of applause.
"The rich over the poor." Bleech. Doesn't he know how many homes John Kerry owns? (All right -- how many homes his wife owns.)
Miller, a brother leatherneck, proved an old saying: you can only push a Marine so far, and then he'll start to push back. Hard.
"History's greatest monster"
Where does that quote come from? Whoever it comes from, it seems flatly absurd. Carter may have been a pathetic president, but that hardly puts him in Hitler/Stalin/Mao-land.
Its a "Simpsons" quote, sorry, can't reference the episode off the top of my head.
Carter may not be history's greatest monster, but he has high esteem for all the candidates save Hitler.
On 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."
As the "human rights president," Carter noted that Yugoslavia's Marshall Tito was also "a man who believes in human rights." 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 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." He told the Stalinist first secretary of Communist Poland, Edward Gierek, "Our concept of human rights is preserved in Poland."
Since Carter has left office, he's been even more of a voluptuary of despots and dictators. He told Haitian dictator Lt. Gen. Raoul Cedras he was "ashamed of what my country has done to your country." 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.
No, not history's greatest monster, but a willing bootlicker for the heel that crushes the human face forever!
Enabling the ayatollahs and kowtowing to the Chinese and appeasing the Soviets all add up after a while. He was like Chamberlain all over again, happily spraying Dane-geld around the world and having sympathy for our enemies.
His hatred of Israel and warm affection for Yasser Arafat are especially galling.
Franklin, you're right about the origin of the quotation. It's the episode where Marge goes to jail for shoplifting, and the town doesn't have enough money for a statue of Abraham Lincoln because she hasn't contributed her baked goods to the town bake sale.
Springfield has to buy a cheaper statue of Jimmy Carter, complete with the slogan "MALAISE FOREVER." When the statue is unveiled, the townspeople get furious, and one guy yells, "He's history's greatest monster!" Rioting ensues, and the city goes up in flames.
Lots of great stories end with "and the city goes up in flames"
One might respond that a former president who accepts a Nobel Prize intended as a direct rebuke of the current US administration during wartime is no arbiter of loyalty.
Be nice to the old peanut farmer. And don't forget that as Commander-in-Chief he did win the battle against the amphibious rabbit assault. Remember, if it wasn't for him, there would have been no Reagan. His presidency was a time when the country was largely adrift after Vietnam, or maybe enjoying drugs, sex and rock-and-roll in the post-Vietnam 1970's. (Think of how much of the Scandal in the Church was going on in these years). He inherited the energy crisis. There was Three Mile Island, Mt. St. Helens exploding, boycotting the Olympics in Moscow, banning DDT, turning over the Panama Canal, watching Iran go to Khomeini, stopping the B-1 Bomber. Disco happened, and so did "Star Wars." Basically, the world was going to pieces while America said "Groovey."
He later a lot of good work for Habitat for Humanity and such. I think he was happier not being President. But he is a Christian, and I don't think it is nice to call him "monster," even if it was from the Simpsons. How did you do in those years of 1976-1980?
Let's see...in 1976, I remember watching the fireworks in New York Harbor for the Bicentennial...I went to kindergarten the next year...I didn't like my first-grade teacher (she was a meanie)...but I did like my second-and third-grade teachers. So '76-'80 were, on balance, pretty good to me, though what President Carter had to do with that, I'm not entirely sure.
Carter may be a Christian, but he's a sactimonious, milk-and-water, social-justice-above-all-else Christian. He also enjoys questioning others' commitment to Christ if they disagree with him. I don't question his faith, just his intellect, judgment, and weak-willed approach to real evil in the world.
From a CNN-Time retrospective on the 1980 presidential debates:
Carter performed adequately, but made at least one major tactical error by ending a serious discussion on nuclear weapons with the statement, "I had a discussion with my daughter, Amy, the other day, before I came here, to ask her what the most important issue was ..." Most thought the attempt to humanize the issue, and put it in the context of future generations, simply didn't work, and thought it bizarre.
Eric, I'm surprised President Carter didn't consult with you at the time on the nuclear threat. You were just about the right age.
He did consult me, actually. I told him to nuke the Soviets when they invaded Afghanistan. He never asked for my advice again.
So, Whatever Happend to Amy?
Among other things, in 1995 she illustrated a children's book written by our ex-President, "The Little Baby Snoogle-Fleejer." This was NOT on foreign policy.
"the most ex of our ex-presidents"? Um, wouldn't that be Gerald Ford?
On reading the article, one discovers that Carter (allegedly) made these remarks in a letter to Miller, which was leaked.
Doesn't that make this all hearsay and detraction?
Miller's office "confirmed the contents" of the letter, so it's not baseless rumor.
In what sense would it be detraction? This is the disclosure of Carter's own written words, not of some secret sin he committed. I don't think there's any presumption of privacy when one politician sends an insulting letter to another.
Anyway, the disclosure doesn't even hurt his reputation, since it was low already.
I think he had nice words for the government in Khartoum, but I could be wrong.