When Jimmy Carter ran for re-election in 1980, I rooted for Ronald Reagan. It should be noted I was 10 and thought Iran was something I did after stealing a piece of bubble gum from the Suwanee Swifty. I probably only rooted for Reagan to aggravate my parents, both of whom supported Carter at the time.And I still think Reagan was a good man, and I think he was the right president at the right time. However, as the years went on, I developed a lot more respect for Carter, who I think is probably one of the more honorable men to hold the Oval Office. I worked with his niece, Billy Carter's daughter, who is one of the nicest and smartest people I've ever worked with. And Mr. Jimmy is the only president I've actually met ... while we both played at a "celebrity" softball game in Plains. I didn't know who the guy in a plaid shirt and blue jeans was who was walking up to me from the side until he said, "Hi, I'm Jimmy Carter." The Braves were in the playoffs, and he was heading to the game later, so all we talked about was baseball. Fortunately, we didn't talk foreign policy, which seems to get the guy in trouble a lot.
I don't always agree with the guy. I don't think we should have boycotted the 1980 Summer Games. And I don't think we should tread as lightly with militant Muslims as he does. And I think he loves the limelight more than a good ol' Georgia boy should. He wanted that Nobel Peace Prize. I think a lot of the Carter Center's wonderful efforts over the years have been geared to winning that award, rather than the intrinsic value of the work itself.
But I will say this for the man: As bad as the Middle East is right now, it would be exponentially worse had Carter not brokered peace between Israel and Egypt. I remember watching Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian prime minister Anwar Sadat shake hands while sitting in my grandfather's lap. He was usually a bitter man, having lost both his legs in World War II, but he became emotional that day. Peace really meant something to him, and that day made an impression on me forever.
And I don't think there's anything wrong with Carter saying that President Bush's foreign policy has been the worst of any presidential administration in history. Really, why bother to state the obvious?
And, oh yeah, Carter talks like me, so he gets extra credit for that.
3 comments:
I found it very curious that after the dual mega-disasters of Iraq and Katrina with Afghanistan sneaking up from behind that the press paid so much attention to president Carter's,as you said, stating the obvious. As you said Jimmy loves the limelight but he is a good honest man who has done much to help people around the world and compared to the "man" occupying the White House right now Jimmy is a saint.
Unfortunately, Carter's term will always be linked to the Iranian hostages, as if he were in any way to blame for that. Any president thrown into that same situation would forever be saddled with the same "failure" legacy. At least Carter had some foreign policy problems to deal with, but unlike this administration, they weren't of his own making.
Pal of Hugo Chavez,Castro,etc. Bitter and angry little man.
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