Backpedaling

In case you're wondering, I'm not planning to take this blog all political, all the time. But recent events are just a little bit too compelling for me to ignore.

Today, it's Jimmy Carter. Former President Carter points out in an interview with the Arkansas Democrat Gazette that the Bush administration has the worst international relations record IN HISTORY. He also points out that Bush's funding of "faith based initiatives" to the tune of $2 billion might be just a tad unethical (or words to that effect) and allows as to how the US's new policy of participating in pre-emptive war is a radical departure from any previous administration ever.

Also included in some AP versions of the story:

Douglas Brinkley, a Tulane University presidential historian and Carter biographer, described Carter's comments as unprecedented.

"This is the most forceful denunciation President Carter has ever made about an American president," Brinkley said. "When you call somebody the worst president, that's volatile. Those are fighting words."

First of all, I'm not sure the addition of Doug's opinions to the article are particularly relevent or newsworthy. Or even appropriate. The story, it seems to me, stands on it's own.

But be that as it may, I'll work with the story as is. I would respectfully ask that Doug and the Associated Press consider the possibility that Carter's words also might just be the the truth. What about that? Isn't that the real story? Maybe the story here is a little bit bigger than the fact that Jimmy and George have a a conflict. Maybe a former president and Nobel Prize Winner is uniquely qualified to shine a light on The Problem.

And I think, at this point, people on both sides of the aisle are beginning to acknowledge that there is a Problem.

Maybe the fact that George has proven to be an incompetent boob surrounded by a near impenetrable cadre of yes-men (and women) making an unprecedented amount of distrastrous decisions costing over a thousand American lives is really the issue here. Just maybe.

In any case, Jimmy himself has already backed up. Oh, my, no, it seems, his remarks were "careless or misinterpreted". Evidently, the worst thing in the world is for a former president to criticize a sitting president. Above all, we can't have that! Nope!

Meantime, the Emperor will continue to march around with no clothes and everything will be just fine.

(shhhh....If only we don't mention it.)