A brief thought about Jimmy Carter
posted at 10:00 am on September 16, 2009 by Ed Morrissey
If Jimmy Carter believes that the “overwhelming” portion of criticism towards Barack Obama is due to racism, does he also believe that the overwhelming portion of criticism towards Israel is anti-Semitic? Wouldn’t that apply to a man who hangs out with people who target Israeli citizens for terrorist attacks? After all, Hamas regularly issues anti-Semitic harangues and smears, and yet Carter has no problem cozying up to them and claiming that their criticism of Israel is legitimate.
From now on, using Carter’s own logic, we should note each of his remarks on the Middle East by saying they come from “Jimmy Carter, known anti-Semite.” Two can play this game.
Update: The Anchoress has some extended thoughts on this topic, but also remembers the words of Hillary Clinton in defending domestic dissent:
Just replace “not patriotic” with “racist,” and it works perfectly.
Update II: My friend Kerry Picket picks up on the video from last summer which purportedly shows Carter referring to Obama in a racist way, but that strips the context from Carter’s remark. I refuted that last year, although I will say that had someone on the Right said this exact thing, it would be all over the Internet and on every lefty blog.
I also warned people about making me defend Carter again. I’m going to pull this blog over to the side of the road, I tell you …
Blowback
Note from Hot Air management: This section is for comments from Hot Air's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that Hot Air management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment just because we let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with our terms of use may lose their posting privilege.
Trackbacks/Pings
Trackback URL
Comments
Comment pages: 1 2 3 4 Next »
Same thing can be said about the current President.
joejm65 on September 16, 2009 at 10:02 AM
I bet I can be even more brief:
Terrorist. Shill. Bag.
blatantblue on September 16, 2009 at 10:03 AM
Mr. Carter would do well to tend to his peanuts.
Scribbler on September 16, 2009 at 10:03 AM
Eh, I’ll top it:
Jackass.
blatantblue on September 16, 2009 at 10:03 AM
SUCKS!!!
tree hugging sister on September 16, 2009 at 10:03 AM
somewhere in georgia a village is missing its idiot.
SHARPTOOTH on September 16, 2009 at 10:04 AM
Nice Ed, exactly right.
Was he always like this??? Before I became “politically aware” I always thought of him as very mellow and laid back. Grandfatherly almost. Now I come to see he’s a raving lunatic, seriously off the reservation to Michael Moore levels.
Dash on September 16, 2009 at 10:04 AM
Good thought and I couldnt agree more.
becki51758 on September 16, 2009 at 10:04 AM
Too much Billy Beer can obviously have grave consequences in later life.
Bishop on September 16, 2009 at 10:04 AM
Ugh, make it go away.
milwife88 on September 16, 2009 at 10:04 AM
Am I racist because I find Carter insufferable? Does that mean I hate white people?
Frankly I do not find Obama objectionable on a personal level, I find his policies objectionable. They are too Carteresque.
Mr. Joe on September 16, 2009 at 10:04 AM
Great idea, Ed. Consider it done.
Weight of Glory on September 16, 2009 at 10:05 AM
I blogged about Jimmah’s inclusion in Osama’s book club last night:
He’s such a disgrace…
LeBron on September 16, 2009 at 10:05 AM
Ed, Ed, Ed…whadda we go’in do wit youse….
You know that the finger only points one way, racism is only flows from the right to left, never left to right.
It’s because of the earth’s rotation I think, kind of like flushing a toilet.
right2bright on September 16, 2009 at 10:05 AM
Many critics of Israel are OPENLY anti-Semitic.
Jeremiah Wright was OVERTLY mocking Italians…
But Carter is too busy sniffing around the GOP just hoping to find anything remotely racist… since he can’t seem to find anything, he simply concludes that it must be there somewhere underneath the surface.
mankai on September 16, 2009 at 10:05 AM
That’s a fun game, but unfortuately with the MSM blow torch and years of a consistent message of racism the statists have gotten to a point where you repeat a lie enough it becomes truth. Fortunately, we are probably going into saturation and self-parody phase.
WashJeff on September 16, 2009 at 10:05 AM
Sure as h*ll makes you “ANTI-PEANUT”!
tree hugging sister on September 16, 2009 at 10:06 AM
Carter would probably be happier living in Syria or the West Bank. Perhaps we should donate the funds for a one-way ticket. Send donations to El Al Airlines. Bon Voyage Dhimmi.
ICBM on September 16, 2009 at 10:06 AM
And notice that the village is being very quiet about it.
Patrick S on September 16, 2009 at 10:06 AM
OT: Baucus plan MANDATES UNINSURANCE
What a joke.. the ENTIRE premise of this whole canard is to get folks on insurance and to get coverage for those with pre-existing conditions. Baucus’s plan REQUIRES that an individual go without healthcare for 6 months before gaining access to the ‘high-risk’ pool.
gatorboy on September 16, 2009 at 10:07 AM
Jimmy Carter, well-known anti-Semite, needs to shut the hell up and do the world a huge favor by dropping dead.
Percy_Peabody on September 16, 2009 at 10:07 AM
Jimmy Carter should just shut up. He should be happy with the collapsing Obama Regime, since he may lose the title of “worst president in living memory”.
Or maybe he’s pissed his record is in jeopardy?
wildcat84 on September 16, 2009 at 10:07 AM
The born again tooth fairy ain’t got the brain of a spoon bill duck.
Lincoln Cadillac on September 16, 2009 at 10:07 AM
somewhere in georgia a village is missing its idiot.
SHARPTOOTH on September 16, 2009 at 10:04 AM
Somewhere is Georgia a pea is missing it’s nut.
milwife88 on September 16, 2009 at 10:07 AM
So, this is why the Democrats elected an African-American as president? So that any time one of his policies was questioned, they could run out the “racist” charge and back down any opposition?
This strategery will backfire because it is the same as the little boy who cried wolf….
Jimmy, do you really beleive that, if Hillary were president and proposing the exact same programs, there would be little or no opposition?
Too bad your brain isn’t as big as the peanuts you used to grow.
SouthernRoots on September 16, 2009 at 10:08 AM
Like his good friends the Palestinians, Carter never misses an opportunity to miss an opportunity to be a statesman. To rise above the small world he lives in.
Instead of calming things down, he has to, small petty vicious man he is, exacerbate whatever tensions are out there.
He can’t help it; it’s his nature.
Thanks for nothing, Mr. Carter.
Again.
SteveMG on September 16, 2009 at 10:08 AM
To borrow some phrases from the left that they use against the good Governor Palin…. Who is legitimizing Jimmy Carter by listening to what he has to say? Why doesn’t he just go away? His 5 minutes was up 27 years ago.
Personally, I want to strip him of that bogus title of “Best Ex President”. He is a joke.
Dan Pet on September 16, 2009 at 10:08 AM
Domestic enemy #1
katy on September 16, 2009 at 10:08 AM
With respect, Ed, it’s not a game. There actually is evidence in support of the proposition that Jimmy Carter is an anti-Semite. For the overwhelming majority of critics of Obama, the opposite holds: there is no evidence whatsoever in support of the claim that critic X is racist.
Carter appears to be almost unique in our history, a living former President whose “contributions” to political discourse become even worse every year. I find it very sad how he has squandered the good will he obtained through his work with Habitat for Humanity.
jwolf on September 16, 2009 at 10:08 AM
Isn’t it enough that I have one of the bottom five Presidents in my lifetime (Carter). With this President on the way to claim a spot in this infamous group, this is just too much.
WashJeff on September 16, 2009 at 10:08 AM
a non-corrupt Media would ask Jimmah that question, ASAP
jp on September 16, 2009 at 10:08 AM
Jimmy Carter was called on by Axelrod to help the One with his big ‘Pushback’
Jimmy Carter is totally irrelevant.
Try again, Axelrod and family.
bridgetown on September 16, 2009 at 10:08 AM
I believe I can top that.
He’s a Jimmy Carter
Man the 1970s sucked.
rbj on September 16, 2009 at 10:08 AM
It has a nice ring to it Ed, I vote you adopt it. I don’t get the Left and their preference for dictators and thugs. Can’t they embrace us now that we are thugs?
Cindy Munford on September 16, 2009 at 10:09 AM
Jimmy Carter still struggles for relevance. When you have to rely on the most irrelevant and unsuccessful living president to play the race card for you, then you’re in trouble.
Obama and Billy Jeff had lunch the other day. I wouldn’t be surprised if Billy Jeff stuck obama with the tab and said, “play your own race card jackass, me ‘n Hill will see you in 3″
ted c on September 16, 2009 at 10:09 AM
Ed, never use logic on a liberal. They don’t understand it.
Bob's Kid on September 16, 2009 at 10:09 AM
Any thought I would have about Jimmy Carter would be very brief. Yep, its gone.
PappaMac on September 16, 2009 at 10:10 AM
Habitat for Humanity => His work in the US
Habitat for Inhumanity => his work in Gaza
WashJeff on September 16, 2009 at 10:10 AM
No, at one time he was probably the best ex-president around. He was very active in charity and pretty much only did stand-up things. It all changed when Bush became President. He believed Bush was so terrible that he must break his silence as an ex-President and talk about how Bush was destroying the nation. The left went batty and began heaping praise on this former President. He must have liked it so he said more and more and now we have the Carter we know and love.
txaggie on September 16, 2009 at 10:10 AM
Actually, I think Carter is an anti-Semite not because he criticizes Israel, per se, but based on who he cozies up to. Birds of a feather, and all that.
Dark Star on September 16, 2009 at 10:11 AM
Good point.
Networks are using a Jew hater to make their case.
Fantastic.
drjohn on September 16, 2009 at 10:11 AM
gatorboy on September 16, 2009 at 10:07 AM
I can fix this whole health care thingy right now. I propose that we insure the 30-40 million without health coverage only. In order to pay for it I also propose that for a period of no less than 5 years the members of the House, Senate, and White House give up their salaries and any and all perks.
There…problem solved.
milwife88 on September 16, 2009 at 10:11 AM
A friend of mine went to his home in Georgia and spent some time looking at his upbringing. He said that Carter’s experiences as a child were more the rich white kid surrounded by poor black kids. He grew up in a culture of class and access. His rebellion against that may be the reason he is the way it is. Or maybe he thinks he must stand up for them “because they can’t do it themselves” as many old time southerners who swung to the liberal side seems to think.
It is degrading to African-Americans to have someone who thinks they are better, care-taking their needs like they were children. It is also debilitating.
Beyond that, he’s just an idiot.
archer52 on September 16, 2009 at 10:11 AM
Terrific post, Ed.
It’s who Carter is–it’s provable.
Unlike these generalized smears of racism, we don’t have to make things up the way the Left does.
INC on September 16, 2009 at 10:12 AM
Carter is the poster boy for the luny left. I guess he’s just something we must live with . . . hold in putrid disgust, but live with.
rplat on September 16, 2009 at 10:12 AM
I too am wondering why it is not racist for a black man to storm onto a stage, rip a microphone from the hands of a thin white woman, claim that a black woman should have won an award instead.
drjohn on September 16, 2009 at 10:13 AM
Isn’t Carter back in vogue now amongst liberal elites since apt comparisons of Obama to him? Perhaps his ego likes that and he thinks he can speak the things that Obama wouldn’t say himself.
Although I really do think the man is an anti-Semite. I don’t understand how a man of his stature and history can be so obtuse about Israel. He did proside as president only 4 years after the 1972 Olympics and was embarrassed greatly by Iran after all.
Or maybe he is sufferring from Stockholm Syndrome.
NotCoach on September 16, 2009 at 10:13 AM
It used to be a rule of thumb in foreign policy, but the older he gets the more universal it becomes – whatever Jimmy Carter thinks or says, the exact opposite is true or the way to go. He is the George Costanza of American political thought.
Sheerq on September 16, 2009 at 10:14 AM
Back in the 60′s I served at Ft Benning, while Carter was governor of Georgia.
Lester Maddox, the Lieutenant Governor, would periodically borrow the governor’s airplane for various travels often even when Carter had said no. It eventually came to the point that Maddox and his contingent of state police would confront the state police guarding the plane, and the winner would be the official with the largest bunch of police.
Carter was such an inept governor, that almost everyone knew that he wasn’t presidential material.
Special Forces Grunt on September 16, 2009 at 10:14 AM
Carter’s also anti-Latino.
Think of all the disenfranchised Venezuelanos as a result of his certification of Chavez’ stolen re-election a few years back.
TXUS on September 16, 2009 at 10:14 AM
“Hymietown”
SouthernGent on September 16, 2009 at 10:14 AM
Still bitter about his 1980 butt-kicking.
NebCon on September 16, 2009 at 10:15 AM
How does Carter rationalize all of the people that were opposed to his policies for the 4 years of his presidency? If he can’t use racism as the excuse, what is the reason for that? What about every ranking of presidents that puts him somewhere around 40 or lower?? Were the respondents to that poll anti-southern, anti-peanut, anti-__________? Have an answer for that Jimmy??
Dan Pet on September 16, 2009 at 10:15 AM
It’s not a game. It’s projection. On his part.
LibTired on September 16, 2009 at 10:15 AM
I can’t really justify spending any time thinking about that failed president.
Vashta.Nerada on September 16, 2009 at 10:16 AM
Jimmah and Ms. Dowd must be keeping the same company or is it that Jimmah could determine that Ms. Dowd represents how ALL conservatives think because Ms.Dowd claims to be a conservative.
Hmmmm…..?
belad on September 16, 2009 at 10:17 AM
Jimmy Carter’s whole presidency can be summed up with the old 1970s bumper sticker about him, Judas with a kiss, Carer with a smile.
Tommy_G on September 16, 2009 at 10:17 AM
Once again, carter shows how stupid and gullable the American electorate can be. Back in 1976, it was clewar to me carter was a jackass of the highest order. Remember “Billy Beer”? Same gene pool as jimmy.
Reagan cleaned his clock in the debate of 1980, and it was reported that jimmy cried like a baby when his advisers told he he wasn’t going to win.
Now we have Obama. The good news is we haven’t had a liberal president for 28 years because of carter, and it will probably be 38 years after obama.
saiga on September 16, 2009 at 10:18 AM
I’m missing something, Ed. If Carter is an anti-Semite because he hangs around with people who hate Israel, aren’t the people who hang around with those people who don’t like Obama, as well as the people who don’t like Obama, racists?
So, by your logic, wouldn’t all Republicans be “known racists”?
Jimbo3 on September 16, 2009 at 10:19 AM
Jimmy Carter, known anti-Semite and tied for 43rd Greatest president of all time.
allahallahoxenfree on September 16, 2009 at 10:19 AM
History will show that Billy was the smart Carter brother.
John Deaux on September 16, 2009 at 10:20 AM
Why does the left constantly focus on race?
Why are they Obsessed with this issue?
Did Jimmie Carter psychoanalyze the entire country and find out why we oppose Obama’s agenda?
Chainsaw56 on September 16, 2009 at 10:21 AM
How would we know? Pre-FNC and Internet, the Charlie Gibson’s didn’t know or care to let you know.
James and Hannah did it all on just $1,300. Fund them a Million and hand me the popcorn!
barnone on September 16, 2009 at 10:21 AM
This is absolutely wonderful and another to add to my list of arguing with idiots! Jimmy Carter, the anti-Semite . . . I love it! Thank you!
BioTeachEd on September 16, 2009 at 10:22 AM
The headline should read:
Worst President Ever: “You just think Barry is the worst because he’s Black!”
LibertyBoyNYC on September 16, 2009 at 10:22 AM
The fact that Carter even made such a statement shows that he understands nothing about peace processes.
misslizzi on September 16, 2009 at 10:23 AM
Hey , he’s an expert on racism..
the_nile on September 16, 2009 at 10:23 AM
As long as he makes blanket smears of racism, I’m perfectly comfortable tagging Jimmah as a known rascist, as well.
NeighborhoodCatLady on September 16, 2009 at 10:24 AM
Helicopter Carter…always a hit!! Turn down your thermostats, it’s getting hot in here!!!
NJ Red on September 16, 2009 at 10:25 AM
Habitat for Humanity was a much greater accomplishment than winning the Cold War. That’s what I learned in school.
I.M. Shatner on September 16, 2009 at 10:25 AM
Why, oh why did we elect Jimmy instead of Billy?
backwoods conservative on September 16, 2009 at 10:25 AM
I don’t dislike Obama because he is half Kenyan. I dislike him because he is a Progressive. So if you want to call me a “Strict Constitutionalist” or even “Conservative”. I will even take Progressive hatist.
barnone on September 16, 2009 at 10:25 AM
Great thought Ed … dead on accurate.
HondaV65 on September 16, 2009 at 10:25 AM
You certainly are missing something. Maybe you should review the many anti-semitic quotes by Carter, and read his latest
diatribebook.Vashta.Nerada on September 16, 2009 at 10:26 AM
Ed, don’t waste your logic on this turd. It’s like commenting about McCain’s daughter. Both are irrelevant.
hogfat on September 16, 2009 at 10:26 AM
Carter sees everything through the prism of his own prejudices. Because he would never criticize a black man without the root being in racism, no one else can either. It is the same with the Israeli’s, he cannot see their side of the mideast conflict, because of his basic prejudice against Jews.
AndAwayWeGo on September 16, 2009 at 10:27 AM
Only problem: The anti-semite thing is true. The racism thing is fake.
SarahW on September 16, 2009 at 10:27 AM
Yes Jimmah we know you would like to rewrite your own history. Like the failed attempt to rescue the American hostages in Iran due to your failed policies of decimating our military. Or, like the double digit unemployment and double digit inflation due to your failed policies in attempting to decimate our economy.
Jimmah, you CANNOT rewrite stupid!!!!
jbh45 on September 16, 2009 at 10:27 AM
It’s always worth repeating this quote:
“When I look at my four children sometimes I say to myself, Lillian, you should have stayed a virgin.” – Lillian Carter
Shy Guy on September 16, 2009 at 10:28 AM
D_BAG
Kuffar on September 16, 2009 at 10:28 AM
Jimmy stood too close to the reactor at 3 mile island. His brain is swiss cheese.
DrW on September 16, 2009 at 10:28 AM
Don’t kid yourselves. Where there is anti-Israel sympathy there is Arab/Persian money. Congressman Jim Moran is a known anti-semite and his fund raisers are rife with MIddle East money. The question is, which came first the Jew hating or the money? IT IS ALWAYS THE MONEY
Haunches on September 16, 2009 at 10:31 AM
If Jimmy Carter is endorsing your point of view, you’re wrong.
hawksruleva on September 16, 2009 at 10:31 AM
“A liberal claiming race is the surest sign they’ve lost the debate.”
That phrase needs to be repeated with laughter at the exact moment they whip out the card. It’s the only defense.
Youngs98 on September 16, 2009 at 10:32 AM
You notice that Bill Clinton is keeping his mouth shut recently? (Or at least he’s not saying anything that’s supportive enough of the current administration to get widely quoted in the media.) If anything, he’s trying to carefully partition his legacy from that of Barak Obama.
Meanwhile, Carter is jumping up and stamping his name and credibility on everything that Obama says and does.
That should tell you something.
logis on September 16, 2009 at 10:35 AM
Carter is only in the news because his status as worst president ever is being threatened.
Daggett on September 16, 2009 at 10:35 AM
You may have squeaked by on a technicality this time, but only because Clinton, and not Carter, was the first black president.
Barnestormer on September 16, 2009 at 10:35 AM
Ha, ha!
I would love to measure your blood pressure when someone says the words “Howard Dean” in your presence.
misslizzi on September 16, 2009 at 10:36 AM
Carter is only in the news because his status as worst president ever is being threatened.
Daggett
I think the secretive marxist is more ambitious than Carter and will trump him on that count
allahallahoxenfree on September 16, 2009 at 10:39 AM
This has stopped being a “game” a long time ago.
Accusations of racism are being used by the Democrat Party to curb the Constitutionally-guaranteed freedom of each of us as well as our representation in Congress.
Instead of these glib tit-for-tat musings, we need to attack the entire stinking system of politics as it exists in the Democrat Party, beginning with a loud, clear denunciation of the Congressional Black Caucus as the singular SOURCE of racism polluting the United States Legislature.
jay12 on September 16, 2009 at 10:40 AM
Shy Guy on September 16, 2009 at 10:28 AM
Priceless. I forgot about Jimmy’s mother. Billy was busy stealing the headlines back in those days.
NebCon on September 16, 2009 at 10:41 AM
Jimmy, do you really beleive that, if Hillary were president and proposing the exact same programs, there would be little or no opposition?
Sexist. Hours of sexism in every paper. Women marching against the tea parties. Endless interviews of women who feel discriminated against. Same stuff, different -ism.
Haunches on September 16, 2009 at 10:41 AM
OT: Baucus plan MANDATES UNINSURANCE
p. 2: “Currently covered individuals must be uninsured for six months before gaining access to the high-risk pool.”
What a joke.. the ENTIRE premise of this whole canard is to get folks on insurance and to get coverage for those with pre-existing conditions. Baucus’s plan REQUIRES that an individual go without healthcare for 6 months before gaining access to the ‘high-risk’ pool.
–This is a part of the transition. The high risk pool ends in 2013.
Jimbo3 on September 16, 2009 at 10:41 AM
How old IS Carter? You’d think he’d have the good manners and DIE shortly after retirement like all men should do.
Jeff from WI on September 16, 2009 at 10:42 AM
Problem is, Carter actually is an anti-Semite, whereas the majority of Obama critics are not racists.
During his disastrous term as president, I criticized Carter for being weak and inept and incompetent and I routinely expressed my wish for his presidency to end as quickly as possible. I do exactly the same with Obama, for exactly the same reasons.
Unlike Carter, I am not willing to patronize Obama because he is black. Unlike Carter, I am not willing to hold Obama to a different standard because he is black. Unlike Carter, I am not a racist (or an anti-Semite).
AZCoyote on September 16, 2009 at 10:43 AM
Jimmah Cahter has found an easy ride on this race fomenting gig with the race fomenting media;
Both want to see race riots like the good old days!
Cybergeezer on September 16, 2009 at 10:45 AM
Having to resort to the race card shows the desperation of the left. They are losing the argument so now they have to resort to shaming people into silence. Only it won’t work this time,because it’s not true and people are tired of it. If America is so racist how was Obama able to be elected POTUS?
Hera on September 16, 2009 at 10:46 AM
Race riots is the only way to save face for the thugs.
the_nile on September 16, 2009 at 10:47 AM
Thank you, Ed.
Loxodonta on September 16, 2009 at 10:47 AM
Comment pages: 1 2 3 4 Next »