Whenever I meet some foaming-at-the-mouth liberal who says that George W. Bush is "our worst president" I do one of two things. If they've come of political age since 1980, I explain the Carter years to them. When you describe them out loud it sounds like a horrible reality show that was ahead of its time. If they're older than that I suggest several clinics where selective amnesia is treated and wish them the best.
Face it, one of Carter's most enduring legacies was having the drunk brother (Billy Carter) who paved the way for a future Democratic drunk brother (Roger Clinton).
Carter is a dizzying study in contrasts. A devout Christian, he made his biggest campaign splash in Playboy magazine. A true big-government Democrat, he's shown that real change is best affected through the private sector by founding Habitat for Humanity. Even ardent detractors used to refer to him a "nice guy." Now he spends his time spewing as much vitriol as he can when speaking publicly about the current administration.
It was sort of assumed (again, even by his detractors) that this somewhat quiet man would contribute to the dignity of the very small ex-president club. How he became the Rosie O'Donnell of the bunch remains a mystery.
One of Carter's more disgusting recent habits is bad-mouthing America and the current administration in the foreign press. Shove a BBC microphone in his face and he instantly becomes Hugo Chavez with a Georgia accent. His latest bout of verbal diarrhea found him referring to a sitting Vice-President as a "disaster" in an interview with our British friends.
Once more, the bitter irony whenever Carter starts babbling is that his choice of words make you swear he's describing his own tenure in the White House. This is the same man who earlier in the year proved he's never stood in front of a mirror by declaring President Bush the "worst in history."
There's almost something pathological about the current crop of Democratic elder statesmen. Al Gore at least has the decency to outwardly look and act like a lunatic so people can see his true colors (or his leopard stripes, as he would say). Sure, he's revered by the Climate Commies but I still know plenty of people on the left who would lock away all the sharp stuff if Gore were coming to dinner.
With Carter it's more disturbing. He still has that quiet Southern gentleman aura about him that can lull people into believing that he's reasonable. Gosh heck, he's the smiling peanut farmer granddaddy! But he seems to be driven by a compulsion to make his horrible presidential legacy look good by comparison so he begins spewing garbage about the current administration. Worse yet, it's as if he knows that he won't win this battle in history here so he wants to take it overseas where America-bashing is always in season (until, of course, they need disaster relief or military assistance). One minute he's sweet ol' Jimmy then the camera turns on and he shows all the measured calmness of a MoveOn.org staffer who has just been given the chance to dry off George Soros after a bath.
Unable to make his mark on America as president, it seems that James Earl Carter wants to redefine being an ex-president. It's a fraternity so unique that it's made friends out of George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. If you'd told anyone eight years ago that those two would be palling around you would have been handed a Dixie cup for your drug test. The former chief execs tend to stick together though. They also try to be restrained in their public assessments of current presidents. Until Jimmy the Mouth hit the scene, that is. Even Bill Clinton, while campaigning for his-um-wife, has been more muted in his criticism of Bush than Peanut Jim.
Wow, twice in one post I've been moved by Jimmy Carter to remark on Bill Clinton's class. That crafty old farmer really is making a difference in the world, isn't he?
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