Carter disses Bush

[Buccaneer]

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Former President Carter says President Bush's administration is "the worst in history" in international relations, taking aim at the White House's policy of pre-emptive war and its Middle East diplomacy.


The criticism from Carter, which a biographer says is unprecedented for the 39th president, also took aim at Bush's environmental policies and the administration's "quite disturbing" faith-based initiative funding.

"I think as far as the adverse impact on the nation around the world, this administration has been the worst in history," Carter told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in a story that appeared in the newspaper's Saturday editions. "The overt reversal of America's basic values as expressed by previous administrations, including those of George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon and others, has been the most disturbing to me."

Carter spokeswoman Deanna Congileo confirmed his comments to The Associated Press on Saturday and declined to elaborate. He spoke while promoting his new audiobook series, "Sunday Mornings in Plains," a collection of weekly Bible lessons from his hometown of Plains, Ga.

"Apparently, Sunday mornings in Plains for former President Carter includes hurling reckless accusations at your fellow man," said Amber Wilkerson, Republican National Committee spokeswoman. She said it was hard to take Carter seriously because he also "challenged Ronald Reagan's strategy for the Cold War."

Carter came down hard on the Iraq war.

"We now have endorsed the concept of pre-emptive war where we go to war with another nation militarily, even though our own security is not directly threatened, if we want to change the regime there or if we fear that some time in the future our security might be endangered," he said. "But that's been a radical departure from all previous administration policies."

Carter, who won a Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, criticized Bush for having "zero peace talks" in Israel. Carter also said the administration "abandoned or directly refuted" every negotiated nuclear arms agreement, as well as environmental efforts by other presidents.

Carter also offered a harsh assessment for the White House's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, which helped religious charities receive $2.15 billion in federal grants in fiscal year 2005 alone.

"The policy from the White House has been to allocate funds to religious institutions, even those that channel those funds exclusively to their own particular group of believers in a particular religion," Carter said. "As a traditional Baptist, I've always believed in separation of church and state and honored that premise when I was president, and so have all other presidents, I might say, except this one."

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."

Carter also lashed out Saturday at British prime minister Tony Blair. Asked how he would judge Blair's support of Bush, the former president said: "Abominable. Loyal. Blind. Apparently subservient."

"And I think the almost undeviating support by Great Britain for the ill-advised policies of President Bush in Iraq have been a major tragedy for the world," Carter told British Broadcasting Corp. radio.

[DDBooger]

Originally posted by Buccaneer
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Former President Carter says President Bush's administration is "the worst in history" in international relations, taking aim at the White House's policy of pre-emptive war and its Middle East diplomacy.


The criticism from Carter, which a biographer says is unprecedented for the 39th president, also took aim at Bush's environmental policies and the administration's "quite disturbing" faith-based initiative funding.

"I think as far as the adverse impact on the nation around the world, this administration has been the worst in history," Carter told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in a story that appeared in the newspaper's Saturday editions. "The overt reversal of America's basic values as expressed by previous administrations, including those of George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon and others, has been the most disturbing to me."

Carter spokeswoman Deanna Congileo confirmed his comments to The Associated Press on Saturday and declined to elaborate. He spoke while promoting his new audiobook series, "Sunday Mornings in Plains," a collection of weekly Bible lessons from his hometown of Plains, Ga.

"Apparently, Sunday mornings in Plains for former President Carter includes hurling reckless accusations at your fellow man," said Amber Wilkerson, Republican National Committee spokeswoman. She said it was hard to take Carter seriously because he also "challenged Ronald Reagan's strategy for the Cold War."

Carter came down hard on the Iraq war.

"We now have endorsed the concept of pre-emptive war where we go to war with another nation militarily, even though our own security is not directly threatened, if we want to change the regime there or if we fear that some time in the future our security might be endangered," he said. "But that's been a radical departure from all previous administration policies."

Carter, who won a Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, criticized Bush for having "zero peace talks" in Israel. Carter also said the administration "abandoned or directly refuted" every negotiated nuclear arms agreement, as well as environmental efforts by other presidents.

Carter also offered a harsh assessment for the White House's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, which helped religious charities receive $2.15 billion in federal grants in fiscal year 2005 alone.

"The policy from the White House has been to allocate funds to religious institutions, even those that channel those funds exclusively to their own particular group of believers in a particular religion," Carter said. "As a traditional Baptist, I've always believed in separation of church and state and honored that premise when I was president, and so have all other presidents, I might say, except this one."

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."

Carter also lashed out Saturday at British prime minister Tony Blair. Asked how he would judge Blair's support of Bush, the former president said: "Abominable. Loyal. Blind. Apparently subservient."

"And I think the almost undeviating support by Great Britain for the ill-advised policies of President Bush in Iraq have been a major tragedy for the world," Carter told British Broadcasting Corp. radio. while im not fan of bush, some ex-prez. should just go quietly in to that good night!(and to the moral authority i didn't mean death, just retirement lol)

[Buccaneer]

Carter was the worst President of my lifetime! Too nice to be President. He had grain embargos and long gas lines, Olympic boycotts and American hostage crisis.

[sinton66]

Carter only said this because he wants someone else to inherit the title. Fat chance.

[LH Panther Mom]

Originally posted by Buccaneer
American hostage crisis.
I had some family friends involved in that.

[shankbear]

With ANYTHING Carter says.....consider the source. He is in bizarroland. Nice guy though.

[setxsports]

:mad: I believe the country was in alot better shape back then as well!!

[Buccaneer]

Originally posted by **********
:mad: I believe the country was in alot better shape back then as well!!

Depends on what your definition of better shape is. Gas lines, could only buy gas on certain days, many stations had no gas, high interest rates, I remember getting 18% interest on a CD, we boycott the Moscow Olympics because Russia invaded Afghanistan(now that is funny), we got Ted Turner's Goodwill Games on TBS. America had zero suspect in the rest of the world. Carter bans grain exports to Russia. The American farmer has not recovered from that 30 yrs later.

[JasperDog94]

Originally posted by Buccaneer
Depends on what your definition of better shape is. Gas lines, could only buy gas on certain days, many stations had no gas, high interest rates, I remember getting 18% interest on a CD, we boycott the Moscow Olympics because Russia invaded Afghanistan(now that is funny), we got Ted Turner's Goodwill Games on TBS. America had zero suspect in the rest of the world. Carter bans grain exports to Russia. The American farmer has not recovered from that 30 yrs later. Don't forget that Carter is the one that also gave away control of the Panama Canal.

[sinton66]

Not to mention the fact he CAUSED the Iranian hostage crisis (brilliant foreign policy maker that he was).

[JasperDog94]

Carter is/was a tool.

[Reds fan]

Originally posted by sinton66
Carter only said this because he wants someone else to inherit the title. Fat chance.

There you go:clap: :clap: :clap:

Carter has no dignity left at all.

[bobcat1]

He is the most spineless President I can remember. It seems like the day Ronald Reagon took office, the hostages were released. Carter needs to keep farming peanuts and lay off the Billy Beer. I know they have some of that puke left over.

[Macarthur]

It is interesting because he is right. This administration is the worst. However, Carter's is most likely 2nd so it is kinda funny coming from Carter.

[Buccaneer]

BUSH STRIKES BACK !

CRAWFORD, Texas (Reuters) - The White House on Sunday fired back at former President Jimmy Carter, calling him "increasingly irrelevant" a day after Carter described George W. Bush's presidency as the worst in history in international relations.

Carter, a Democrat, said on Saturday in an interview with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that "as far as the adverse impact on the nation around the world, this administration has been the worst in history."

White House spokesman Tony Fratto had declined to react on Saturday but on Sunday fired back.

"I think it's sad that President Carter's reckless personal criticism is out there," Fratto told reporters. "I think it's unfortunate. And I think he is proving to be increasingly irrelevant with these kinds of comments."

Carter has been an outspoken critic of Bush, but the White House has largely refrained from attacking him in return. Sunday's sharp response marks a departure from the deference that sitting presidents traditionally have shown their predecessors.

In the newspaper interview, Carter said Bush had taken a "radical departure from all previous administration policies" with the Iraq war.

"We now have endorsed the concept of pre-emptive war where we go to war with another nation militarily, even though our own security is not directly threatened, if we want to change the regime there or if we fear that some time in the future our security might be endangered," Carter said.

In a separate BBC interview, Carter also denounced the close relationship between Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

"Abominable. Loyal, blind, apparently subservient," Carter said when asked how he would characterize Blair's relationship with Bush.

"I think that the almost undeviating support by Great Britain for the ill-advised policies of President Bush in Iraq have been a major tragedy for the world," Carter said.

Carter, who was president from 1977-1981 and won the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize for his charitable work, was an outspoken opponent of the invasion of Iraq before it was launched in 2003.

[eagles_victory]

carter and bush is pretty much the blind leading the blind. Now i wouldnt say Carter caused the Iran hostage siutation but he could have prevented it

[sinton66]

Originally posted by eagles_victory
carter and bush is pretty much the blind leading the blind. Now i wouldnt say Carter caused the Iran hostage siutation but he could have prevented it

Why wouldn't you say that? He in fact DID cause it when he froze Iranian assets in American Banks. That is EXACTLY what the hostage crisis was all about.

[Buccaneer]

CARTER MUST BE SENILE!

ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) -- Former President Jimmy Carter said Monday his remarks were "careless or misinterpreted" when he said the Bush administration has been the "worst in history" for its impact around the world.

Speaking on NBC's "Today," Carter appeared to retreat from a statement he made to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for a Saturday story in which he said: "I think as far as the adverse impact on the nation around the world, this administration has been the worst in history."

Carter said Monday that when he made the comment, he was responding to a question comparing the Bush administration's foreign policy to that of Richard Nixon.

"And I think Richard Nixon had a very good and productive foreign policy and my remarks were maybe careless or misinterpreted. But I wasn't comparing the overall administration and I was certainly not talking personally about any president," Carter said. (Read full story)

He added: "I think this administration's foreign policy compared to President Nixon's was much worse," Carter said. But he said he did not mean to call it the worst in history.

White House: Carter 'increasingly irrelevant'
"No, that's not what I wanted to say. I wasn't comparing this administration with other administrations back through history but just with President Nixon."

Deputy White House press secretary Tony Fratto, with Bush at the president's ranch in Crawford, Texas, said Monday: "I think it just highlights the importance of being careful in choosing your words. I'll just leave it at that."

In audio posted Saturday on the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's Web site, an interviewer asked Carter "which president was worse, George W. Bush or Richard Nixon?" In his response, Carter gave the broader answer, calling the Bush administration "the worst in history."

On Sunday, the White House dismissed Carter, the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize winner, as "increasingly irrelevant" after his harsh criticism. (Read full story)

In response, Carter said: "Well, I don't claim to have any relevancy. I have a completely unofficial capacity. The only thing I lead is the Carter Center."

After the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette story appeared, Carter spokeswoman Deanna Congileo had confirmed his comments to The Associated Press.

"The overt reversal of America's basic values as expressed by previous administrations, including those of George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon and others, has been the most disturbing to me," the newspaper quoted Carter as saying.

In his comments Monday, Carter said he has not been timid about sharing his opinions directly with the president and other world leaders, but said he has been careful not to level personal criticism against Bush.