Some folks seem pretty sure that 93-year-old Jimmy Carter has exonerated Donald Trump not just of charges related to Russian collusion but from charges of pretty much anything via an interview with The New York Times.
I’m not really sure that’s the case because just like George Bush didn’t convict Donald Trump of pushing a dangerous brand of nationalism at a speech delivered in New York on Thursday, and just like Barack Obama can’t summarily declare that Donald Trump is so divisive as to be not fit to serve, neither can Jimmy Carter unilaterally exonerate Trump.
Sure, the words of former Presidents matter and carry a lot of weight with the public, but as Steve Bannon demonstrated on Friday when he literally claimed that George Bush was just reading a prepared speech he didn’t understand, Americans are certainly free to simply dismiss something a former President says for what it is: an opinion.
To be sure, Bannon is probably right that George Bush didn’t write the speech he delivered this week, but we would disagree that he didn’t understand it. Bush has demonstrated time and again that although he most assuredly isn’t the brightest crayon in the box, he’s not quite as stupid as he comes across (and yes, Steve Bannon, we agree that’s setting the bar pretty low for a President, but you’re one to talk about low bars for Presidents).
Additionally, critics of Bush’s speech are correct to remind you that it’s not exactly like George Bush is some kind of model for peace on Earth and we’ll be the first to admit that Barack Obama didn’t live up to his own billing (although to be fair, when everyone starts out thinking you’re Jesus, the deck is kinda stacked against you when it comes to outperforming expectations).
Anyway, we’ve always contended that the best way for a blog to approach political discourse and debate is to make no secret of the author(s)’ inherent biases and then to simply present the actual story and let readers decide for themselves. Blogs aren’t newswires so bias isn’t a bad thing and frankly, the worst thing you can do if you’re a blog about politics is to pretend to be a newswire by presenting things as though you’re a real media outlet while harboring a hopelessly biased, and thinly-veiled agenda. That’s the worst kind of dishonest bullshit imaginable, because it gives gullible readers the impression that you’re offering an unfiltered alternative to the mainstream media when in reality you’re even more biased than Fox and Breitbart (on the conservative side) or more biased than CNN and MSNBC (on the liberal side). Why not just say what you want to say (i.e. state your biases upfront) and let people decide for themselves? If people aren’t feelin’ your style, they won’t read you – it’s just that simple. Apparently we’ve managed to succeed with that approach because we’ve got a pretty decent conservative readership despite the fact that we are obviously vehemently liberal on most points.
So with that in mind, here are the relevant excerpts from Maureen Dowd’s interview with Carter…
I told him that the big shots in Washington were terrified about the childish, bellicose tit-for-tat tweeting battle between the Dotard and Little Rocket Man.
“I’m afraid, too, of a situation,” he said. “I don’t know what they’ll do. Because they want to save their regime. And we greatly overestimate China’s influence on North Korea. Particularly to Kim Jong-un. He’s never, so far as I know, been to China.” (Who knows if he made a surreptitious trip.) Carter continued, “And they have no relationship. Kim Jong-il did go to China and was very close to them.”
[…]
When I asked about Trump’s souring our image in the world, Carter defended his successor.
“Well, he might be escalating it but I think that precedes Trump,” he said. “The United States has been the dominant character in the whole world and now we’re not anymore. And we’re not going to be. Russia’s coming back and India and China are coming forward.”
[…]
He also said he liked Trump’s initiative reaching out to Saudi Arabia. He doesn’t know Jared Kushner but is not totally dismissive of the idea that the son-in-law could succeed where others have failed.
“I’ve seen in the Arab world, including the Palestinian world,” he said, “the high esteem that they pay to a member of one’s own family.”
[…]
Saying that he did not think “there’s much hope now that Israelis will ever permit a two-state solution,” he knocked Obama on the Middle East: “He made some very wonderful statements, in my opinion, when he first got in office, and then he reneged on that.”
Recalling that “we have 22 votes in our family and Obama got all 22 of them,” he complained that Obama had “refused” to talk to North Korea more, and then Carter lamented the fact that Obama joined in the bombing of Yemen, which Carter says is the most interesting place he’s ever been. (He even tried chewing khat, an addictive shrub that acts like amphetamines.)
[…]
Carter is also not as bothered as some by Trump’s Putin bromance. “At the Carter Center,” he said, “we deal with Putin and the Russians quite frequently concerning Syria.”
Did the Russians purloin the election from Hillary?
“Rosie and I have a difference of opinion on that,” he said.
She looked over archly. “They obviously did,” she said.
He said: “I don’t think there’s any evidence that what the Russians did changed enough votes, or any votes.”
Rosalynn pressed, “The drip-drip-drip about Hillary.”
Carter noted that in the primary, “We voted for Sanders.”
[…]
When I compared the Clinton Foundation with the Carter Center, Carter noted: “Rosie and I put money in the Carter Center. We never take any out.”
Maybe the press and everyone else should relegate attention toward Trump and the Russians to where it belongs, late night comedy.
well, I mean don’t get us wrong: Trump colluded with the Russians. there’s no question about it.
it’s not comedy unless you think high treason is comedic.
Colluding how? To what end? Did Trump levy war against the US? Did Trump give an “enemy” (a country formally in military conflict w/ the US) aid and comfort? Just because you or other people don’t like Russia it doesn’t make them an “enemy.” And, of course, no one…including you…has PROVED anything as of today.
It is not treasonous to be a loud mouthed, lying, over bearing shit…sorry.
Investigators are crawling all over his fat lying ass; what they know right now that we are not privy to yet is certainly enough to have them dig deeper and interrogate the scum close to him. Russia can either be friend or foe and they are not friend. They interfered in our election process. Obama ejected them from their estate/compound because they were caught working against the United States. No one has to explain to me or you for that to be true.
Trump knows what he has done and how he has cheated at every thing he has ever done. He is slime. Far more than the adjectives you lined up – hell, you described an old uncle of mine, haha! – trump is a sex pervert, track record of over 4,000 lawsuits, bankrupted up to 6 companies and walked over the people who worked for him as he exited with millions of dollars, leaving many people desperate financially. Refused to help with the medical bills and treatment desperately needed by his own nephew as revenge!
His current despicable behavior towards the soldier and family, including Ms. Wilson is reprehensible! He is dragging America thru the muck and slime that he leaves everywhere he goes. He will do anything – and I do mean anything – to save his lying fat ass. He is the most shameful man on this planet and should be removed from the White House! We will be lucky if he does not bring on a nuclear war with his ignorant and uninformed behavior. Your posting is truly outrageous!
What you just wrote above is best responded to by a cut-n-paste of your own words below:
“You should be really careful about getting your info right – you could end up on the wrong end of a civil suit. No, you are totally off base. Go back to doing your homework and keep your mouth shut”
“Are you drunk? Maybe you need to read the advice I just gave you again. Where do you get your trash stories? Complete garbage.”
> We will be lucky if he does not bring on a nuclear war
Perhaps, but a probable nuclear war (with Russia) was circumvented when that Russia-phobic psycho Hillary got crushed in the election, losing convincingly in the electoral college and in the vast majority of counties nationwide fair & square.
That nasty woman has nothing redeeming about her whatsoever. Now she is simply known globally as the world’s sorest loser which just reinforces that it was best to reject her.
I understand your passion, but the more hysterical and silly our infantile proclamations about Trump, the less credible we become, and the stronger he becomes…
Speaking of which, isn’t Alec Baldwin the latest to face credible accusations of sexual assault?
How about a skit on that? I hope not, because it’s not funny. Just like nothing they do is funny now.
You should be really careful about getting your info right — you could end up on the wrong end of a civil suit. No, you are totally off base. Go back to doing your homework and keep your mouth shut until you have the “story” right.
No worries. I’m now in a country with far stronger rule of law and much less judicial corruption than yours, so I can stand by my words, no worries. OTOH you could worry about some of the horseshit you write.
You are eventually going to have to eat those words. trump is in serious trouble.
Per the EWI’s Socioeconomics Institute, not while the markets are good.
> When I compared the Clinton Foundation with the Carter Center, Carter noted:
> “Rosie and I put money in the Carter Center. We never take any out.”
There you have it again… corrupt crooked hillary… thank your lucky stars that wicked wench lost bigly!
The clinton foundation should be raided, its assets seized and the clintons locked-up for money laundering and more. Much of its funding was derived from the clintons’ influence peddling and diverted for their own benefit. Dirty money, bankster money, terrorist money and of course patronage from all their hollywood liberal rapist besties like Weinstein.
Are you drunk? Maybe you need to read the advice I just gave you again. Where do you get your trash stories? Complete garbage.
WikiLeaks and Princeton Economics International amongst others. Get a clue or else be a blind-folded ideologue. It’s already proven with hacked & other evidence that Clinton peddled influence and diverted funds for personal gain from big Wall Street banksters and foreign terrorist-funding government (Saudi)… she also lied under oath and destroyed subpoenaed evidence. Wiki proved as much which is why she hates them. But she can run free and knows it because the US justice system is apparently corrupt, particularly in the NY area where they live.
I like Carter the man not the President. Still have cases of Billy Beer stashed somewhere..It is not as if the US has not interfered in other country’s elections when they could. The second FBI release sunk Hillary. Russian Facebook ads only fanned the Trump base and maybe a few got off their dead asses out to vote, I doubt they swayed great change in party switchers.
If their was a conspiracy it was in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, & Michigan where the normal democratic precincts switched party alignments.
The only way you find collusion is Trump’s finances & tax returns. I think he is in deep debt to someone.
“No Evidence Russia Changed The Election.”
Really? Poor Jimmy. While I liked Carter as person and voted for him, he was not the best President the country has had. Giving away the Panama Canal essentially to China was about the dumbest thing he could have done negotiating wise.That said the above quote is not only poorly uninformed, it is illogical – and not surprisingly by the 93 year old Carter who – should realize his limitations – though they might not be as intellectually limiting as Trumps’.
The fact that Russia – a competitive – if not out right enemy foreign state – was involved in influencing the election in any way (which there is abundant evidence that there was massive candidate disinformation from Russian troll farms under the Putin’s authority) and or funding Trump directly or indirectly – logically this influence could not – have not “changed” the election.
Whether it “changed” the outcome of the election is yet to be determined and won’t be until the current criminal investigation of Trump is completed – if it actually ever could be determined a year or more after the fact.
This is why in a country with a real representative democracy that had a compromised and questioned election – one having indeterminable, but significant and illegal foreign influence – a re-election would be not only called for by its Congress or Parliament – it would be required by procedural law.
I’m not a Clinton fan, not disappointed she was not elected, but please competent person would better than Trump. Worse, I can see the incredible failure of credibility in our democratic election process regarding the questionable Trump election. Seems like questionable elections are becoming a Republican trend. Bush’s hanging chad’s were bad enough and whatever election fraud that was involved there was at least domestic. Considering that there was no likely coincidence that hanging chads only occurred GW’s brother Gov. Jeb Bush’s state – Florida.) – is nothing compared to having an adversarial foreign state influencing and dispersing false information about its presidential candidates.
It seems now all we need is to have another Republican Presidential election where election irregularities, fraud and criminal actions come in to question – and then we will have at least those three data points to make this an undeniable trend for Republican presidential candidates. Of course this means the Democrats would have to field an uncompromised and viable candidate. That would be a nice trend not seen in recent years.
I think it is of academic interest if Trump helped the Russians, which can be analysed and decided upon in the future. The real issue is what is the US going to do about Russians setting up hundreds of black rights, and right wing white websites, in order to sow social discord and division amongst the US population.
The US is losing its focus, both on the local and foreign front. Make no mistake, China and Russia will take full advantage of the lack of competent leadership, in spades, and it will be extremely difficult for the US to regain lost ground on the international front.
The US is in a new cold war with no intelligent resolve at the head. DANGEROUS TIMES INDEED.
Listen up, WikiLeaks is far more credible than Hillary given their respective track records. Hillary lied under oath and destroyed subpoenaed evidence, whereas Wikileaks’ claims have been backed by documented hard proof.
“There is something wrong with her. It is not just her constant lying. It is not just that she throws off menacing glares and seethes thwarted entitlement. Something much darker rides along with it. A cold creepiness rarely seen.”
Julian Assange, WikiLeaks founder
16 October 2017
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-10-16/hillary-clinton-says-julian-assange-helped-donald-trump-win/9047944
Pathetic… A year after losing and hillary still won’t let it go even in public… That old lesbo needs serious psychiatric help!
TO IRB, ABOUT IRB: I turned over a big rock and you crawled out.
Personal attacks on other members, like you resort to repeatedly, is the refuge of the ignorant. Accordingly, we can extrapolate that your opinions are ignorant. Some sites would ban your ID and IP for your misbehavior, but that not being the case, consider yourself to have been put on MUTE.
A few years ago I retired and was no longer working to please the public, with a smile every day. I told myself the best thing was I no longer had to pretend to be anything I did not feel. Nodding and smiling when an ignorant stranger was rude and obnoxious was no longer required. It was a rebirth of peace and the stress was gone, just over, no more, no need. That is the best part of retirement.
Everything has rolled along wonderfully until trump cheated his way into the WH. He and his masses of asses can kiss mine.
Congratulations on your retirement as it must be relaxing and the envy of many.
There’s a difference between you being forced while at work to be something that you’re not, and you voluntarily insulting members at a forum repeatedly where opinions can differ from yours.
It has nothing to with trump in the WH or anything except civility, a lack of which discredits your position from the perspective of others and is therefore both self-defeating inflammatory.
Thanks and have a nice day.
mute…?
I disagree that Trump isn’t the legitimate president. More significantly, so do Carter and Obama. Most importantly, so does the Electoral College. Accept it and move on, or else look as pathetic as hillary.
Anyway at the end of the day, the president matters less to your life than you probably think.
MUTE…CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?