Carter says Bush's presidency 'worst in history'

[Guest]

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter says President George W. 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 US$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 honoured 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.

Go Jimmy...

White House's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives??? WTF is that - damn, wonder how much fakewell, hinn, et al. scored outta that BS...

ws

 

[Fat Albert]

Carter says Bush's presidency 'worst in history'

One who lives in a glass (Habitat for Humanity, albeit) house shouldn't throw stones....

Fat A

 

[The End Is Near]

Don't know much about Carter, except that he tried to decriminalize MJ and get us on alternative energies like solar. Not all bad I say.

 

[fr33th3w33d]

carter got a shit wrap.. he wasn't a bad guy at all. compared to bush he was fuckin fdr..

 

[Rush Limbong]

I think all of 'em are big fucing douches anyway....

 

[Guest]

Carter says Bush's presidency 'worst in history'

One who lives in a glass (Habitat for Humanity, albeit) house shouldn't throw stones....

Fat A

I think it was the Simpsons that had a bit about "Habitat for Huge Manatees".

lol

"Habitat for Huge Manatees" - my boys and I howl when any of us mention it.

Yes, I am a big kid.

ws

 

[Guest]

I don't know,...I don't think Jimmy's wrong on this one...

 

[mtnjohn]

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

unprecedented , but not incorrect


mj

 

[Pops]

I was never very fond of Jimmy Carter....until now!

 

[70s_PotHead]

Carter says Bush's presidency 'worst in history'

Now I wonder what ever gave him that idea......

70s

 

[Pinball Wizard]

...I have always liked Jimmy...always have...always will... ...where do you think this smilie came from?

 

[Kirby]

I never have understood where Carter got the moral authority to sit back and pontificate, much less break the unwritten rule of Presidents not commenting on subsequent Presidents.

 

[SmokeyPufmaster]

I never have understood where Carter got the moral authority to sit back and pontificate, much less break the unwritten rule of Presidents not commenting on subsequent Presidents.

Every living citizen has that right.

 

[Guest]

Every living citizen has that right.

In the U.S., and for now.

GW ain't gone yet - who knows what other trickery/treachery he has up his ass (I mean sleeve)?

I feel bad for my American brothers - you guys have the greatest foundation for a country, but the chip, chip, chip of your rights being eroded out from under you is deafening.

Please don't forget the founding fathers set out to explicitly stop dicks like GW and his minions from pulling the sh*t that they are. The crap about "homeland security" and the other BS you're being given is a front. He/They are just another remote king, trying to keep y'all under their thumb. He's just using smoke and mirrors to justify it.

I'm scared because his neo-nazi bastard son Harper is in power here - thank goodness he's got a minority gov't, or we'd be up to our asses in the same rotten mess.

Y'all have the power - vote FOR your rights, not against them.

ws

 

[Martha Stewart]

I was never very fond of Jimmy Carter....until now!

I think every President should have a fat, beer-drinking Brother, like good-old Billy Carter....

Martha S.

 

[Guest]

I think every President should have a fat, beer-drinking Brother, like good-old Billy Carter....

Martha S.

I still have a Billy Beer - he was a character...

ws

 

[PHB]

Carter didn't have the best record as president, but he spot on with his criticism of GW.

Things may have been much different today for everyone on this forum in the US if Carter had been able to legalize mj as he had planned. Unfortunately his Director of the National Drug Control Policy Peter Bourne had to resign due to rumors that he had snorted cocaine at a NORML Chrismast party which kinda killed Carters ability to push for the legalization of marijuana.

PHB

 

[_angst_]

^ spot on

 

[Guest]

Carter is saying what 73% of Americans already know.. and prolly and even higher percentage of the rest of the world knows GW bush is a complete failure.. look at the dumbasses Resume. Most if not all of his business indevors have failed. His relationships dont leave his own investment syndicate. blah, blah..etc,etc..
Sorry but whoever voted for this ass, and didnt look at his qualifications is a dumbass. I mean realy.. who the fuck would hire someone with that kind of business history, let alone "HIRE" them for President of the USA! would only leave my stoned mind to wonder, and think that there might be some method to the madness. Too bad the Method is Fear, and the Madness are the people..,, anywayzzzz..
Its good that a ex president says something.. but what good would it do at this point?

Cannabismavin,

 

[imnotcrazy]

See, the problem is 90% of elections seem VERY close because of this bullshit "Electoral College" shit that they use. There is NO WAY bush would have won if they went by actual vote counts. What happens is they count votes on a statewide scale and all those individual votes in each state become 1/50 votes....... THAT'S what sucks about the whole election process..