Opus 2020-009: Firsts: Obama or Carter?

One of the promises of Barak Obama was to fundamentally change America.  He tried this in many ways and is still in the game doing what he can to move us toward a socialist utopia.  One of the criticisms I have heard has to do with his attempts to publically undermine the current president.  The criticism comes in the form of saying there has been an unbroken tradition that ex-presidents would not criticize a sitting president.  It was not done.  I have seen a number of meme posters saying that is what Obama is doing.

I came across a discussion in a book called Dupes that sees it differently.

“Throughout the debate over war in Iraq, Carter smashed the time-honored tradition that ex-presidents refrain from public criticism of sitting presidents, especially in wartime.  Carter penned an op-ed for the Washington Post title, ‘The Troubling New Face of America,’ in which he lamented the ‘belligerent and divisive’ Bush administration and its lack of ‘comprehensible’ Middle East Policy.”  page 435

It would seem that Jimmy Carter was as guilty as Obama.  It could be that Obama feels he is justified because Jimmy Carter did it.  Either way it is another indication of how the politics in this country is degenerating. 

One thing that I find of interest is that opinion that Carter used to be considered the worst president in American history and that he has now been replaced by Obama.  It would seem that the quality of the men has a lot in common.  I don’t think that is a badge of honor.

Kengor, Paul.  Dupes.  Wilmington, Delaware:  ISI Books, 2010.

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