Carter knows a little something about what makes a really bad president, so he speaks from a position of knowing.
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "shukra69" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Carter blasts Bush on his global impact > > 2 hours, 30 minutes ago > > 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. > > Copyright © 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The > information contained in the AP News report may not be published, > broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written > authority of The Associated Press. >
