Reply To: Political Statements
@Mark and Spiff: I have followed your discussion with great interest and I hope that this dialogue continues because you both make valid points. I have one thought: Is it possible that Jimmy Carter, who really did make one of his goals during his Presidency to bring parties together, saw that W had very little effect (and mostly damaged) Mid-East talks and made a decision to stir things up with his book. In effect, he fell on the sword that was standing ready and actually drew attention to the whole situation again. Granted, he lost a lot of support and made some rough comparisons to S. Africa for which he later apologized.
Jimmy Carter has done more behind-the-scenes work around the world than most people know. He was not a great President, made some serious mistakes but I respect him for being honest with us (eg: energy crisis in the 70’s) rather than telling us to go shopping and not to worry our pretty little heads. One of the things I most admire about him is that he stood up to the Southern Baptist Convention in support of women’s rights and church/state separation issues, etc., broke ties with them (at great political cost) and maintained his deep religious convictions.