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Today in History: Jimmy Carter Attacked by Killer Rabbit (April 20, 1979)
News of the Odd ^ | April 20, 2006

Posted on 04/20/2006 9:06:23 AM PDT by RWR8189

Jimmy Carter fishing in GeorgiaToday in Odd History, President Jimmy Carter was attacked by a rabbit during a fishing trip in Plains, Georgia. The rabbit, which may have been fleeing a predator, swam toward his boat, "hissing menacingly, its teeth flashing and nostrils flared." President Carter was forced to swat at the vicious beast with a canoe paddle, which apparently scared it off.

Upon his return to the White House, Carter told his staff about the furry amphibian's assault. Most of them refused to believe him, insisting that rabbits can't swim (although since most mammals can swim, there's no reason to believe that rabbits cannot), and that even if they could, they certainly wouldn't attack humans, and certainly not presidents. Fortunately, a White House photographer had been on the scene, and had recorded the bizarre attack. The photograph showed Carter with his paddle raised, warding off a small creature which might, or might not, have been a rabbit. One staffer was quoted as saying, "You couldn't tell what it was." Undaunted by their skepticism, Carter had the image enlarged, and there it was--a killer bunny rabbit, apparently bent on assassinating the president.

The story might have ended there, except that White House Press Secretary Jody Powell mentioned the incident to Associated Press reporter Brooks Jackson in August. JawsThe Washington Post ran it as front page news. The original photograph was not available (until the Reagan administration leaked it in 1981), but the paper filled the gap with a cartoon modeled on the poster for the movie Jaws, starring the rabbit and entitled Paws. Powell made a belated attempt to impress the public with the seriousness of the attack, calling the creature a "swamp rabbit," but since Carter had to appease his rabbit-loving constituents by insisting that he had not actually smacked his buck-toothed opponent with his paddle, but only splashed water at it to drive it away, it seemed unlikely that he had been in danger. The entire episode became a I'm a Bunny for Cartersymbol of Carter's floundering presidency. According to Powell, "[I]t shows the extent to which an insignificant incident can snowball and end up in newspapers and news shows across the country.” Carter biographer Douglas Brinkley says, “It just played up the Carter flake factor.... I mean, he had to deal with Russia and the Ayatollah and here he was supposedly fighting off a rabbit.”

Note: While some presidential apologists have suggested that Carter might actually have been attacked by a nutria, a large, aggressive aquatic rodent, others have insisted that the President's assailant was a simple, if unusually vicious, bunny rabbit. Fulk, the 12th century king of Jerusalem, was killed by a rabbit. (Well, really he was killed by a fall from his horse, but the horse had been startled by a rabbit.) And many years ago, I was the owner of a Blue Dutch rabbit named Sequin. One of my friends still bears the scars of an encounter with Sequin--a perfectly matched set of parallel teeth marks, where Sequin's fangs closed on her hand and ripped through the flesh when she pulled her hand away. Bunnies are, indeed, fiercer than anyone but Monty Python has generally given them credit for.


TOPICS: News/Current Events; Political Humor/Cartoons
KEYWORDS: anniversary; bunny; carter; jimmycarter; killerbunny; killerrabbit; x39
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1 posted on 04/20/2006 9:06:28 AM PDT by RWR8189
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To: RWR8189
Today in History

President has LSD Flashback..........

2 posted on 04/20/2006 9:07:45 AM PDT by Red Badger (In warfare there are no constant conditions. --- The Art of War by SunTzu)
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To: RWR8189

"Come no further, for death awaits you all with nasty, big, pointy teeth." - Tim the Enchanter, Monty Python & The Holy Grail.


3 posted on 04/20/2006 9:08:31 AM PDT by ClearCase_guy (Never question Bruce Dickinson!)
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To: Red Badger

And if you go chasing rabbits
And you know you're going to fall
Tell'em a hookah smoking caterpillar
Has given you the call
Call Alice
When she was just small


4 posted on 04/20/2006 9:09:04 AM PDT by dfwgator (Florida Gators - 2006 NCAA Men's Basketball Champions)
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To: RWR8189

"President Carter, President Carter! How many helicopters does it take to reach Tehran?"


5 posted on 04/20/2006 9:09:59 AM PDT by FormerLib ("...the past ten years in Kosovo will be replayed here in what some call Aztlan.")
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To: RWR8189
Goosh, that's still funny!
Rabbits can't swim and turkeys can't fly.
6 posted on 04/20/2006 9:10:36 AM PDT by jaydubya2
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To: dfwgator

Very good!..........


7 posted on 04/20/2006 9:11:45 AM PDT by Red Badger (In warfare there are no constant conditions. --- The Art of War by SunTzu)
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To: RWR8189

That rabbit is dynamite!


8 posted on 04/20/2006 9:11:51 AM PDT by rightinthemiddle (Islamic Terrorists, the Mainstream Media and the Democrat Party Have the Same Goals in Iraq.)
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To: RWR8189

Kiww the wabbit! Kiww the wabbit!


9 posted on 04/20/2006 9:12:51 AM PDT by Overtaxed (You can't cure stupid.)
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To: RWR8189
Mohammad Reza Shah's gift to President Jimmy Carter: A portrait of George Washington surrounded with Persian designs.




Jimmy Carter's gift to the Shah. Loss of Persia to the Mullahs




The Mullahs ONLY came into power because the Peacock Shah
refused yet another campaign donation to the DNC or Carter.

For his refusal, Carter pulled the plug and in came Kerry's supporters, the Mullahs.

Pres. Carter's illegal financial demands made upon the Shah of Iran
immediately before Iranian terror takeover


10 posted on 04/20/2006 9:13:58 AM PDT by Diogenesis ("Then I say unto you, send men to summon Worms. And let us go to Samarra to collect heads.")
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To: RWR8189

This guy just in so far over his head it was the most painful Presidency I ever witnessed.


11 posted on 04/20/2006 9:14:51 AM PDT by Mikey_1962 (If you build it, they won't come...)
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To: Mikey_1962
Let's not forget the sweater...


12 posted on 04/20/2006 9:17:49 AM PDT by billorites (freepo ergo sum)
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To: Mikey_1962

Good thing that Kerry was defeated and that Carter's high point wasn't beaten.


13 posted on 04/20/2006 9:18:00 AM PDT by FormerLib ("...the past ten years in Kosovo will be replayed here in what some call Aztlan.")
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To: Diogenesis

For his refusal, Carter pulled the plug and in came Kerry's supporters, the Mullahs.

-----
The libs have not changed. They are still traitors to everything that is America, but MONEY. Crooks and con-men without equal.


14 posted on 04/20/2006 9:19:38 AM PDT by EagleUSA
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To: RWR8189

15 posted on 04/20/2006 9:20:04 AM PDT by reagan_fanatic (Someday we'll look back on all this and plow into a parked car)
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To: ClearCase_guy

Run away!!! Run away!!!


16 posted on 04/20/2006 9:20:04 AM PDT by Kirkwood
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To: billorites

17 posted on 04/20/2006 9:20:16 AM PDT by Diogenesis ("Then I say unto you, send men to summon Worms. And let us go to Samarra to collect heads.")
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To: RWR8189

I'm pretty sure Carter is still out there looking for that rabbit. "It tried to kill me and I'm gonna prove it!" LOL


18 posted on 04/20/2006 9:21:07 AM PDT by CAluvdubya (What's so hard to understand about the word illegal?)
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To: dfwgator

Ahhhhhh, The Airplane, back in the day.

You'll like Wolfgang's Vault, d.

http://www.wolfgangsvault.com/Static.aspx?Type=Audio/Radio.htm&CategoryID=RA&LeftNav=Audio/RadioNav.htm


19 posted on 04/20/2006 9:21:32 AM PDT by butternut_squash_bisque (The recipe's at my FR HomePage)
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To: RWR8189

Carter is living testimony that voters should have to pass an IQ test before they can vote....all that would be left would be conservatives and a few crooks, easily managed.


20 posted on 04/20/2006 9:21:41 AM PDT by EagleUSA
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