Posted on 11/01/2013 9:07:24 PM PDT by smoothsailing
October 31, 2013
Pete Wehner
I’ve been quite critical of President Obama over the course of his presidency. Earlier this week, for example, I wrote a piece in which I accused Mr. Obama of mendacity. So I take a back seat to no one when it comes to leveling harsh judgments against the president. But even I, an Obama critic, believe there are some lines one should not cross, some things that should never be said, some blows that are too brutal even for American politics.
I had in mind what Jimmy Carter, who ranks with James Buchanan and a few others as among America’s worst and most inept presidents, said about Obama. When asked by Parade magazine how he would evaluate the Obama presidency so far, Carter said this:
He’s done the best he could under the circumstances. His major accomplishment was Obamacare, and the implementation of it now is questionable at best.
This is, as Guy Benson points out, a withering indictment from Mr. Malaise. And on first blush, I thought, an unfair one, at least given the source. Who is Jimmy Carter to indict anyone on grounds of incompetence. And yet the more I reflect on it, the more I think Mr. Carter may be on to something.
What exactly are the impressive achievements of President Obama? The revival of the American economy? Surging job growth? The success of the stimulus package and the number of “shovel ready jobs”? Moving us toward energy independence? Reducing the debt? Reducing poverty and the number of Americans on food stamps? His oversight of agencies like the IRS? The Fast and Furious program? Ending America’s political divisions and unifying his countrymen? Perhaps his skillful handling before, during, and after the terrorist assault on the American diplomatic outpost in Benghazi? His successes in Syria? Egypt? Iraq? Iran? Peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis? And don’t forget his signature domestic achievement, the Affordable Care Act, which may rank among the worst major government programs in modern American history, a failure in both conception and implementation.
So it may be that Jimmy Carter has a right to sit in judgment of Barack Obama. Which is among the worst things that could be said about America’s 44th president.
Being called incompetent by Jimmy Carter is like being called a pervert by Jerry Sandusky.
Yes, Barack! You make Jimmy Carter look wonderful.
Well, it would take quite a pervert to earn that sort of criticism.
Which brings us back to 0bama...
They could bring in the MST3K guys to provide the commentary.
Well, sure.
If only Ubama could have gotten off to a good start, say, with a Democrat-controlled House and a filibuster-proof Senate, why then he could have...
Wait. What?
For Jimmy Carter to call a Democrat scheme “questionable at best” is huge. The man who never saw a Democrat scheme he didn’t like, finally not liking one.
I know. Doesn’t mean I can’t have some fun with it.
Don't think it gets any lower than that...
An inept racist slur from a homophobe hater!!
Oh, I accidentally wrote something the “progressives” meant to send to Ted Cruz.
Obama finally found a project that was “shovel ready”. Too bad for him it turned out to be Obamacare.
LOL, That's a "Hammer Blow" ?
More like a wet noodle...
That’s like Bob Uecker calling somebody else a lousy hitter.
GA Jimmuh never used the word “malaise”; they was a media-inspired term. The American people saw Carter as flawed but not the Democrats per se, who they think still watch over “the little people”.
Actually, the speech rightly described the mood of the country at the time he delivered it. The problem was that Carter was not the man to lead us, to give us hope.
Pot, kettle, black.
Jimmy Carter once said that being called a liar by Lester Maddox was like being called ugly by a frog. I wonder if Obama will feel the same about being called incompetent by Carter. Of course Obama, contrary to what so many say, is a roaring success, probably THE MOST successful American president ever if you realize that what is happening is EXACTLY what was intended. We still have millions who cling to the idea that Obama would fix all these problems if he just understood how things really work but they could not be more wrong. What is happening is exactly what Alan Keyes said would happen in an Obama presidency because that is the intent.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmujttc0oJc
The mood was led by its leader and yes, Jimmuh was not the man who would provide leadership to remind us of our unique character as Americans nor inspire us to act on those qualities of heritage and future with prayer and a hopeful spirit.
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