I caught a bit of Jimmy Carter’s address to the Democratic
National Convention on TV today. Man, this Carter guy is really deluded! I
found a transcription of his address to address it myself.
My name is Jimmy Carter, and I'm not running for
president. But here's what I will be doing: everything I can to put John
Kerry in the White House with John Edwards right there beside him.
If this address represents the type of thing you’ll be doing for
the Kerry campaign, maybe you should just head back to the peanut
plantations and shine that Nobel prize.
Twenty-eight years ago I was running for president, and I said then, "I
want a government as good and as honest and as decent and as competent and
as compassionate as are the American people." I say this again tonight, and
that is exactly what we will have next January with John Kerry as president
of the United States.
With all the hate and rage emanating from the Democratic Party these
days, I have a hard time pegging them as a party of decency (think Whoopie
Goldberg), competency, and compassion.
As many of you know, my first chosen career was in the United States Navy,
where I served as a submarine officer. At that time, my shipmates and I
were ready for combat and prepared to give our lives to defend our nation
and its principles.
At the same time, we always prayed that our readiness would preserve the
peace. I served under two presidents, Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower,
men who represented different political parties. Both of whom had faced
their active military responsibilities with honor.
They knew the horrors of war, and later, as commanders-in-chief, they
exercised restraint and judgment and had a clear sense of mission. We had
confidence that our leaders, military and civilian, would not put our
soldiers and sailors in harm's way by initiating "wars of choice" unless
America's vital interests were endangered.
We also were sure that these presidents would not mislead us when it came
to issues involving our nation's security. Today, our Democratic party is
led by another former naval officer -- one who volunteered for military
service. He showed up when assigned to duty, and he served with honor and
distinction.
That sounds all peachy, but you left out the part of the story where
Kerry nominates himself for 3 purple hearts and leaves Vietnam after a
measley four month tour of duty. Distinction? Maybe, but not a positive
distinction. Honor? Hardly.
He also knows the horrors of war and the responsibilities of leadership,
and I am confident that next January he will restore the judgment and
maturity to our government that is sorely lacking today. I am proud to call
Lieutenant John Kerry my shipmate, and I am ready to follow him to victory
in November.
The horrors of war? I’m sure Kerry has night terrors and
flashbacks from those awful 120 days in ’Nam.
As you know, our country faces many challenges at home involving energy,
taxation, the environment, education, and health. To meet these challenges,
we need new leaders in Washington whose policies are shaped by working
American families instead of the super-rich and their armies of
lobbyists...
You’re absolutely right! We don’t need John Kerry, Ted
Kennedy, or John Edwards. We don’t need PACs like MoveOn.org lobbying
for radical liberalist agendas either!
...But the biggest reason to make John Kerry president is even more
important. It is to safeguard the security of our nation.
Let’s put the security of the nation in the hands of the U.N.
That’ll solve our problems. Of course, this is coming from a former
president who did wonders for our national security... but that’ll
come up more later.
Today, our dominant international challenge is to restore the greatness of
America -- based on telling the truth, a commitment to peace, and respect
for civil liberties at home and basic human rights around the world. Truth
is the foundation of our global leadership, but our credibility has been
shattered and we are left increasingly isolated and vulnerable in a hostile
world. Without truth -- without trust -- America cannot flourish. Trust is
at the very heart of our democracy, the sacred covenant between the
president and the people.
Okay, first, telling the truth— something recent democratic
presidents have been known to do, right?
John Kerry would gladly tell the truth if someone told him what it
was.
When that trust is violated, the bonds that hold our republic together
begin to weaken. After 9/11, America stood proud, wounded but determined
and united. A cowardly attack on innocent civilians brought us an
unprecedented level of cooperation and understanding around the world. But
in just 34 months, we have watched with deep concern as all this goodwill
has been squandered by a virtually unbroken series of mistakes and
miscalculations. Unilateral acts and demands have isolated the United
States from the very nations we need to join us in combating terrorism.
He’s right about one thing: The world seemed to rally around the
U.S.A. after the attacks on 9/11. But, they didn’t turn their backs
and thumb their noses at us after 9/11. They went back to hating and
resenting us like they did before. It wasn’t Bush.
Let us not forget that the Soviets lost the Cold War because the American
people combined the exercise of power with adherence to basic principles,
based on sustained bipartisan support. We understood the positive link
between the defense of our own freedom and the promotion of human rights.
Recent policies have cost our nation its reputation as the world's most
admired champion of freedom and justice. What a difference these few months
of extremism have made!
Oh wow! Your opponent in the 1980 election unseats you, defeats the
Soviet Union by ignoring the left’s criticisms of his policies and
influences the reinstitution of religious freedom behind the Iron
Curtain... and you have the audacity to proclaim some kind of participation
in this process?
Next, Mr. Carter seems to criticize the current administration’s
record on human rights. Hello?! Prior to 2002, there were two countries in
the Middle East that didn’t honor any human rights that do now thanks
to the work of George W. Bush. A democratic vote this November would usher
in a new era of human rights throughout the world? I doubt that.
The United States has alienated its allies, dismayed its friends, and
inadvertently gratified its enemies by proclaiming a confused and
disturbing strategy of "preemptive" war. With our allies disunited, the
world resenting us, and the Middle East ablaze, we need John Kerry to
restore life to the global war against terrorism.
The war against terrorism is far from dead. Our allies didn’t have
the guts to join us. They’ll do their back-patting and brown-nosing
when most of the hard work is done. It’s typical.
Leaders have to lead before they’re followed. If they did what
everyone wanted, they wouldn’t be leaders. George W. Bush is leading
the middle east into freedom and democracy. Sure, there will be criticism
of his actions by our allies. The best leaders usually undergo the harshest
criticism.
In the meantime, the Middle East peace process has come to a screeching
halt for the first time since Israel became a nation. All former
presidents, Democratic and Republican, have attempted to secure a
comprehensive peace for Israel with hope and justice for the Palestinians.
The achievements of Camp David a quarter century ago and the more recent
progress made by President Bill Clinton are now in peril.
Clinton’s “progress” legitimized Arafat as a political
figure and imagined he wasn’t a terror henchman. Sometimes you have
to take a step back to go down the right path. In this case, that’s
the honest path.
Instead, violence has gripped the Holy Land, with the region increasingly
swept by anti-American passions. Elsewhere, North Korea's nuclear menace --
a threat far more real and immediate than any posed by Saddam Hussein --
has been allowed to advance unheeded, with potentially ominous consequences
for peace and stability in Northeast Asia. These are some of the prices of
our government's radical departure from the basic American principles and
values espoused by John Kerry!
Violence gripped the Holy Land? Just recently?
In repudiating extremism we need to recommit ourselves to a few common-
sense principles that should transcend partisan differences. First, we
cannot enhance our own security if we place in jeopardy what is most
precious to us, namely, the centrality of human rights in our daily lives
and in global affairs. Second, we cannot maintain our historic
self-confidence as a people if we generate public panic. Third, we cannot
do our duty as citizens and patriots if we pursue an agenda that polarizes
and divides our country. Next, we cannot be true to ourselves if we
mistreat others. And finally, in the world at large we cannot lead
if our leaders mislead.
The GOP is a group of extremists?
What is this you’re saying about human rights? I think
you’re confusing human rights with civil rights. Human rights are
things like the right to food, water, shelter, clothing, etc.
While we are, ethically, bound to honor the human rights of all those in
our country and those we come in contact with outside our country, we
should in no way be bound ethically or legally to grant or guarantee the
same civil rights U.S. citizens enjoy to those who cross our borders
illegally or commit crimes against our country.
You can't be a war president one day and claim to be a peace president the
next, depending on the latest political polls. When our national security
requires military action, John Kerry has already proven in Vietnam that he
will not hesitate to act. And as a proven defender of our national
security, John Kerry will strengthen the global alliance against terrorism
while avoiding unnecessary wars.
Hee hee. John Kerry already proved in Vietnam he will not hesitate to
try to avoid any real service and get the hell out of there.
But, seriously, you think it’s impossible to be a war president
and a peace president at the same time? Is it possible to have peace
without war when there are Al Qaeda operatives wandering about?
Ultimately, the issue is whether America will provide global leadership
that springs from the unity and integrity of the American people or whether
extremist doctrines and the manipulation of truth will define America's
role in the world.
At stake is nothing less than our nation's soul. In a few months, I will,
God willing, enter my 81st year of my life, and in many ways the last few
months have been some of the most disturbing of all. But I am not
discouraged. I do not despair for our country. I believe tonight, as I
always have, that the essential decency, compassion and common sense of the
American people will prevail.
Yeah, that’s what I’m counting on too. I’m counting on
common sense sinking into the minds of the American people when they look at
John Kerry. He has no leadership experience whatsoever. He has no political
core. He has no charisma. He’s just a pissed off liberal New
Englander.
And so I say to you and to others around the world, whether they wish us
well or ill: do not underestimate us Americans. We lack neither strength
nor wisdom. There is a road that leads to a bright and hopeful future. What
America needs is leadership.
Hmmm. Maybe you should speak at the RNC.
Our job, my fellow Americans, is to ensure
that the leaders of this great country will be John Kerry and John Edwards.
Thank you and God bless America!
Oh, never mind.
