Jimmy Carter: A Very Good Man

 

This will be very brief and is obviously prompted by the news that former President Carter will be going into hospice care at home to spend his final days at home with his Rosalynn and his family rather than making the numerous trips he has apparently been making to the hospital of late.

When I heard the news, in addition to the obvious sorrow anyone feels for the person and the family when an announcement is made containing the dread words “his final days,” I felt a sense of enormous sadness at what has happened to our — it is necessary that, in these bleak days I repeat that word — our Presidency since President Carter and, obviously his successor in office, President Reagan, served us, each in his own way and with his own ideals, honorably and in good faith and with complete, unquestioned integrity and honesty.

While I do not question in any way whatsoever the basic honesty and integrity of the Presidents Bush, what came between their terms was nothing short of the beginning of the end of the dignity and honor of the office of the President of the United States as Bill and Hillary Clinton soiled the institution in more ways than defiling the very sacred space of the Oval Office itself and the space under the Resolute Desk in ways unthinkable before they disgraced that office, and us.

Later came Barack Hussein Obama and his “First” Lady, about whom I feel too much pain and pure chagrin to mention overbroadly except to note that I consider them to be the most dangerous people to ever occupy a position of power in our Beloved Nation. Little did we know how much worse it would get in 2020.

I need not spend a word on President Trump other than to say I think history will eventually deem him to be one of the most successful Presidents in history.

I only set out this brief little rant in order to look back from our vantage point of early 2023 to note our hope for President Carter as he rests in his home with Rosalynn and his family and that many of us who probably disagreed with him politically on every single point wish him not only well but also hope he will know we consider him a person of goodwill who served his country to the very best of his ability, in the best of good faith.

Jimmy Carter is a good man. How desperately we need his goodness in the corridors of power in our time. May his final days be those of peace and solace and tranquility.

May God have Mercy on him as he leaves this earthly sphere for his final rest.

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  1. Jim George Member
    Jim George
    @JimGeorge

    Basil Fawlty (View Comment):

    Jim George (View Comment):

    Basil Fawlty (View Comment):

     

    Jim George (View Comment):

     

    Victor Tango Kilo (View Comment):

     

    Jim George (View Comment):

    This hour is probably not the time to say what I would like to say about this expression and the venomous article to which it refers.

     

    Is any of it untrue?

     

    The man is dying. The best I can do for you is to quote a great man in a hearing in 1954, Joseph Welch:

     

    “Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last?”

     

    Do with it what you will, Sir.

     

    Spare me the Joseph Welch worship.

     

    OK. Of all the things I have now learned I got wrong in expressing these views in the post this may be the most unexpected as (1) I was not aware that I reflected “worship” of Mr. Welch in that statement, unless using the word “great” turns a statement about a person into “worship” and (2) and on this one I need your help, I was not aware there were folks who could get so exercised about Mr. Welch as your comment indicates you did. Could you please do me the favor of letting me know if there are unsavory or questionable things I should know about Mr. Welch before I go and “worship” him again? Many thanks.

     

    Welsh was a leftist lawyer who objected to Joseph McCarthy pointing out that Welsh had a (former?) Commie working for his law firm. He pulled at the media’s heartstrings with his “have you no decency” speech, and was rewarded for his histrionics with the role of the judge in Anatomy of a Murder.

     

     

    He pulled at mine, too. Is that it? 

    • #31
  2. Jim George Member
    Jim George
    @JimGeorge

    Headedwest (View Comment):

    Jim George (View Comment):

    Maybe you can see that I’m struggling-sadly– with this and would appreciate your guidance with these issues. Sadly Sincerely, Jim

    Speaking only for myself, a 98 year old man entering hospice care is not earth shattering news. I’m at the age where I have way more days behind me than I have ahead of me, so I have personal empathy for anybody at that point.

    But I opposed most of his major political positions.

    Other than the general sorrow for the death sentence we all face and the sadness of the family left behind, I do not have any more emotion for his impending death than I would have for anybody else who is in that position.

    Point taken. The only difference I see is that I expressed similar views in this post. By the way, as to your comment about having way more days behind you than you have ahead of you, I’m approaching my 89th birthday, so I have the same feeling. 

    • #32
  3. Basil Fawlty Member
    Basil Fawlty
    @BasilFawlty

    Jim George (View Comment):

    Basil Fawlty (View Comment):

     

    Jim George (View Comment):

     

    Basil Fawlty (View Comment):

     

     

     

    Jim George (View Comment):

     

     

     

    Victor Tango Kilo (View Comment):

     

     

     

    Jim George (View Comment):

     

    This hour is probably not the time to say what I would like to say about this expression and the venomous article to which it refers.

     

     

     

    Is any of it untrue?

     

     

     

    The man is dying. The best I can do for you is to quote a great man in a hearing in 1954, Joseph Welch:

     

     

     

    “Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last?”

     

     

     

    Do with it what you will, Sir.

     

     

     

    Spare me the Joseph Welch worship.

     

     

     

    OK. Of all the things I have now learned I got wrong in expressing these views in the post this may be the most unexpected as (1) I was not aware that I reflected “worship” of Mr. Welch in that statement, unless using the word “great” turns a statement about a person into “worship” and (2) and on this one I need your help, I was not aware there were folks who could get so exercised about Mr. Welch as your comment indicates you did. Could you please do me the favor of letting me know if there are unsavory or questionable things I should know about Mr. Welch before I go and “worship” him again? Many thanks.

     

     

     

    Welsh was a leftist lawyer who objected to Joseph McCarthy pointing out that Welsh had a (former?) Commie working for his law firm. He pulled at the media’s heartstrings with his “have you no decency” speech, and was rewarded for his histrionics with the role of the judge in Anatomy of a Murder.

     

     

     

     

     

    He pulled at mine, too. Is that it?

     

    I recommend “Blacklisted By History” by M. Stanton Evans for more on Mr. Welsh.

     Edit: BTW, Ricochet on Android appears to be broken. This is the format I get when responding to a post or comment. 

    • #33
  4. Skyler Coolidge
    Skyler
    @Skyler

    He’s not dead, so I feel no need to “not speak ill of the dead.”  

    Jimmy Carter was and is not a nice man.  He has been displaced as our worst president in history, not by someone less competent, but by Obama wh0 acted against our nation and not merely incompetently.  Of course, Biden came along and he is both incompetent and evil.

    But I think Jimmy Carter has good table manners and probably is nice to his dog.  That’s the best I can come up with.

     

    • #34
  5. Charlotte Member
    Charlotte
    @Charlotte

    Jim George (View Comment):

    Charlotte (View Comment):

    Jim George: the obvious sorrow anyone feels for the person

    Front Seat Cat (View Comment):
    this is sad news about Carter

    I genuinely don’t understand this. The guy is ninety-eight years old, surrounded by friends and family, and going out on his own terms. I assume that neither of you, nor any of the other Ricos who have expressed sadness about the former President, actually know him personally. What specifically about this situation is “sad”??

    I’m going to be very circumspect about my response as I’m running out of apologies here but I will simply quote your words back to you: “I genuinely don’t understand this.” Has some new rule been handed down from on high, or a new amendment to the Code of Conduct of which I was not aware, barring expressions of sadness unless they relate family members or personal friends? “I genuinely don’t understand this.”

    Perhaps you can help me out here as, based on your observation, I may have been feeling sad about a lot of things unnecessarily lately, e.g., the truly sad situation in Washington and the entire Biden administration; the sad prospect of the coming war with China; the deep sadness I feel every time I hear about a new Billion dollar shipment to Ukraine or the sad news I read every other day about sending all of our own weapons to Ukraine and the sad news that we are inching every day closer to nuclear war with Russia (and I don’t even know Vlad like Hussein Obama did!); the sad fact that at times it feels like every single person in any position of responsibility in our Federal Government lies about everything, all the time; the sad news and getting sadder by the day of the criminal neglect of the needs of the people of East Palestine, Ohio and the sadness I feel when I read accounts by some analysts that we should not feel sad about those people as they –now this is really sad!– went out and hired lawyers since no one else would help them; etc. , etc., etc. Maybe you can see that I’m struggling-sadly– with this and would appreciate your guidance with these issues. Sadly Sincerely, Jim

    Thanks for the response. Many of the things you mention are absolutely sad(dening), although “dismaying” would perhaps be a better word. They are all quite different in kind from a rich, accomplished (in his way), super-old dude dying quietly and comfortably in his home. 

    • #35
  6. Jim George Member
    Jim George
    @JimGeorge

    Charlotte (View Comment):

    Jim George (View Comment):

    Charlotte (View Comment):

    Jim George: the obvious sorrow anyone feels for the person

    Front Seat Cat (View Comment):
    this is sad news about Carter

    I genuinely don’t understand this. The guy is ninety-eight years old, surrounded by friends and family, and going out on his own terms. I assume that neither of you, nor any of the other Ricos who have expressed sadness about the former President, actually know him personally. What specifically about this situation is “sad”??

    I’m going to be very circumspect about my response as I’m running out of apologies here but I will simply quote your words back to you: “I genuinely don’t understand this.” Has some new rule been handed down from on high, or a new amendment to the Code of Conduct of which I was not aware, barring expressions of sadness unless they relate family members or personal friends? “I genuinely don’t understand this.”

    Perhaps you can help me out here as, based on your observation, I may have been feeling sad about a lot of things unnecessarily lately, e.g., the truly sad situation in Washington and the entire Biden administration; the sad prospect of the coming war with China; the deep sadness I feel every time I hear about a new Billion dollar shipment to Ukraine or the sad news I read every other day about sending all of our own weapons to Ukraine and the sad news that we are inching every day closer to nuclear war with Russia (and I don’t even know Vlad like Hussein Obama did!); the sad fact that at times it feels like every single person in any position of responsibility in our Federal Government lies about everything, all the time; the sad news and getting sadder by the day of the criminal neglect of the needs of the people of East Palestine, Ohio and the sadness I feel when I read accounts by some analysts that we should not feel sad about those people as they –now this is really sad!– went out and hired lawyers since no one else would help them; etc. , etc., etc. Maybe you can see that I’m struggling-sadly– with this and would appreciate your guidance with these issues. Sadly Sincerely, Jim

    Thanks for the response. Many of the things you mention are absolutely sad(dening), although “dismaying” would perhaps be a better word. They are all quite different in kind from a rich, accomplished (in his way), super-old dude dying quietly and comfortably in his home.

    Thank you; much appreciated. 

    • #36
  7. Al Sparks Coolidge
    Al Sparks
    @AlSparks

    On the Jay Nordlinger link on Carter:

    First Jay, at some point, decided to stop writing about him, and stuck to it. He hasn’t written about Carter for about 20 years. I suspect he’ll keep his silence, unless he has something good to say about him.

    Actually, what I saw Jay doing was simply reacting to all the “Saint Jimmy” stuff that was going around at the time. I actually don’t see a conflict between calling Carter a good human being who was flawed. Jay made sure we knew what the flaws were. He didn’t need to point out his good points, because everyone else was.

    As for the argument that he’s dying and he’s in his late 90’s, and why are people still saying bad things about him, that comes with the territory of being a former president who was unpopular. Maybe the last president to be held in high esteem at his death was Ike (Kennedy was a special case). And of course he was not celebrated as a politican as much as he was celebrated as a military leader.

    I suspect that Reagan’s funeral wouldn’t have gone so well if he hadn’t had suffered from Alzheimer’s for so long. That made him a bit of a martyr in a way that Carter is not.

    • #37
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