Jimmy Carter, former president and lily-livered commander-in-chief, is trying to exploit the 9/11 attacks by accusing President Bush of exploiting the 9/11 attacks.
President Bush has exploited the Sept. 11 attacks for political gain, former president Jimmy Carter said in an interview published on Monday.
Asked in an interview with Britain’s Guardian newspaper why U.S. polls were split over the war in Iraq, the former Democrat president said:
“I think the basic reason is that our country suffered, in 9/11, a terrible and shocking attack … and George Bush has been adroit at exploiting that attack and he has elevated himself, in the consciousness of many Americans, to a heroic commander-in-chief, fighting a global threat against America.”
“He’s repeatedly played that card, and to some degree quite successfully. I think that success has dissipated,” he added.
“I don’t know if it’s dissipating fast enough to affect the election.”
Is Carter jealous because he was never and could never reasonably be considered a heroic commander-in-chief? I think not, as I don’t think Carter believes that war can produce real heroes. That is the domain of propping up new housing and despots. For Carter, there is never a conflict so pressing that the U.S. cannot avoid if it only offered up the right acquiescence.
Carter is so weak on defense that the idea of Bush rallying America to fight for its security disgusts him. Imagery of Bush after 9/11, albeit Bush’s finest hour and of great import to our nation’s morale at the time, are only exploitation to Carter, as were the battle cries of “Remember the Alamo” and “Remember Pearl Harbor.” Because of this, Carter feels fully justified in exploiting the supposed taboo of 9/11 to attack Bush immediately prior to the election.
Carter cannot exit the international stage fast enough.