April 6, 2005
SOMETHING TO LAUGH ABOUT ON AIR FORCE ONE:
Jimmy Carter Who? (The Prowler, 4/6/2005, American Spectator)
More details are emerging about the White House's decision -- really President Bush's personal decision -- not to include former President Jimmy Carter in the official U.S. delegation to the funeral of Pope John Paul II.According to White House sources, Carter's representatives, apparently from the former president's Carter Center, reached out to the White House over the weekend and offered to lead the U.S. delegation should the President or other senior Bush administration officials not be able to attend.
"There was no misunderstanding. It wasn't Carter who made the actual call, but the message was pure Carter gumption," says a White House source.
Jimmy Carter fired his father--the Bush family doesn't forget things like that. Posted by Orrin Judd at April 6, 2005 12:00 AM
Or Carter's attempts at outpacing Al Gore for sheer vitriol during the runup to last November's election.
Posted by: Anthony Perez-Miller at April 6, 2005 2:12 AMI don't recall whether or not Carter went to Rome when Paul VI or JP I died. Why is it that he should have an official role this time?
Posted by: Dave W. at April 6, 2005 6:01 AMThis is the first time an American President has gone to a papal funeral.
I can't imagine an official role for Mr. Peanut other than perhaps court jester.
Posted by: bart at April 6, 2005 6:19 AMGiven Carter's recent statements and who he's been hanging out with as of late, they may have been afraid Jimmy would go off at the funeral a la Sinead O'Connor and start yelling something like "Fight the Power!" while ripping up photos being carried by mourners (which probably would have made Fleet Center buddy Michael Moore happy, anyway).
Posted by: John at April 6, 2005 9:07 AMIf Carter or his allies should complain about this snub, it should be pointed out that there was two Pope funerals on his watch (1978) and he didn't see fit to attend.
Posted by: h-man at April 6, 2005 9:51 AMCarter had his moment in the (Scandavian) sun three years ago. He lusted for that night for probably 15 years or more.
If he wants to go to a funeral, we can always send him to that of Hugo Chavez.
Posted by: jim hamlen at April 6, 2005 10:46 AMThere is only one funeral that I want to see the old peanut farmer at.
Posted by: Robert Schwartz at April 6, 2005 1:29 PMI believe that when Paul VI died Carter sent his wife to the funeral and when John Paul I died he sent his mother.
Apparently some MSM reporters have suggested Ms Rice give her seat to Jimmy. Not too far from telling her to move to the back of the bus.
Posted by: George at April 6, 2005 2:43 PMWould it be too much to ask if they just left him in Italy?
Or if some reporter were to ask Bill Clinton his assessment of the Carter presidency?
Posted by: jim hamlen at April 6, 2005 2:58 PMI hate defending the Peanut Farmer, but didn't the US establish official diplomatic relations with the Vatican after he was evicted? So no reason for an official US presence at the funeral of a pope before.
Of course,the real reason the little man wants to go to Rome is to show that the election of the new pope wasn't as clean as he found Chavez's Venezuelan referendum.
Posted by: Raoul Ortega at April 6, 2005 3:06 PMRaoul - Why is Jimmy's failure to establish relations with the Vatican a reason he should be invited to the funeral?
Posted by: pj at April 6, 2005 3:45 PMIt isn't. It's his reason/excuse for not attending the two when he was president, which was my point.
Now if he wants to attend Casto's funeral (Arafat is dead, so there's some indication that those kind of monsters don't last forever), I say let's be sure to send him, but bring the plane back empty.
It's a bad excuse, that's my point.