Free Republic

The 39th president’s transformation from preening liberal to full blown America-hating Gollum seems to be complete. The remarks came at a Duke University event that also featured his oldest grandson, Jason, who was elected to the Georgia Senate in May 2010. The former president said his travels abroad since he lost the 1980 election helped him realize the U.S. is “extra stingy” about sharing its wealth with developing nations, particularly when compared to European democracies that put an emphasis on foreign aid. Helping the less fortunate, he said, should be viewed as a moral obligation and not an act...

ATLANTA (AP) -- Former President Jimmy Carter said on Wednesday that Occupy organizers have created a "relatively successful" movement because they focused national discussion on wealth disparity despite lacking leadership and a unifying set of goals. The Georgia Democrat said at an event in Atlanta that Occupy organizers have succeeded in forcing the media and Congress to realize the "chasm is getting greater than leaps and bounds" between the rich and the poor. "It's been relatively successful even acknowledging there's no leadership, there's no coherence and there's no single list of issues they want to succeed," the former president said...

Newly released FBI memos detail a sensitive investigation into fundraising in the Carter White House that started with a comparison to Watergate but fizzled after uncovering special access for donors but no criminal wrongdoing. The memos were released from the file of Charles Manatt, an Iowa native and former Democratic National Committee Chairman who was interviewed during the investigation. The records became public after Manatt died in July at age 75 in Richmond, Va. Manatt grew up on an Audobon farm and studied rural sociology at Iowa State University before ascending to the top of the fields of law, business...

Ronald Reagan’s eldest son Mike Reagan has issued a statement lambasting Mitt Romney and his supporters for claims that Romney’s Republican presidential rival Newt Gingrich was a strong critic of President Reagan. Reagan says such claims are false. Even Rush Limbaugh, shocked by the Romney claims, chimed on his Thursday radio broadcast to say "This is obviously a coordinated attack to take Newt out here in Florida." Rush slammed the Romney-backed smear campaign against Newt. “That kind of stuff is why people hate Romney so much," Limbaugh said. Limbaugh added that Newt has always been a conservative from his early...

This Salon headline will bring agreement from many anti-Semites who believe the Jews (or Zionists) control the world. Zbig: Israelis “bought influence”and outmaneuvered Obama By Zbig, the author is talking about, Zbigniew Brzezinski, national security adviser for Jimmy Carter, famous for helping to create the Taliban, inventing anti-Israel conspiracy theories, and spewing anti-Semitic rhetoric. Salon did a phone interview with the former national security adviser from his office at The Center for Strategic and International Studies, The George Soros-created progressive foreign policy think tank. The purpose of the interview was for Brzezinski to “pimp” his new book

Former President Jimmy Carter says Newt Gingrich knows exactly what he is doing when he uses phrases like "food stamp president" and talks about the poor learning a work ethic. Carter says this rhetoric is "appealing to the wrong element in South Carolina." [snip] "When you emphasize, over and over, welfare, food stamps, and ‘Why don’t the black people get jobs," and if I’m president, I’ll make sure they turn toward a work ethic, rather than an ethic of welfare and food stamps, that’s appealing to the wrong element in South Carolina," the former President said on CNN.

Jimmy Carter meets with Muslim Brotherhood in Cairo - National Law Enforcement | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/law-enforcement-in-national/jimmy-carter-meets-with-muslim-brotherhood-cairo

While campaigning in South Carolina on Thursday Rick Santorum said his sweater vest is responsible for the momentum his campaign has seen of late. “It sort of took a life of its own … and the vest gave me this power,” he said, ...

With hunting season underway, the Rick Santorum campaign will unroll a new variation on his signature fashion item, the sweater vest. Supporters will soon be able to buy Santorum hunting vests in bright orange that proclaim the “right to bare arms,” Mr. Santorum said at a campaign stop in Rock Hill, S.C., on Friday. Associated Press Republican presidential candidate former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum wears one of his trademark sweater vests during a campaign appearance Thursday in Charleston, S.C. (photo at article link) The Republican presidential candidate said his website has already sold close to 1,000 sweater vests in the...

When Jimmy Carter offers guidance, any leader would be wise to pay attention. As just one example, Jimmy advised Yasser Arafat, and he remained a president for over ten years! ... most importantly, if you want a second term, don’t say things during your first term that might bring back memories of the “malaise speech.” What? Oh, nevermind…

Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood will not recognize Israel “under any circumstance,” the party’s deputy leader Dr. Rashad Bayoumi told Arabic daily al-Hayat in an interview published on Sunday. … When asked whether it is a requirement for the government in Egypt to recognize Israel, Bayoumi responded by saying: “This is not an option, whatever the circumstances, we do not recognize Israel at all. It’s an occupying criminal enemy.” The deputy leader stressed during the interview that no Muslim Brotherhood members would ever meet with Israelis for negotiations.“I will not allow myself to sit down with criminals.” Bayoumi went on to say...

America is being held hostage by the most destructive force in modern history. This malignant force didn't come from Russia or China, but the halls of good old Harvard and a cadre of ultra-left, America-hating higher educational organizations. The end result of this education is Barack Obama, a confused, disorganized, incompetent mentality who can only survive in the fish bowl of the cloistered halls of some Ivy League fairytale world of make-believe. As a nation, we find ourselves spiraling into the abyss led by a clueless narcissist who will stop at nothing to extend his failed regime, without a whit...

Former President Jimmy Carter has sent North Korea a message of condolence over the death of Kim Jong-il and wished “every success” to the son expected to take over as dictator, according to the communist country's state-run news agency. A dispatch from the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Mr. Carter sent the message to Kim Jong-un, Kim Jong-il’s third son and heir apparent. “In the message, Jimmy Carter extended condolences to Kim Jong-un and the Korean people over the demise of leader Kim Jong-il. He wished Kim Jong-un every success as he assumes his new responsibility of leadership, looking...

PRINCETON, NJ -- Throughout 2011, an average of 17% of Americans said they were satisfied with the way things are going in the United States. That is the second-lowest annual average in the more than 30-year history of the question, after the 15% from 2008. Satisfaction has averaged as high as 60% in 1986, 1998, and 2000. [Snip] Economic Concerns Continue to Dominate as Most Important Problem Americans' widespread dissatisfaction with national conditions may largely result from the country's economic woes. Nearly two-thirds of Americans, 64%, currently mention some economic issue as the most important problem facing the country, and...

Via Business Insider, true or not? On the one hand, it’s North Korean state media.On the other hand, it’s Jimmy Carter. In the message Jimmy Carter extended condolences to Kim Jong Un and the Korean people over the demise of leader Kim Jong Il.He wished Kim Jong Un every success as he assumes his new responsibility of leadership, looking forward to another visit to the DPRK in the future. The Washington Times asked the Carter Center to confirm or deny but his spokesman’s out of the office until after New Year’s. Could be NorK propaganda, of course, but in that...

Recently on Morning Joe it was Jon Meacham suggesting that Barack Obama doesn't particularly like people and was in the wrong line of work. Today it was Tina Brown's turn, opining that PBO doesn't dig his gig. Discussing PBO's ever-paltrier poll numbers, Brown opined that Obama "doesn't like his job." View the video here.

As the race begins in earnest, the public is wary, worried -- and waiting (TIME, September 15, 1980) -- Disenchanted, but not apathetic. Caring about issues, although much more concerned about character. Longing for a strong person to trust, but fearful of strength lacking sound judgment. Leery of weakness, but edgy about brashness. All too mindful of the disappointments of the past, but seeking hope in the future. Leaning toward one man, but often out of desperation and a sense of disdain for the others. Uncommitted. Unpredictable. As the 1980 presidential campaign swings into full stride, the American voter is...

As the number of states enacting the requirement of a form of identification to vote increases, so does the intensity of debate over the issue. This intensity is partisan. In every state that has enacted voter ID, most of the proponents are Republican and most opponents are Democrats. “And it really got ugly when the [Republican-controlled Pennsylvania] House of Representatives took up the issue earlier this year,” GOP State Rep. Curt Schroder recalled for HUMAN EVENTS. “Supporters were called hatemongers and racist, and comparisons were made between us and Mississippians in the 1960s who tried to keep blacks from voting.”...

GETTYSBURG – On Memorial Day 1963, Vice President Lyndon Johnson stood where Abraham Lincoln gave his immortal address here. In a calculated leap, Johnson gave a politically charged speech at an event meant to mark a solemn occasion. It marked his transformation from a Texas conservative into a progressive populist. Americans have long embraced populist movements emphasizing the disconnect between elites and Main Street. Sometimes these movements lead to the White House; more often, they do not. The upside of populism is when it rails against government and achieves something better through real reform; the downside is when it pits...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-24/obama-s-mythical-political-skills-won-t-save-him-ramesh-ponnuru.html

Aired February 14, 2010...FAREED ZAKARIA, HOST: This is GPS, the GLOBAL PUBLIC SQUARE. Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Fareed Zakaria. On the show today, a rare interview with the former chairman of the Federal Reserve, Paul Volcker. He's, of course, currently a key adviser to President Obama. But he earned his place in history for something he did almost three decades ago. Paul Volcker killed inflation. You will remember that in the 1970s, the United States was experiencing uncontrolled inflation, higher than at any time in its modern history. Savings were being...

Elections: If there's any better proof that Venezuela's Hugo Chavez can't win an election fairly, it's in his Supreme Court's sorry bid to disqualify a promising opponent this week. Why anyone would want to run for president in a democracy as corrupt as Venezuela's is an open question. After all, President Hugo Chavez's Marxist government has used state funds to buy votes, engaged in ballot-box fraud (as gullible observers like Jimmy Carter grinned and nodded), and used surveillance and retaliation against those who voted "incorrectly" in supposedly secret elections. But it speaks well for those who do, keeping the faith...

Jim Cramer: President Obama Is ‘Hated Like Jimmy Carter’ By Business Leaders by James Crugnale | 3:18 pm, September 16th, 2011 CNBC’s Jim Cramer reported Friday morning on Squawk on the Street that he’s hearing from business leaders off-camera that Obama is hated by business leaders. “The disdain is off the charts! This guy, he is hated like Jimmy Carter!” Cramer’s candid insight came after news from anchor Melissa Lee that there was a sadness about the economy from many traders and about how The Conference Board said there was a 45% chance of the US going into recession. “They...

Former President Jimmy Carter wants to see Mitt Romney win the Republican nomination and run against President Obama next November. "I hope he wins," Carter said of the former Massachusetts governor in a Thursday night interview with MSNBC. "I'm not taking a position, but I would be very pleased to see him win the Republican nomination."

Jimmy Carter would be 'pleased' with nominee Romney By ALEXANDER BURNS | 9/15/11 6:26 PM EDT From the department of unhelpful praise, former President Jimmy Carter tells Rachel Maddow he's a-ok with the idea of Mitt Romney as the GOP presidential nominee. "I'm not taking a position, but I would be very pleased to see him win the Republican nomination," Carter told the MSNBC host, according to advance interview excerpts. Continue Reading Carter also said he was grateful to another Republican candidate, Michele Bachmann, for her volunteer work on his own presidential campaign. "I appreciate that she helped me out,"...

From the Democratic Party’s 1924 nominee John W. Davis, who, after losing to Calvin Coolidge but feeling that one of his problems was the strain of demagogic populism in the Democratic Party, said this: “When will we get done with the fool idea that the way to make a party grow is to scare away everybody who has an extra dollar in his pocket? God forbid that the Democratic Party should become a mere gathering of the unsuccessful!”

If he starts wearing a cardigan, cue the music from "Twighlight Zone."

Connecticut Tea Party patriots are well known for their song parodies. Two of the best perform a duet of "Jimmy Carterville" based on Jimmy Buffet's "Margaritaville".

~ EXCERPT ~ Friends and former colleagues say Lawrence S. Eagleburger, the only career foreign service officer to rise to the position of secretary of state, has died. Word of Eagleburger's death Saturday came from representatives of former President George H.W. Bush and former Secretary of State James Baker. No other details were immediately available. Eagleburger, who was 80, was a straightforward diplomat whose exuberant style masked a hard-driving commitment to solving foreign policy problems.

Take away the Birth/Death adjustment of 206,000 and the Real NFP is: -150,000. This is the biggest monthly B/D adjustment in over a year. And if as all the pundit claimed last month, demanding the McDonalds addition of 62,000 janitorial, part-time jobs be added to the May number, the economy really lost over 200,000 in May.

Carter: 'Probably superior' to other ex-presidents *** UPDATE 3:59 pm ET *** Former President Carter issued a written statement after his comments aired: "What I meant was, for 27 years the Carter Center has provided me with superior opportunities to do good." In an interview with NBC's Brian Williams, former President Jimmy Carter, who has been a target of the right through the years, lauded his own post-presidency, telling Williams, "I feel that my role as a former president is probably superior to that of other presidents." Carter, who is out with a new book defending his legacy, backed up...

Former President Jimmy Carter and former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari were hoping to visit the State Department this week to brief officials on their recent trip to North Korea, but nobody at the State Department was available to meet with them. Carter and Ahtisaari, both Nobel Peace Prize laureates, had been eager to give their readout of their meetings in North Korea April 26 and 27 to U.S. officials and press their case for a resumption of food aid to the Hermit Kingdom. The two are members of the Elders, a group of senior figures who have been informally engaging...

In these tough times we live in it's really cute how Alexander Burns over at Politico is trying his hand at comedy. He wrote this wildly hilarious piece about how Obama has "dashed" his Jimmy Carter label because he got Osama bin Laden. That's a knee slapper, right? Oh wait, that was just the setup. Here's the punchline. [E]ven if [Osama bin Laden] is caught tomorrow, it is five years too late. He has done more damage the longer he has been out there. But, in fact, the damage that he has done … is done. And even to...

http://www.visitingdc.com/images/jimmy-carter-picture.jpg Think of all the laughs we've had because of this clown, including his recent snubbing in North Korea by Kim Jong Il* *Time Magazine (in usual form) mentioned that trip, but left out the snubbing

Carter: Palestinian unity will help bring peace By JPOST.COM STAFF 05/04/2011 10:03 In 'Washington Post' article, former US president says Palestinian unity deal will prevent violence, lead to peace agreement with Israel. Former US president Jimmy Carter wrote an article Wednesday telling Washington and the international community to support the Palestninian unity government. In a Washington Post article, Carter wrote that "if the United States and the international community support this effort, they can help Palestinian democracy and establish the basis for a unified Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza that can make a secure peace with Israel."...

People on the right have been comparing President Obama with Jimmy Carter for a while now: The rise from nowhere via inexplicable press adulation, the smarmy moralizing, the excessive faith in his own abilities, the tendency of everything he touches to turn to crap -- all seem eerily reminiscent of the Carter presidency. But now it's people on the left who are saying the same thing. Trouble is, at this point a Carter rerun is probably a best-case scenario. Democrat Eric Alterman writes: "Ask yourself if the following story does not sound like another president we could name. The gregarious...

The Worthless One is at it again. Mr. Jimmah keeps on keepin' it real, this time in Mr. Il's giant concentration camp. See, hatin' America in foreign--dare I say, evil--countries is not only for our current Democrat President, but for past Democrat presidents too. This is partisanship at its finest! And what Democrat presidential smack down of America in foreign lands would be complete without the genuine hat tip to said foreign land? Both are captured here in this video:

Via Greg Hengler, why would an American cap a three-day visit to Kim Jong-Il’s national gulag by accusing the U.S. of human rights violations? Well, much like Superman, Carter’s more a “citizen of the world� now than part of the country he used to lead. In fact, he wasn’t there on behalf of the State Department but as part of a delegation from “The Elders,� an elite team of ex-statesmen who travel the world sharing the sort of wisdom that’s made “Jimmy Carter� synonymous with successful foreign policy ideas here at home. Kim wouldn’t meet with them, incidentally, for reasons...

Egypt has released 950 jailed members of the militant Islamist group Gamaa Islamiya. Some of them have been in prison since the assassination of President Anwar Sadat 25 years ago. The group's lawyer says about 950 members of Gamaa Islamiya have been released over the last 10 days. The largest group, several hundred, were freed Tuesday, in honor of a Muslim holiday marking the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad. Those released include several senior figures, some of whom have been imprisoned for more than 20 years. Gamaa Islamiya was once Egypt's largest militant Islamist group, responsible for a string of...

Peggy Noonan's weekend Wall Street Journal column (which is always posted online on Friday for some reason, though it appears in print on Saturday) makes the case that "Obama Is Likely to Lose" unless Republicans nominate someone truly strange or unappealing to independents. Peggy doesn't say so, but surely she has in mind Trump, Huckabee, and Palin with this remark. And John has previously discussed this same subject here on Power Line. Here's how Peggy's case goes: "You know the conventional wisdom. It is that unemployment ticking down, plus the economy inching back, plus the power of the presidency to...

The only American president to publicly support Middle Eastern terrorism has completed a schmooze fest with a communist dictator in a country that appears on the U.S. State Department’s list of terrorist-sponsoring nations. It marks the latest “humanitarian” mission for Jimmy Carter, who just a few years ago became the only American commander-in-chief to participate in a hug fest with the head of the world’s leading Middle Eastern terrorist group. During that highly-publicized Syrian jaunt, Carter met with Hamas Leader Khaled Meshal who runs his violent operation from Damascus to avoid being arrested by the Israeli government. The sophisticated...

If Jimmy Carter were on Facebrook, his friends would include Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Daniel Ortega, Fidel Castro, Hafez al-Assad, Kim Jong Il, Hugo Chavez, and the leadership of Hamas. These are all people he has embraced, legitimized, flattered, or in other ways “friended”. In fact, it is not possible to find a tyrant he does not like. The same is not true for Israel. Carter’s best known book, a poison polemic entitled, “Palestine; Peace not Apartheid” is one of the bibles of those who seek to delegitimize Israel and represents a low point, even for Mr. Carter. (There is no shortage...

Ex-president sympathizes more with Castro thugs than their murdered victims Embracing a recent invitation by the Castro brothers, Jimmy Carter visited Cuba last week. “We greeted each other as old friends,” gushed the former president after his meeting with Fidel Castro. “In 2002, we received him warmly,” Fidel reciprocated. “Now, I reiterated to him our respect and esteem.” “Jimmy Carter was the best of all U.S. presidents,” gushed Raul Castro while personally seeing off his American guest. Jimmy Carter earned all this warmth, esteem and joviality from Cuba’s Stalinist rulers by doing everything within his power to dismantle the so-called...

Former President Jimmy Carter is scheduled to pay a visit to Luzerne County next week. The 86-year-old native of Plains, Georgia and his wife Rosalyn will be the guests of honor at an auction in Plains Township, Pennsylvania. The Cook and Cook Auction House in Plains Township is filled with all sorts of rare and unique items donated by former President Jimmy Carter and his family. He will be coming here because one of the auction's owners became friends with Carter several years ago while vacationing in Georgia. "The excitement is definitely building we been working on this over a...

Embracing a recent invitation by the Castro brothers Jimmy Carter visited Cuba this week. “We greeted each other as old friends,� gushed Carter regarding his meeting with Fidel Castro. “In 2002, we received him warmly,� reciprocated Castro. “Now, I reiterated to him our respect and esteem."“Jimmy Carter was the best of all U.S. Presdients,� gushed Raul Castro while seeing his American guest off personally and jovially. Jimmy Carter earned all this warmth and joviality from Cuba’s Stalinist rulers by doing everything within his power to dismantle the so-called embargo against them. “The embargo of Cuba is the stupidest law ever...

The only American president to publicly support Middle Eastern terrorism has completed a schmooze fest with a communist dictator in a country that appears on the U.S. State Department’s list of terrorist-sponsoring nations. It marks the latest “humanitarian” mission for Jimmy Carter, who just a few years ago became the only American commander-in-chief to participate in a hug fest with the head of the world’s leading Middle Eastern terrorist group. During that highly-publicized Syrian jaunt, Carter met with Hamas Leader Khaled Meshal who runs his violent operation from Damascus to avoid being arrested by the Israeli government. The sophisticated and...

Does anyone remember Operation Cyclone? In 1979, Jimmy Carter began arming the Mujahidin in Afghanistan, and ordered the CIA to begin stirring Islamic unrest in the region to “destabilize” the area and help repel the “oppressive” Soviet Union. This action may well have made things more difficult for the Soviets, but it also set in motion the creation of Al Qaida and the Taliban! And, of course, Carter’s policies regarding Iran allowed the creation of the Islamic Republic, now the largest state sponsor of terror on the planet! One could well argue that Carter and his policies were contributory if...

Havana, Cuba (CNN) -- Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, landed in Havana Monday for a private visit aimed at lowering tension between the Cold War enemies and seeing firsthand the economic reforms sweeping the communist island. Unlike his first visit in 2002, when then-Cuban President Fidel Castro personally greeted Carter on the tarmac, this time Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez was on hand to receive the former American leader. He was invited by current Cuban President Raul Castro on a non-governmental mission and will meet with officials and Jewish and Catholic leaders during his three-day visit. But...

There he goes again. Jimmy Carter, former Jim Crow man, has accused millions of his fellow Americans of engaging in the type of race baiting that marked his political career for years, even up to the eve of the 1980 presidential election, for which he has never apologized or acknowledged. Branding his opponents as racists is nothing new for the old, self-described “redneck.” In the fall of 1980, he and his minions unleashed one of the most vicious campaigns in recent American history against his opponent, Ronald Reagan. The attacks were so unprecedented, Nancy Reagan did something which was unprecedented;...

Politics: The conventional wisdom — that the GOP 2012 field falls short of someone able to take back the White House — hearkens back to the days when Democrats begged the GOP to nominate a former actor. What passes for conventional wisdom these days, says President Obama, despite a failed stimulus, an unpopular health overhaul and lackluster and apologetic leadership abroad, just may lead to his re-election if for no other reason that the GOP has fielded no candidate of sufficient stature or ability to challenge him. Of course, this could be a combination of Democrats whistling past what could...