Carter left off list for funeral

[ChristinaB]

Carter left off list for funeral

When President Bush leaves today for the funeral of Pope John Paul II in Rome, former President Carter won't be with him. But whether that's because Carter didn't want to go or because Bush didn't want him was a matter of dispute Tuesday.

Former Presidents Bush and Clinton will accompany Bush as part of the official U.S. delegation to Friday's funeral. First lady Laura Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will join them.

But shortly after the White House announced its five-member delegation Tuesday, the Carter Center issued a statement widely interpreted as suggesting that Carter had personally requested to be part of the group only to be turned down by a White House that had spurned him before.

"After issuing a public statement of condolences last week, President Carter expressed to the White House a desire to attend the pope's funeral," Carter Center spokesman Jon Moore said in the statement.

However, the statement said, Carter "was quite willing to withdraw his request when he was subsequently informed that the official delegation would be limited to just five people and there were also others who were eager to attend."

It added that Carter and wife Rosalynn were "very pleased with the official delegation," but that did nothing to dampen speculation the Georgia Democrat had been excluded. "Bush Passed Over Carter in Pope Funeral Pick," said a banner headline on the Drudge Report, a widely read Internet news site.

Deanna Congileo, another Carter spokeswoman, declined to clarify the statement late Tuesday.

The White House not only refuted claims that Carter had been rejected but insisted that the former president had been specifically asked to join the delegation.

"We would have been more than happy to have him," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said. "We reached out to former President Bush, former President Clinton and former President Carter to be part of the delegation. It was his decision to make."

Former President Gerald Ford, 91, has been in fragile health and was advised by doctors to limit his travel.

Carter's inclusion in the delegation would have carried symbolic significance because Carter was president when Pope John Paul II first took control of the Catholic Church. Carter was also the only president to host the pope in Washington.

[jokerswild]

Bush doesn't like Jimmy Carter because Carter is an honest man of integrity. Bush exemplifies a deserter, drug addict-alcoholic, stock swindler (Harken energy), that permitted 9-11 in order to justify his imperialistic wars for oil.

Bush prefers Clinton. because Clinton is seen as morally corrupt. Bush has more common ground with a man like Clinton.

[Felix_Nietsche]

....what does Carter expect? Flowers and candy?

The ex-Presidents Club use to have a 200 year unspoken rule not to publically criticize a standing president, Carter trashed that tradition several times at the expense of Bush43. Eventually Carter did apologize for some of his attacks on Bush but Bush is right to keep Carter far away from his administration....

For a very biased and funny anti-Jimmy Carter site: check out:
http://www.papillonsartpalace.com/jimmycarter.htm
It even cites the time when Jimmy Carter kissed the Queen of England (talk about a diplomatic faux pas). While in Mexico he made joke to the Mexican president and once getting Montezuma's revenge (they did not find that funny). 21% interest rates and blaming the American people's lack of confidence rather than his administration's financial policy.

I think Reagan's 49 to 1 state victory over Carter SPEAKS VOLUMES what the Americans thought of Jimmy Carter.
Most of you did not live through the Jimmy Carter presidency will never appreciate how terrible he was as president. What amazes me is he supposedly has a genius level IQ and made top marks while at the Naval Academy.... But the one good thing about the Carter Presidency was the American people were so disgusted with Carter, they elected a 'radical Goldwater republican' called Reagan...
Thanks Jimmy and count yourself lucky you won a SINGLE state in your last presidential election. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[Felix_Nietsche]

http://www.papillonsartpalace.com/cIarter.htm

Granted the Shah was no 'Rebecca of Sunnybrook farm' but he was 100 times better than the theocracy that took over in Iran and has been sponsoring terrorism for the last 25 years. What Carter (and most liberals) do not understand that when faced with the choice between the lesser of two evils:
Choose LESS evil...NOT MORE EVIL... Carter never understood this. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

[Broken Glass Can]

[ QUOTE ]
I think Reagan's 49 to 1 state victory over Carter SPEAKS VOLUMES what the Americans thought of Jimmy Carter.

[/ QUOTE ]

Technical correction:

Reagan vs. Mondale was 49 to 1

Reagan vs. Carter was 44 to 6

[andyfox]

Democracy in Iran was destroyed in 1954.

I'll let others elaborate.

[Lestat]

Excuse my ignorance about politics, but why is this a political issue? It's a funeral. How can the White house say Carter isn't "allowed" to attend? In other words, if Carter wants to attend the Pope's funeral, technically he can, right?

[Beerfund]

[ QUOTE ]
Excuse my ignorance about politics, but why is this a political issue? It's a funeral. How can the White house say Carter isn't "allowed" to attend? In other words, if Carter wants to attend the Pope's funeral, technically he can, right?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yea but not as a member of the "official delegation" being sent by the US.

[HDPM]

It is an intesely political event. The Vatican is regognized as a state of sorts and the rules and customs of diplomacy apply. So it isn't just going to a funeral. When a former head of state attends a state funeral it is political. IMO the best thing is to exclude a buffoon like Carter. He consistently works against American policy. OTOH, you have to calculate the fallout of not dragging the buffoon along. I like the party is limited to 5 bit because clearly Carter is not in the top 5 to attend. I guess if he wants to attend on his own or whatever...

[Felix_Nietsche]

Ooooops.....
How Carter even got six states amazes me... [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Mondale was much smarter than Carter. It should have been the other way around.