Carter Blasts Bush -- Again (Yawn)

The news (especially here in the beltway), was all agast this weekend because former President Carter threw yet another verbal grenade at current President Bush calling his administration "the worst in history."

Now that's quite a bold statement, considering that (until recently) there was an unwritten rule that former presidents would not comment on, or at least speak ill, of the current president and his administration.

And though these recent comments are pretty harsh, here's a quick list of headlines I've pulled in less than 5 minutes from google:

Breaking tradition, Carter rips Bush's policies
USA Today - Nov 3, 2005

Carter: White House Manipulated Iraq Intel
San Francisco Chronicle - Nov 2, 2005

Bush exploits suffering of 9/11, says Carter
Guardian Unlimited - Oct 25, 2004

Carter: Kerry 'the president we need now'
CNN International - Jul 26, 2004

Carter blasts rush to war Bush
The Atlanta Constitution - NewsBank - Feb 1, 2003

Carter: Bush is a disappointment
Wichita Eagle - NewsBank - Jul 25, 2001

The list, literally, goes on, and on, and on.

So, what's going on here? Why has a former President who's been out of office for 25+ years, known for peanut farming and building homes for the homeless, been blasting the current administration for the past 6 years? Quick Answer: To improve his own legacy.

Longer Answer: Carter, by virtually all counts, had one of the most failed presidencies in modern time. His economic vision paralysed the country and led to sky-rocketing interest rates, high jobless rates, and gas lines. To say nothing of the hostage situation where 52 U.S. citizens were kidnapped in Iran for 444 days, following the fall of the U.S. friendly Iranian government.

Because of Carter's considerable un-popularity he lost his re-election bid in a landslide to Reagan. Carter's administration has been the butt of jokes for 30 plus years. However, due to the languishing war in Iraq, Bush has become quite unpopular and probably will remain so until the end of his term. This gives Carter something he's never seen before, a target almost as big as he is, and the chance to kick another administration while it's down.

Carter is hoping that nobody will notice that his criticism of Bush is actually a smoke screen, designed to obscure history, and make Carter's presidency look better than it actually was. As long as Bush is an easy target, Carter will continue to hurl smoke grenades at the current administration. However, once the smoke clears, history will see the attacks for what they are: The angry words of an old man, who wants to improve his legacy and doesn't want to be remembered as one of the worst presidents in modern American history.