But if visiting a state that sponsors people who kill innocents for political purposes is not enough to provoke disdain, consider this disturbing thought. While Mr. Carter is in-country, he has also plans to visit with Hamas leader, Khaled Meshaal.
As you may guess, the State Department is not pleased with this idea.
The Bush administration has urged former President Jimmy Carter not to go forward with plans to meet with the leader of Hamas, the U.S. State Department said Thursday.
As you may guess, left-wing Carterphiles are not usually overly concerned about what the Administration wants (as they rarely are on a variety of issues). During the course, one must expect this type of hostile defiance from those that do not like the current President. But this issue may have far-reaching consequences for the presumed Democratic nominee, Barack Obama.
Carter's decision to meet with Hamas could have blowback for Obama. In Nigeria last week, Carter signaled his support for Obama, without officially endorsing him. Asked about that, sources close to both Obama and Carter told NBC NEWS that they are ducking a formal endorsement to avoid alienating Jewish voters critical of the former president's Middle East policies. Carter is a superdelegate and has long had rocky relations with the Clintons.
With Obama already in some controversy for suggesting talks with Iran (with no set pre-conditions), this would really weaken an Obama candidacy in the area of foreign relations, especially with independent moderate voters that tend to think rationally. People like Jeremiah Wright and William Ayers would probable give it two thumbs up and would receive Mr. Carter with a hero's welcome, after his return. But people who have the ability to think critically and analyze things with an open mind will not be impressed.
Because this may do some serious political damage to Obama's campaign, it is being reported that Obama's camp is not really to keen to this idea. From the same MSNBC article comes this update:
The Obama campaign provided NBC with a statement it released yesterday. "Senator Obama does not agree with President Carter's decision to go forward with this meeting because he does not support negotiations with Hamas until they renounce terrorism, recognize Israel's right to exist, and abide by past agreements. As President, Obama will negotiate directly with the head of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas."
Whether it's a sincere disagreement or a proactive political ploy to prevent an enormous amount of future damage control, it is the right thing to do. In fact, if Democrats are really smart, they would isolate Mr. Carter on the fringe - where he has conducted much of his ex-presidential legacy building, over the past few years. Whatever legacy he has left is now being neutralized by his statements, behaviors, and actions over this latest round of ideological blunders and missteps.
In the grand scheme of things, it just further illustrates the claim that the Democratic Party is impetuous and growing more reckless as time goes on. There is no consistency, there is no vision, except to undo anything that has be done in the battle against worldwide terrorism just to undermine the current President.
Furthermore, it solidifies my belief that JFK and FDR are currently rolling over in their graves. Even LBJ would have never dreamed of making such a foolish and subversive gesture, which now places him way above Jimmy Carter on the PYY favorability scale.
4 comments:
I agree with everything you’ve said, LA . . . but I think you fail to understand that Jimmuh Caatah is one of those nitwits who think that true freedom comes from making blacks dependent upon the government, and that terrorists simply need someone to empathize with them. I think Danny Pearl once thought that, too . . . So while I wish Jimmuh every luck in Turbanland, I won’t miss him when he’s gone.
Listening to Newt today, he said that if Carter does meet with this bozo, he needs to be banned from the Democratic convention and stripped of his super-delegate status. Too bad for Newt, he may not understand that this kind of behavior is mainstream in the party.
These politicians and their traipsing over to the Middle East to consort with the enemy are not doing America one bit of good.
Most people I know--and they come from all along the political spectrum--think that our politicians are making fools of themselves when they take on these "diplomatic missions." I see their doings as worse than that, especially when the White House asks them to butt out. Furthermore, they are pictorial proof that America is so divided these days.
//These politicians and their traipsing over to the Middle East to consort with the enemy are not doing America one bit of good.//
Even when they are not traipsing over to the Middle East to consort with the enemy, they are not doing America one bit of good.
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