Buzzflash
del.icio.us
Digg
Facebook
Mixx it!
RedditIf you watched the Democratic convention closely -- very closely -- you caught a brief glimpse of former President Jimmy Carter on stage, looking decidedly unhappy.
No surprise: Carter was snubbed deliberately by Obama Inc. Reports the Forward:
The sidelining of Carter was driven by recognition in the Obama camp and among Democratic leaders that giving the former president a prominent convention spot might alienate Jewish voters.
Carter, of course, had dared use the word "apartheid" is discussing Israel's abysmal treatment of the Palestinians. Carter was gracious about the snub: "I didn't want to intrude…. I didn't need to get on the stage and make a speech."
The Jewish Telegraph Agency reports:
Democrats were determined not to allow the former president to spoil their Denver party with talk of evenhanded policies in the Middle East. No mention, please, of "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid," the book whose title set off a firestorm in the pro-Israel community.
Adds the Forward:
"What more could we do to diss Jimmy Carter?" said a Democratic official who was involved in deliberations on how to handle the former president's presence at the convention. The treatment Carter received, the official added, "reflects the bare minimum that could be done for a former president." ..."I think it's hard to ask a political party to take a former president and say, ‘We're not going to hear you at all,'" said Ira Forman, executive director of the National Jewish Democratic Council. "The party is very sensitive to the American Jewish community, and it's very sensitive to ever conveying that this is anything but a pro-Israel party."
RSS
just imagine if mr. carter had worn a hijab.
Posted by frosty zoom at 08/31/2008 @ 1:28pm
Ah yes, if it's not quite the Rosetta Stone of American politics, here is by far one of the most productive windows through which to view the Orwellian farm animals at their table distributing power amongst themselves......
With Jimmy Carter playing the role of snowball.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowball_(Animal_Farm)
Posted by b_kool_66 at 08/31/2008 @ 1:31pm
wow.
i just went to the "forward" link.
the java ad says (in nasty red letters):
TERRORISTS USE BULLDOZERS TO KILL,
ISRAEL USES BULLDOZERS TO BUILD!
<<<<>>>>
wow.
yeah, build on other people's olive groves after demolishing their houses with bulldozers.
Posted by frosty zoom at 08/31/2008 @ 1:32pm
i seriously doubt obama has anything but the highest regard for the saint king, jimmy carter (sarcasm only in retrospect).
i am sure obama and jimmy have talked and i am sure the blessed ex-president understands the need of the moment.
shameful?
yes...
politics...
when the dems win this election and send the saint king on a renewed middle east peace initiative and engineer a new camp david peace accord negotiated by the wise old saint king who engineered the first...
all will be fine.
but we must win this election!!!
Posted by ibbleblibble at 08/31/2008 @ 1:38pm
you know...i'm not one to automatically trust in the judgement of powerful experts, but...
there's some mighty good political hacks working for the obama campaign - OOPS! i mean...
there are some seriously adept and qualified professional political analysts and managers working on the obama team and i am inclined to trust that they are covering bases and making appropriate, smart decisions.
they didnt choose edwards for VEEP, did they? lol...
GUSTAV!!!!!
Posted by ibbleblibble at 08/31/2008 @ 1:45pm
jimmy carter was a much better president than his malignant detractors have warped history to tell.
perhaps obama IS a kind of jimmy carter-like fellow - but he is also one who understands history and learns from the mistakes of the past.
thats a trait i find sorely lacking on the right these days.
Posted by ibbleblibble at 08/31/2008 @ 2:06pm
>>> "The party is very sensitive to the American Jewish community, and it's very sensitive to ever conveying that this is anything but a pro-Israel party."<<<
The problem with this point of view is that the VAST MAJORITY OF AMERICAN AND ISRAELI JEWS "DO" WANT A MORE EVEN-HANDED APPROACH TO THE CONFLICT, but their leadership has been dominated by right-wing Jews who are more hard line.
It is time for NEW LEADERSHIP in the American Jewish community, and groups like J - Street provide a glimpse of what is to come as American Jews shake off the sad and destructive policies pursued by the corrupt AIPAC lobby and their right-wing affiliates.
President Carter is right - our foreign policy has been hijacked by right-wing Jews who have no real interest in peace with the Palestinians and only want to increase the power of Israel at the expense of world stability and the US taxpayer. The corrupt influence of these right-wing Jews has reached a tipping point, and has become dangerously close to defining US foreign policy from a Zionist religious point view. This view sees the historic land of Judah as the New Israel, irrespective of the international agreements that established the state of Israel within recognized borders or the rights of the current inhabitants of this land.
BOTH Islamic fundamentalism and Jewish fundamentalism must be rejected as both attempt to FORCE their religious view of the world on others.
Posted by Metteyya at 08/31/2008 @ 2:11pm
Principles have left our political scene long ago. Despite all attempts by Democrats to be perceived as champion of human right; their unqualified support for Israel always undermine such attempts. The Israeli brutality against Palestinians under occupation rivals that practiced by the White South African Apartheid regime against the black population.
Jimmy Carter is an honorable and brave human being. He could have chosen the safe political route and caved in to the Israeli Lobby blackmail; he did not and he called as it is. Being pro Israel today out of fear of the Jewish lobby is equivalent to being pro Klux Klan in the past out of fear of losing southern white voters. The choice was clear then, as it is clear now. Jimmy Carter has made the right choice; Obama and Pelosi have chosen hypocrisy instead.
Posted by zziadeh at 08/31/2008 @ 2:40pm
Extremists in the Holy Land have two divergent viewpoints. One group wants to push the other into the Arabian Desert & the other wants to push it's foes into the Mediterranean Sea. The presence of "Flying Dutchmen" landlocked or not, bodes ill in both legend & reality. Jimmy Carter wants compromise. What's wrong with that?
Posted by Sorelish at 08/31/2008 @ 2:58pm
This has nothing to do with Israel and Palestine. It's just that Jews are funny people. They don't like anti-Semites. Imagine that.
Posted by mickyboy212 at 08/31/2008 @ 4:29pm
BOTH Islamic fundamentalism and Jewish fundamentalism must be rejected as both attempt to FORCE their religious view of the world on others.
Posted by Metteyya at 08/31/2008 @ 2:11pm
True enough, but let's not forget Protestant fundamentalism (like Sarah Palin's) & the Vatican's claim to absolute moral superiority as the only way to salvation, all others be damned.
All are killers.
Posted by sloper at 08/31/2008 @ 4:34pm
Will ANY Republican want to be seen with Dubya ...even 28 years later???
Posted by Maskdelta at 08/31/2008 @ 4:52pm
Posted by sloper at 08/31/2008 @ 4:34pm
A significant number of powerful people seem to be idolaters of the Sinclair oil dinosaur, for instance. Don't forget them.
Posted by Sorelish at 08/31/2008 @ 5:21pm
Will ANY Republican want to be seen with Dubya ...even 28 years later???
Posted by Maskdelta at 08/31/2008 @ 4:52pm
I certainly would, although I may not be around by then. It would be an honor for me at any time to be seen with this great president.
Posted by lvliberty1 at 08/31/2008 @ 6:10pm
>>>This has nothing to do with Israel and Palestine. It's just that Jews are funny people. They don't like anti-Semites. Imagine that.
Posted by mickyboy212 at 08/31/2008 @ 4:29pm<<<
Accusing ANYONE of being an Anti-Semite who doesn't parrot ring-wing Jewish politics is dishonest. It is an attempt to re-focus on the messenger rather than heed his message.
Right wing Jews are certainly entitled to their Zionist views, but they have absolutely NO RIGHT to "force" this view on others who have different religious beliefs, different scriptures, and who reject the notion that there is any special race of "God's" people who are superior to all others.
Right wing Jews must learn to understand that we are all equal in the sight of God, and that every person, regardless of race, religion, or culture, should be treated with the same decency and respect as any other human being.
Posted by Metteyya at 08/31/2008 @ 7:31pm
I am neither a right winger or a Zionist, but Carterbis an anti-Semite.
Posted by mickyboy212 at 08/31/2008 @ 7:42pm
Posted by lvliberty1 at 08/31/2008 @ 6:10pm
Let me re-phrase...
"Will ANY Republican politician who wants to have a career and future, want to be seen with Dubya ...even 28 years later???"
Posted by Maskdelta at 08/31/2008 @ 7:48pm
BTW, congrats to Fernando Lugo of Paraguay & his plan to fire all of the armed forces heads & replace them with people ready to help, rather than hurt people. A hemispheric example! All without condemnation from the Vatican. Right wing crapheads, unwrap your Stroessner memorabilia & shed a few tears.
Posted by Sorelish at 08/31/2008 @ 7:53pm
>>>I am neither a right winger or a Zionist, but Carterbis an anti-Semite.
Posted by mickyboy212 at 08/31/2008 @ 7:42pm<<<
And HOW is Carter an Anti-Semite for calling for even handed politics in the Middle East, for pointing out the oppression of the Palestinian people by the Israeli government, and the unhelpfulness to the peace process of illegal Jewish settlements on Palestinian land?
Posted by Metteyya at 08/31/2008 @ 8:04pm
Biden speaks well, sort of. But who listens? Biden refused to serve -that's problem.
---------
Biden received 5 deferments before being declared medically ineligible for Vietnam By RANDALL CHASE | Associated Press Writer 1:32 PM EDT, August 31, 2008 DOVER, Del. (AP) _ Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden received five student draft deferments during the Vietnam War, the same number of deferments received by Vice President Dick Cheney, and later was disqualified from service because of asthma as a teenager.
Officials with Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama's campaign released Biden's Selective Service records at the request of The Associated Press. Less detailed records were available from a National Archives facility in Philadelphia.
Posted by HelenDAO at 08/31/2008 @ 10:55pm
"I am neither a right winger or a Zionist, but Carterbis an anti-Semite."
Posted by mickyboy212 at 08/31/2008 @ 7:42pm |
Carter writes that Israel is mistreating the Palestinians, and you call him an anti-Semite!
The Palestinians are arguably more semitic than Israeli Jews are (who are largely recent European immigrants speaking a revived version of Hebrew). Or maybe you don't know what "Semitic" means?
Even if you think "anti-semite" refers only to a racial bias against Jews, it's an unfair label. Surely you don't think Israel is above criticism, do you? Is there any criticism of Israel that you wouldn't consider grounds for calling the critic an "anti-Semite"?
That's exactly the problem with our current position in the Middle East: Israel is our "friend" so anything they do is OK and beyond criticism. Terrorists are Arabs, so any act of violence done by an Arab is an act of terrorism.
Posted by JoeDaJuggler at 08/31/2008 @ 11:01pm
am spending mine...heading off to work in LA,..laboring and helping my country by earning profits ... Posted by JOMAMMA at 08/31/2008 @ 10:07pm
I'm spending mine working to. Thus is the entertainment industry. National holidays don't exist for us. You're lucky if you get Christmas off.
Posted by Cccomfo1 at 08/31/2008 @ 11:03pm
Just watched one of Nagin's press conferences.....
Now I understand what Biden meant when he said Obama was an articulate speaker.....
Posted by bleedingheart at 08/31/2008 @ 11:34pm
Jimmy who ... Well, a man almost forgotten by 99% of Americans. But the man's good: he did good things, did no promises except for one (I will never lie to you). I think if Obama's as good as Jimmy, the that would be a bless.
Posted by HelenDAO at 09/01/2008 @ 12:06am
There will be no solution to the Middle East conflict until the US shifts its position to a kind-of-neutral Carter-like assessment. In the meantime, resentment will continue to build. Those extreme right Jews, don't they realize they are jeopardizing their cause in the long term?
On the other side, considering Republicans' dirty politics and ads, I guess that Obama was right by down playing Carter. Someday Carter will gain recognition as a visionary.
Posted by Frank42 at 09/01/2008 @ 12:29am
"I am neither a right winger or a Zionist, but Carterbis an anti-Semite."
Well, maybe you are a fool. People who support the current government of Israel, and any like it that continues this occupation, are the real anti-Semites, or at least anti-Jews. The occupation is unsustainable, and it will continue resulting in more Israeli Jews being killed. That is obvious. Jimmy Carter has done about as much as any politician in this country could do towards bringing some sense of peace and justice to the region...which is not much, but at least he had the balls after all these years to take a tepid step towards calling out the Israeli government.
If a country like Russia was acting like this...well, hell, see how we are reacting to the happenings in Georgia/South Ossetia. Typical US hypocrisy: we live by one standard, others must live by another.
At least Carter also tried to get us onto some sort of alternative to oil. Instead we ignored this and now there are almost 4,000 dead US soldiers, effectively murdered by our selfishness, that same selfishness allowing many of us not to give a shit about the many more Iraqis killed.
But at least we are Christians.
Posted by onthehelm at 09/01/2008 @ 12:33am
Posted by onthehelm at 09/01/2008 @ 12:33am
brother,
perhaps the term "we" is a little unfair.
i blame myself not for the folly of mr. harper's current "government".
Posted by frosty zoom at 09/01/2008 @ 12:43am
Posted by HelenDAO at 09/01/2008 @ 12:06am
HELEN may be a PUMA...or "she" might just be a GOP poser.
Jury's still out.
Posted by Maskdelta at 09/01/2008 @ 05:13am
I did not get the impression that Jimmy Carter was "snubbed" by Barack Obama at the convention. I watched Mr Cater recently on TV with Bill Moyers and though his mind seems to be as sharp as ever, his voice wasn't. Could it be that the DNC realized this? Could it be that the Democrats simply didn't want a weak voice at the convention?
Posted by Bullet at 09/01/2008 @ 08:56am
Could it be that the Democrats simply didn't want a weak voice at the convention?
Posted by Bullet at 09/01/2008 @ 08:56am
uh, no.
they are definitely trying to hide jimmy.
Posted by frosty zoom at 09/01/2008 @ 09:28am
got news for ya, mickeyboy212, the palestinians are a semitic people.
even given Carter's implicit suggestion that Israelis should not discriminate against Palestinians, that doesn't make him an anti-Semite, any more than Martin Luther King was anti-American for arguing that whites should not discriminate against blacks, or any more than Mandela was anti-South African for arguing that one man should have one vote.
Posted by maddox at 09/01/2008 @ 2:50pm
This whole sad affair is another sign that our corporate media fail to distinguish image from substance.
There is no substantial political difference between former President Jimmy Carter and Senator Barack Obama, not even with respect to the state of Israel. However, Carter's image no longer fits the image that Obama is creating for himself.
Read Carter's book (I have a copy!), and you will understand that in his book PALESTINE: PEACE NOT APARTHEID, Carter is by no means equating Israel with South Africa or demanding that we end our constructive engagement with Israel. The word "apartheid" refers only to Israel's treatment of the Palestinians in the occupied territories. Frankly, the term in this context is not inappropriate at all.
The term "apartheid" could of course also be applied to the US-American system of Indian reservations, which provided the historical model for the "homeland" system that the white South African government later created.
It is unfortunate but true that most of our corporate media do not care to educate us about the real facts behind buzz words like "apartheid," preferring to shift the task of explaining controversial book titles onto celebrity talking heads, including politicians. Sadly, it now seems to be Obama's job, not the media's, to explain Carter's book. But Obama can make only a limited number of educational speeches, because right now, he has to concentrate on getting elected President.
This explains why Jimmy Carter, wrongly maligned and misunderstood though he is, is presently treated as an "image problem." He would not be such a problem if the media had not REDUCED him to an image.
Posted by JakobFabian at 09/01/2008 @ 4:40pm
Based on the public stance of the Obama/Biden ticket regarding the Middle East, I am a very discouraged and dubious supporter and am accordingly scaling back my commitment financially and time volunteered. I well understand the politics of Obama`s pandering pledge of sacred homage to Israel before AIPAC, his pledging U.S. denial of the nuclear option for Iran and Biden`s declaring himself a Zionist, but one can only hope that this more represents campaign rhetoric than conviction, and that an Obama Administration would reflect a more realistic grasp of the geopolitics of the region as well as solid rejection of the present adminisrtration`s imperialistic and militaristic approach to establishing American hegemony under the guise of freedom and democracy.
Posted by JayBob at 09/02/2008 @ 09:01am
Carter was never popular with a lot of the Democratic Party establishment.
When he became President, Carter talked about fiscal responibility and balancing the budget, which puts him at odds with the Democratic Congress (Tip O'Neal, Ted Kennedy).
Kennedy even snubbed him at the 1980 convention, refusing to be seen raising hands with him in solidarity, after his loss in the primary.
Posted by Zeddmen at 09/02/2008 @ 09:16am