In an interview with Brian Williams yesterday, McCain said:
"Sen. Obama says that I'm running for a Bush's third term. It seems to me he's running for Jimmy Carter's second."
In today's First Read column, Mark Murray writes:
Lost in McCain's attack is the subtle admittance that Bush has become the Republican's Carter. While Democrats have accepted the fact Carter was a mediocre-to-bad president, have rank-and-file Republicans had their own come to Jesus on Dubya? Are they ready to accept that he'll go down in history as their Carter?
(more below the fold)
I immediately posted a comment asking for some proof of his assertion that Dems have accepted Carter's mediocrity. I linked to a Wikipedia page showing Carter ranking in the Top 20 of nearly every public opinion poll - polls that included Dems and Reps. Bush, of course is near the bottom of every poll.
I explained that Carter inherited an terrible economy, a military devastated by the Vietnam War, and a hostage crisis not primarily of his making (although allowing the Shah to enter the US was defintely a mistake). I also pointed out that had the American public embraced Carter's plan to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, we would be a lot better off today, and almost certainly not bogged down in yet another pointless war.
I couldn't find much info about Mark Murray, but he graduated from college in 1996, which means he was probably born about the time Carter was elected. He has no personal recollection of the Carter presidency, and has obviously been brainwashed by the "conventional wisdom". Let's ask him to provide proof of his assertion, or to publish a retraction. I couldn't find his email address, but based on other msnbc addresses, I sent an email to mmurray@msnbc.com. I encourage you to do the same.