Tomorrow is Jimmy Carter's birthday. I know we probably don't have too many of those left, so I figured I would honor him this year.
Hindsight is 20/20, and I do wish Carter, who is the best ex-President in my lifetime, had the wisdom of his ex-presidency when he was in office.
However, that's a criticism is something that every ex-President feels.
Except for George W. Bush, he only regrets not privatizing Social Security. But let's not forget, George W. Bush is that special kind of someone people would call "blessed" or "special" and not in the good way either.
Jimmy Carter has been a shining example of what an ex-president should be.
I do have one complaint about the way people talk about Jimmy Carter: He's not a progressive. Yes, there are some issues he is progressive on, and more often than not he is on the right side of issues, however, as president he was prescient as to what the New Democrats like the Clintons would do to the party.
When I call him conservative, I don't mean he is conservative in the manner of the Neo-Conservative/Neo-Liberals. As president, he did walk down a similar path as those who came after him, he was conservative, as president, in the way he governed. Outside of the solar panels on the White House, what did he ever do that was progressive?
Not his building of the Mujahadeen with Zbigniew Brzezinski. Not when the 1978 congress started implementing the Powell Memo and he signed them into law. Not when he discouraged abortion and promoted family planning.
Jimmy Carter is a small "c" conservative Christian. When he is on the right or wrong side of an issue, much like Pope Francis, it's because of his faith. (The difference is the Pope is a socialist and Jimmy Carter most certainly is not.)
Jimmy Carter is a conservative I respect. If Republicans who claim they are "Conservative Christians" really were conservative Christians, then they would be like Jimmy Carter. So instead of beating the drum of war, they would know that war is evil and would be against it. After all, that's what Jesus would do.
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