According to an article on Newmax entitled: Carter: I Wouldn't Mind Romney in White House
emphasis mine
“I’d rather have a Democrat but I would be comfortable – I think Romney has shown in the past, in his previous years as a moderate or progressive, that he was fairly competent as a governor and also running the Olympics,” Carter told MSNBC’s Chris Jansing.
More from the article
As for the November elections, Carter said he thinks Obama will be re- elected, but he won’t mind if presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney ends up in the White House.
“I’d rather have a Democrat but I would be comfortable – I think Romney has shown in the past, in his previous years as a moderate or progressive, that he was fairly competent as a governor and also running the Olympics,” Carter told MSNBC’s Chris Jansing.
Carter said Romney has adopted some extreme positions in order to win conservatives’ votes, but he believes the former Massachusetts governor will swing back toward the center.
“He’s gone to the extreme right-wing positions on some very important issues in order to get the nomination. What he’ll do in the general election, what he’ll do as president, I think is different,” Carter said.
Not sure what to think about this. I like Carter. I think he's a good man. And I think, while his statements here run the risk of giving Indies a reason to vote for Romney, Carter's intent is to give true conservatives a reason to stay home. Maybe the man was just speaking his mind without ulterior motive, but it's difficult to imagine he fails to comprehend the damage that will be done in a Romney first term in order to win a second term.
I suppose JC might think it's possible that Romney would govern as a moderate or progressive with the hope that in 2016 he could win a majority of Indies and enough Dems to offset far rightwing losses, but that's a pretty damn unlikely scenario. That requires assuming the absolute best about Romney. Regardless of his past moderate positions, I just don't see anything recent to justify giving him the benefit of the doubt. Truthfully, I think his former moderate positions were faked out of necessity due to his running in MA.
Again, maybe Carter was just speaking his mind without motive. But I kind think he was pwning the far right. The problem is, the far right isn't likely to pay attention to Jimmy Carter. I just hope Indies don't listen either. Whether intended or not, Carter's statements only work to make Indies feel OK about voting for Romney. And that's not the message any Dem needs to be sending.