Good speech. He pointed out that he was a naval veteran who served under two veterans, Harry Truman and Eisenhauer, "who showed up" and did their military duties. Guys who would not mislead us into war. He pointed out that Kerry also was in the Navy and showed up. He pointed out how the misguided policy of "pre-emptive war" has hurt the effort against terrorism, how the extremism of the Bush Administration has left us isolated. Finally the "US cannot lead if our leaders mislead." "You can't be a war president one day and a peace president the next day depending on what the polls say".
Kind of happens with age. It’ll happen to you. I liked the points he hit. I thought he looked tired.
Never cared for Carter's politics but I thought it was a pretty effective speech. One thing he hasn't lost is his genuine appeal. I'm not sure how I feel about his critique of the administration's foreign policy endeavors given Carter's own slip-ups. But its nothing I find comparable to Bush's disasters in that same area. So its not a big issue to me.
IMO, Carter earned his foreign policy stripes long after he left office. Great speech and right on the money. He was very direct in the after interview as well. I think it was good to have Carter bring up the military and foreign policy gaffes given the ex-President's activites both in the military and after leaving office. Gore was on fire, too.
Yeah, Jimmy has always seemed to have had a genuine love of people in general. I don't want anything to overshadow his efforts in furthering human rights and democracy. Although I lean more to the right I still respect Jimmy and admire his unfeigned disposition as a person and politician.
yes, and i think it was good strategy by the dems to have him hit bush with the heaviest moral hammer.
I wonder what effect it will have using Carter like this. I don't disagree that he is a great human being, nor that he was a terrible president, but his ethos is undoubtably of failure in the public's mind. I'd hate for the party to concentrate too much on the base that is going to vote dem anyway and not on the clinton doctrine, which was to peddle to the middle. I can't imagine Bush winning but I didn't think he'd beat Ann Richards, or Al Gore either.
None. Debates will be the major factor for those on the fence. The political conventions are just masturbatory affairs.
