Jimmy Carter's Message Last Night

Carter is a class act, doing far more for the world since his presidency (1976-1980) than during it.

Carter's speech last night was excellent, calling on Americans to repudiate extremist doctrines and efforts that do nothing but endanger us from terrorists and endanger the rest of the world from our "might makes right" activities. Good for Carter. He's a real statesman: unafraid to say difficult things.

[Ed. note: To be fair, I've usually been able to respect our presidents more over a period of time after their years in office than during, with a few exceptions, namely Bush the First, Reagan, and surprisingly enough, JFK just because I was far too young to appreciate the mess of the Cuban Missile Crisis). Gerry Ford, for example, has garnered tremendous respect from me for who the whole man is: an intelligent, centrist Republican who seems to genuinely appreciate all Americans, not just those of his political stripe.]