Please name for me the best ex-President we ever had

[dave29]

who works tirelesly for social justice, electoral reform, and charity,
who fought to try to win the peace in the middle east,
who fought for our Environment and tried to get America to see beyond oil... well before his time,
who was a peanut farmer,
nuclear physicist,
and Christian Evangelical.

Name him, and tell me again why Barack Obama is wrong.

[WI_DEM]

1. No doubt about it Carter is the best ex-president we have

John Q. Adams was also a very productive ex-president.

[Sherman A1]

3. Agreed

Jimmy Carter

[MikeNearMcChord]

20. Jimmy Carter has set the standard, for his humanitarian

works. An irony in history, before he became president, Herbert Hoover was honored for his efforts alleviate starvation in Europe after World War One. Unfortunately his reputation was tainted because the Great Depression happened on his watch, and did nothing to alleviate it.

[Just Me]

29. Carter. Kennedy was moving towards potentially one of the best until,...

,...he was murdered. Eisenhower (once he matured) could be rated up there with his "New Deal" push.

Geez, my fingers are NOT working as fast as my brain!!!

[madmunchie]

2. What did Obama say?

I have always said that Carter was a National Treasure and I will always say that. He wasn't a Political Animal, he was a leader and a humanitarian.

[dave29]

6. that we should court evangelicals

since we share many of the same values, and they have been manipulated by those who don't have their best interests in mind.

[madmunchie]

14. Thank you

Although, I don't know quite what to think about this suggestion. The Evangelicals want payback for their support. I don't know if I would court a group that so openly wants this payback. I believe that "true" Christians, don't hold fast to the Evangelicals beliefs, there are sharp differences, two of them being "control and power", Evangelicals seek "control and power" at the pulpit and in Government"

I would think divide and conquer would be the best approach. I would probably suggest to Democrats to just talk about "Christian values" in general. Reaching the "individuals in the VARIOUS Christian religions will be more successful in the long run, than on courting one particular group possibly causing an exclusion to some of the others.

[bryant69]

4. Allow me to underline this

Barak Obama is right when he says that hte Democratic Party needs to be open to people of faith.

But he is wrong when he insinuates that we aren't. When Barak Obama gives the impression that there is something wrong with the way Democrats handle faith he is playing right into the hands of the Coulters and the Roberts.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[madrchsod]

11. yes i agree with what you said about barak

i couldn`t figure out how to express my opinion on his statement. your`s pretty much sums up how i fell. the devil is in the details

[dave29]

12. it is certainly true, however

that the other side thinks that. Sometimes the only way to shake people out of their stupor is to say something they think to be true.

I agree with you in that we are, on the whole, open to people fo all faiths, or non-faith as the case may be. But rather than fight the perception that we are not (be defensive), one way to counter is to admit a failure to counter the perception, and try to open the door.

[bryant69]

18. How do we do that?

How do we open the door to people of faith?

Without admitting we've had it closed up till now, incidentally?

[dave29]

23. we admit to a failure in communication

which I believe to be true.

[bryant69]

33. I don't.

Almost every Demcoratic Candidate for almost every office is a person of faith and they talk about their faith all the time.

[serryjw]

24. The door to people of faith has never been closed

THEY want to merge church and state and I won't support that. We have had Lieberman & Carter on one side and THEY have had NIXON & Bush-41 on the other. To think that THEY have a monopoly of religious people is a lie,,,,,,don't buy into it. I am not going to change my position on ROE or Gay marriage so they can consider joining us...HOW any BLACK minister can encourage his congregation to support Bushit when Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act and WE supported the civil rights movement, not the thugs

[Viva_La_Revolution]

5. Obama is no Carter

nice guy, maybe... but no Carter.

[JuniperLea]

10. LOL!!!

You got that right!


:toast:

[liberal N proud]

7. Carter!

[JuniperLea]

8. Obama was right...

Carter IS a national treasure. He's an unsung hero and very underrated as a president.

He put his wallet, his back and his shoulders where his mouth is.

He is truly a Christian who walks the talk and he is such a blessing to us all. And he did it all without bragging on it... he's a great man.

[in_cog_ni_to]

9. Yeah, Carter is a true PEACH! Clinton is doing a pretty fine job with AIDS

too. Are most evangelicals like Jimmy though and DEMOCRATIC?

[dave29]

15. you tell me

I try not think in stereotypes.

[in_cog_ni_to]

21. Stereotypes? Oh come on. If most Evangelicals aren't Bush supporters,

I'll eat my right arm. Are most evangelicals anti-choice? I'd say yes. Do most evangelicals want prayer in schools? I'd say yes. Do most evangelicals want gays to be consider immoral? I'd say yes. Do most evangelicals not want gays to marry? I'd say yes. Look at Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, Dobson, Ralph Reed, and their ilk.

I say Jimmy Carter is the exception, not the rule.
JMCPO, of course.

[dave29]

22. I wasn't trying to be rude

but I would respond

do most evangelicals believe in war?
do most evangelicals believe in charity and social equality?
do most evangelicals want to protect the environment.

I would also ask: why do they believe those things you listed? And why do they feel they have to vote Republican?

(I'll answer it for you: Because Republicans are the only ones talking to them)

We don't have to agree on everything. And I think there are probably a good number of them who would realize that a lot of their concerns about morality and society would be addressed if they were to work with Democrats rather than Republicans. And I don't mean by caving to their demands. I mean by making our society more equality based with Democratic control of the Government. I believe a lot of the problems that lead them to want to put the ten commandments everywhere, stop abortions, and to have fears about those that aren't "like them" will fade.

Lastly, the people in your list are all fundamentalist evangelicals. It's important to understand that not all evangelicals are fundamentalists.

[Grateful for Hope]

13. Absolutely Carter! n/t

[uppityperson]

16. I was going to write Carter even before say message part.

The problem, as I see it, is with fundamentalists and their narrow bigoted mindset. Not nec evangelicals, but fundamentalists of ALL variety.

[lutefisk]

17. Jimmy Carter........n/t

[sinkingfeeling]

19. Jimmy Carter by a landslide.

[Warren DeMontague]

25. 98% of Obama's speech wasn't "wrong". But parts of it were.

And we should court Evangelicals. Just like we should court Libertarians, Atheists, Jamband fans, and people who think pot should be legalized.

What we shouldn't do is abandon our commitments to equal rights for gays, reproductive choice, or the Separation of Church & State to get there.

Want to talk "values"? Great. 45 Million Americans, including children, have no health coverage. Why not start there, instead of going after people who don't appreciate having their kids do a forced recitation to a diety every morning in Public school?

[Pastiche423]

26. Carter

IMHO, Obama was pandering.

[Sapere aude]

27. If he is wrong about anything it is in supporting the myth that Dems

are Godless. Dems come in all denominations and like me no denomination.

[napi21]

28. Carter!

[Raine]

30. I love Carter but

unfortunately he was the one that opened the door to religion as part of campaigning for president and we are still stuck with it.

[Vidar]

31. Carter & Obama is still wrong.

[CTyankee]

32. Oh god, Clinton of course!

Look what he did! NEver a better president!

[lonestarnot]

34. Second that, but for NAFTA

[mnhtnbb]

35. Carter. No contest.