Jimmy Carter's comments seemed off point, and totally out of context. There are still tensions in this country regarding race but this is not what the healthcare debate is about at all. I don't get it. Comments like this undermine the real issue and stoke a fire that needs no stoking.

Posted by levelheaded at 09/17/2009

What Carter said is truthful, so what? We all know there are neantherdals(sp?)out there. Talking about them or the issue will not change a thing. To overcome this way of thinking President Obama needs to have a successful administration. In the end most people don't care who's in charge if their lives and lives of their children are improved

Posted by dgraham at 09/17/2009

Carter spoke with measured words and deliberately fine points but even people who quoted him missed the important qualifiers. Carter was talking about the people with the most intense personal animus towards the president. That personal animus in some cases, is racially motivated and/or racially expressed.

Posted by NeilSagan at 09/17/2009

Just more of the usual media mobsters trying to keep us at each other's throats so we won't keep focused on the REAL problem, our filthy, racist and degenerate ME policy which Carter has openly criticized.

Posted by DejaVu at 09/17/2009

This is not a racist nation. A 87% non-black population elected a black president. That issue is settled. It is time to talk about the issues.

Posted by Ron2009 at 09/17/2009

The older we get, the more unvarnished our truth becomes.

Posted by ohsussanah at 09/17/2009

So what? I remember these Neanderthals in Dallas in 1963. I think we ignore them at our grave peril. I think we need to call them out at every turn.

Posted by Robert Stev at 09/17/2009

President Carter calls it as he sees it. I think its more than just race too, as Carter said, but it is at least partially about race. I've heard people say things myself I thought I would never hear again. We need more people to stand up and shame these people back into their caves for being racists, or fake patriots, or fake Christians.

Posted by jamesindentontx at 09/17/2009

What a fucking joke of a president and american....

One question even a Lib should be able to answer.... Are the WHITE blue dog democrats that oppose Obamacare Racists???

Cause as Jimmy and many here have said...Opposing your marxist messiah is an act of Racism right??

You got some splainin to do freaks

Posted by libzRfreaks2 at 09/17/2009

I agree with Carter's statements. While it is true that racism is an ever present facet of our lives, society must take action to communicate clearly that we will not tolerate it, it has no place in our public conversations. It was high time that someone said to those behaving so badly, 'this far an no farther'. We know better than to treat others with disrespect and contempt. Carter spoke with courage and dignity, where is the republican leadership? Why aren't they denouncing the ugliness of this loud, albeit small fringe group intent on dividing this country?

Posted by nkukay at 09/17/2009

Anybody who doesn't realize this is true is either blind or willfully self-delusional. Spend about a day on any Facebook page of a writer or network correspondent or pundit who encourages discourse in public issues -- Chuck Todd, Howard Kurtz, Chris Cilizza -- and you'll see the racial undertone of the comments by right-wing posters.

One recent post suggested that Obama should be bagging groceries. Another poster has repeatedly characterized Obama as a black street pimp.

I have had at least two white Americans tell me in personal conversations in the last month that this country is ripe for revolution, and have seen that thread repeated continuously in on-line posts.

Posted by syael1339 at 09/17/2009

I think what Mr. Carter was alluding to was the feeling people have today against the Obama administration, that fear, is nothing else than racism. And, in order to fix it, it needs to be addressed and called what it is, racism. After almost two decades of political correctness people are finally saying what they really feel, anger and frustration at their vision of “white” America diluting into a nation of many colors and creeds, they’re loosing power and they want it back.

Posted by mepaulina at 09/17/2009

Carter should go back to building houses -- he was a lousy president and now he's a lousy ex-president. Every time someone pointlessly accuses someone of racism, eyes roll and the charge loses something.

Opposing Obama's policies doesn't have a race. The only black and white about the health care bill is the text and paper on which the legislative text is printed. People read it, and oppose it.

Posted by J. Saxon at 09/17/2009

Carter's statement may not have been opportune for the White House that doesn't want to touch the third rail of "racism in America" but he spoke the truth. The tea-baggers of today marching out of the South behind Glen Beck's piping are no different than their parents who formed in gangs to preserve Jim Crow; no different than their grand parents that marched with the Liberty League to overthrough FDR; no different than their great grand parents that marched in White Sheets & lit crosses; no different than their great great grand parents who terrorized the South and destroyed reconstruction; and certainly no different than their great great great grand parents who fought to upheld that grand Southern heritage of plantation life. Rebs all. Racists all. Instead of ignoring the third rail, Obama should call them racists to their faces and shame them back into Southern ignominy. Racism, especially this blatent, Fox News kind, must be confronted not obscured. Otherwise, it will keep coming back, generation after generation.

Posted by dont_know at 09/17/2009

Carter showed his usual tin ear and foot-to-mouth. In 1994 he went to N Korea as a private citizen, and started negotiating on behalf of a Clinton admin that gave him no authority to do so. He is at base a loose cannon who craves attention.

And like Rev. Wright, Carter speaks from his life experiences with racism, which are far altered from 50 years ago.

In the case of Joe Wilson he could be correct, Wilson has a history that suggests bigotry politics. And the remarks could serve to pressure wingnut leaders whom at this point are not holding their lunatic minions in any kind of check or propriety. So I don't hold that they necessarily harm the health reform process or debate.

But racism isn't relevant to health reform. The GOP is dead wrong on facts and history on this matter. There's more than enough bad track record from them, to defeat them on universal health insurance -- found a cool site; Balkingpoints ; incredible satellite view of earth

Posted by reg373 at 09/17/2009

President Carter spoke his mind when he made his comments. He has lived in the South all his life. He is now at the stage of his life where he reflects upon things that he observes around him. I think it is interesting that another ex President makes a comment and the right tries to make it seem irrelevant.

Posted by whatizz at 09/17/2009

Jimma is the man, he says what he means and at his age he can say what ever he wants, and the elephant in the room is that what he says is correct.

Posted by Denise29 at 09/17/2009

I'm a New York city guy and I travel occasionally out into America. I hear nigger this and nigger that, racism in these ununited states is alive, well and prospering. What Carter said is right on the money. I'm sure not all the healthcare debate is racially motivated but I would bet that there's a large percentage of people who are opposed to anything Obama wants to do soley because he's black. I oppose him because he's lied to every group that showed him support. While bush plundered and raped the country we heard narry a peep and now we get "we want our country back" While Carter may have not been one of our outstanding presidents he's a decent man who's telling it only like he sees it and for that he gets credit.

Posted by easywind at 09/17/2009

F--- racists, F--- conservatives, F--- apologizing for the Truth

Posted by DPGrassley at 09/17/2009

Jimmy Carter was I better president than the people give him credit for, and hopefully history will treat him kinder than his own country did.

Posted by Denise29 at 09/17/2009

Jimmy Carter was "a" better pres.

Posted by Denise29 at 09/17/2009

President Carter hit the bulls eye. Why President Obama is refraining from discussing race is obvious. The month of August, after his healthcare press conference, was lost to the minutiae of Gates vs. the police fiasco, so he doesn't want a rerun of what might detract from healthcare.

Ultimately racism most be addressed relating to the Birther movement, and the tea Bagger's. Hopefully as a side bar on c-span or something comprehensively discussed by a panel of people like, Max Blumenthal, Chip Berlet, Chris Hedges, Christopher Hitchens, and Kevin Phillips. A panel that could cover the GOP's willingness to control it's constituency through fear and hate beginning with Joseph McCarthy, the Republican Southern Strategy, the new Calvinist Fundamentalism, Sarah Palin, and the Religious Elect--The Family.

Then youtube it and put it out in cyberspace.

Posted by drkaza12 at 09/17/2009

There is an element of racism there I am sure, but Republicans always hate all of the Democratic politicians no matter what color they are.

They hated Hillary. They hated Bill. They hated John Edwards. They thought Medicare was communistic. They think Social security is socialism.

The only freedom Republicans believe in is the kind where they win and the rest of us lose and they are not satisfied just to win they mean to take the losers and trample all over them until they are bleeding and dieing in the dirt while they smile and laugh.

Republicans are mean viscous people with bad intent for all of America. They must be stopped.

We must not tolerate their obstruction.

Posted by guitarsandmore805 at 09/17/2009

Obviously what Carter said was wrong.....but as far as what I think.....I have long since learned not to think much of anything about what Carter says......it would be a waste of time to concern myself about the pronouncements of someone (Carter) who has no credibility whatsoever, and is a virulent anti-Semite as well.

Side question to Robert Stev:

You proclaimed ".......I remember these Neanderthals in Dallas in 1963. I think we ignore them at our grave peril. I think we need to call them out at every turn........"

Who are they (the Neanderthals)? What are you talking about? What planet are you from?

I remember in November of 1963 a wacko loner Lee Harvey Oswald assassinated President John F. Kennedy. He acted alone, there was no conspiracy, no shots from the "grassy knoll", no shots from afar.

Oswald was about as screwed up a person as you can find. He obviously hated the President but even he did not have a grand plan to kill JFK. He found out (because it was announced publically) that the motorcade would be passing by the book depository. He owned a rifle and decided to use it in order to show the world what Lee Harvey Oswald could do.

I have been to Dealy Plaza, and it is a small area and Oswald was a marksman in the Marines and shooting from the close distance was easy for him.

There has never been any proof of any conspiracy.....you are living in an imaginary world.

Posted by

Posted by sjchermak at 09/17/2009

Robert Stev,

I have a further comment.

There WAS a Neanderthal in Dallas in 1963. He was a reporter who got on the television at the local Dallas CBS station and reported to the world that kids in a school in Dallas cheered when they heard that JFK had been killed.

The station managers scrambled to get the principal of the school on camera to tell the world that the kids had been told they were being sent home for the day and they had not been told why. (What kid wouldn't cheer that school has been canceled for the rest of the day).

But the genie was already out of the bottle and around the world - the story of racist Southern kids cheering the death of the liberal Northern President.

The station manager asked the network (CBS) to get this reporter out of his newsroom.

This reporter was a man by the name of Dan Rather. You would be hard pressed to find a more irresponsible journalist anywhere.

If you think there were Neanderthals in Dallas in 1963 there certainly was one, and unfortunately he went on to work at the CBS office in New York as well.

Posted by sjchermak at 09/17/2009

Is there some racism in our country? Of course. Is the "overwelming" opposition of the presidents policies based on racism? No way. President Carters statements are irresponsible , and ignorant. And it clearly shows how out of touch with the real world he is down on his peanut farm in Georgia . I didnt agree with his policies when he was president . I didnt agree with Clintons policies when he was president . But now when I dont agree with Obamas policies Im a racist??? How ridiculous.

Posted by limoman at 09/17/2009

Carter is full of crap. He was a lousy president, presided over 4 years of foreign policy disaster and when he wasn't hammer on a piece of wood he was hammering on the economy.

Posted by tomonthebay at 09/17/2009

This debate gets framed as "is America a racist country?", but that's not what Carter was saying. There are pockets of racism and pockets of intolerance of anything beyond the believers' cults, and the Republicans are happy to have any such voices of hatred and bigotry come along on their hoped-for ride back to power. Unfortunately, the media either doesn't see or won't discuss the big picture, so we are reduced to talking in stereotypes and generalities. The real question is: who is enabling the spewing of hatred and why?

Posted by gdutton at 09/17/2009

Carter is absolutely right about the racial undercurrent that lies below most of the right - wing attacks on Obama's policy's.These Teabagger's are protesting basically one thing, they cannot stand having a black president.They would rather have a white president, even if that leader wasn't for there best interest's Period!

Posted by realpatriot at 09/17/2009

How much did Carter pay the Black employees (fieldhands) on his peanut plantation?

another hypocrite...

Posted by bleedingheart at 09/17/2009

How much did Bush help black people during Katrina . He basically shunned them .

Posted by realpatriot at 09/17/2009

President Carter spoke truthfully untimely. We need to stay focus on the main issue of healthcare and economic as we cannot suffer a relaspe because of distraction. The are elements of racism inherent the reactions to President Obama's intiatives to address the countries ills but I truly believe he has the countries best interest at heart which is something I cannot say about the previous adminstration. The problems are grave, severe, and significant and require the best of judgement in our debate and disagreement. If we give too much attention to who is right ( Carter or his critics), not enought focus is devoted to what is right ( healthcare and economic recovery) for America. The President was right in his speech when he reminded us of our character to get the countries business done despite myriad efforts of opposition.

Posted by vinnyj1 at 09/17/2009

What the right wing fringe doesn't understand is there is a lot more young voter's out there who voted for change and are sick of the status quo than there are of them , scared of change even when it benefits them the most.

Posted by realpatriot at 09/17/2009

So Carter is reminding people President Obama is black and Obama's true believers are worried it will turn some voters against him because such comments needlessly brings up the race issue.

This reminds me of Stephen Colbert's mock conceit that he does not recognize people as black. We all recognize skin color today, and that will be true for the rest of our lives and it will probably be true for as long as human beings exist.

The problem is there will always be people who judge others by the color of their skin. Those people did not vote for Obama and they never will. Nothing Jimmy Carter or anyone on earth can say will change that.

Obama won despite of the racism prevalent all around the country. Demographic trends favor the kind of coalition Obama put together. Many people are appalled by the kind of right wing nut-jobs Joe Wilson represents and voted for Obama partly because of the kind of extremists in Wilson's camp.

What is going to hurt Obama is not reminding people about the color of his skin, but the long list of promises he has made clear he will not keep, health insurance reform and ending the wars on Iraq, Iran and Pakistan are among them. He is quickly losing the support of people who would never judge him by the color of his skin. That’s Obama’s fault, not Carter’s.

Posted by Kostya at 09/17/2009

Jimmy Carter was a one-term disaster as president. He gave away the Panama Canal; allowed the hated Shah of Iran into the country when he knew what the response would be; he was at a loss over the hostages; he let inflation get totally out of control; and the people kicked him out after four long years.

Now, apparently feeling the need to get back in the news he comes up with some incendiary remarks. Well, he's getting the coverage he wanted.

Posted by jsens at 09/17/2009

Anyone is doesn't recognize that racism is a HUGE reason that is driving a majority of these people who are trying to bring the President down is just naive at best. In addition I will add Intolerance(which has racial components at it's core. I have been traveling for the last 6 months and I been in the trenches so to say, most recently to the 9-12 march at the capital. I am 60 year old white woman,walked through the crowds and didn't say a word. I got alot of rolling eyes, I can only suppose, because of a tye-dye shirt(of course, the accepted uniform among the pro-healthcare socialist). If these people can't tolerant a person because of their clothing, how does the color of one's skin affect them.

Posted by nancychatter at 09/18/2009

I agree with Lenny: Carter is "history's greatest monster."

Posted by Darin_the_Big_Fat_Troll at 09/18/2009

Carter is right, obviously. the 9/13 march was generally populated by white whiter and whitest. They seemed to be competing for the most obnoxious vile award of the year just to get their white idiot faces on television with Demint and company. Makes me ashamed to have been a card carrying republican. I was watching Morning Joe and Buchanan's condemnation of carter. Somebody should tell Mr. Latin mass, and when I was in congress that, in the words of Molly Ivans, "if their I.Q. slips any more we will have to water them".

Posted by julien38 at 09/18/2009

Though what Pres. Carter said may be true, the cogent truth is that Pres. Obama has been getting a great deal of slack, sympathy, hopefulness from the voters whom he has betrayed as a lackey for the financial industry and the warrior-class imperialists.

Posted by goedel at 09/18/2009

@sjchermak: I have never been favorably impressed by Dan Rather as much as by the manner of his leaving CBS. I do think he could even then have fought harder the implication of faulty reporting because a document was a copy. What I wonder about your comment is did Rather just do a poor job of reporting, or did he phrase his report on the students in order to get the most sensational coloration?

Posted by goedel at 09/18/2009

Much criticism here of Carter's presidency, but there was a far worse one that preceded him: remember, it was Eisenhower who installed the Shah after overthrowing an elected, constitutional government (Mossadegh's). He did it simply because Mossadegh nationalized the Iranian oil industry and tossed out the Anglo-American consortium. Ike also overthrew the legal, democratic government of Guatemala. There was much suffering in both countries from Ike's stupidity. Now, we are suffering with a hostile Iran. Elect a general president? Watch out for Petraeus. Our last good general-president was G.Washington. Thank Goodness we did not elect MacArthur!

Posted by goedel at 09/18/2009

To pretend that race doesn't influence some of the individuals so angry at Obama is to be blind to the history of the US country and its culture. Carter's comments make a great deal of sense.

Posted by jmataya at 09/18/2009

The notion that anyone would pay attention to anything that Jimmy Carter says is laughable given the fact that his Administration was an utter failure. While there are a small percentage who oppose Obama on racial grounds, that same fringe number opposed him when his approval rating was at 70%+. Obama's approval numbers are slipping because because American's have real concerns about Obama's far left agenda including the nationalization of the health care industry; the nationalization of the automobile industry; a government takeover of our banking institutions; the near doubling of our national debt in just eight short months, not to mention his foreign policy decisions, including the decision not to deploy defensive missile systems in former Soviet satellites in Eastern Europe which are in the process of making us less capable of defending ourselves and our allies in an increasingly dangerous world. Instead of the President responding to those concerns with rational answers, he trods out the most ineffective president in American history to essentially call anyone who opposes his agenda a racist, effectively attempting to intimidate his critics into silence. I am afraid that Carter's comments are a reflection on the fact that the last thing President Obama wants is an "honest debate". So much for free speech.

Posted by srhoads at 09/19/2009

* Unable to distinguish between our friends and our enemies, he has essentially adopted our enemies' view of the world. -Danial Patric Moynahan 1980 on Jimmy Carter-

Posted by pyeatte at 09/19/2009

Jimmy Carter is absolutely right. Nancy P, was right. Obama is starting to look & sound like Herbert Hoover. The Progressives and the Independents, it is time to start the 3rd Party.

posted by JackD.

Posted by 4lifelived at 09/20/2009

Carter was correct. The poor quality of the actual arguments of the racists shows that these arguments are a cover - for what? For the fact that they don't want no n*gg*r in the White House.

And for this, they are willing to throw civility, honesty, etc, overboard. As a South African who lived under Apartheid, the tactic seems boringly familiar.

Posted by mikecope at 09/20/2009

I doubt that any of the critics of Carter here actually read the full text of the commentary. It wasn't as simple as it's made out to be. His comments addressed far more subtle points.

Posted by ficheye at 09/22/2009

Carter feels that critics of Obama do so because they hate blacks. Interesting. Then I guess he would have to admit that his own criticism of Israel is because he is a Jew hater.

Posted by bean22 at 09/23/2009