In the past few days, former United States President James Carter has come out and criticized his now deceased Democratic colleague, Ted Kennedy, for stalling health reform due to political purposes. According to Carter, Kennedy used his influence as Majority Whip to kill the potential bill proposed and supported by the president so that he might campaign directly against the administration's record when running for the Democratic nomination in 1980. Regardless of the National Alliance Foundation's stark disagreements with the former senator from Massachusetts, it is incredibly low for a man, and someone once the leader of this nation, to use a distraction from his own legacy in order to gain pity support. Unfortunately, Carter shows a constant record of finger pointing rather than the acceptance of responsibility that has been all too lurid and present in recent years on an international plane.
To be more up to date, President Barack Obama as taken Jimmy Carter's cue, rounding up what is now a collection of speeches for the purpose of bashing and dehumanizing the legacy of his predecessor, George W. Bush. Instead of leaving the past behind himself as he pledged to do in the 2008 campaign, the president is instead preoccupied with blaming all of his misfortunes on the preceding administration, not accepting responsibility for the present one.
This attitude of shifting the blame is the exact reason why people no longer admire politicians as they might have even as little as 50 years ago. No one is eager to lead; only to distract from their performances in office. Years ago, when Calvin Coolidge ascended to the executive office, he made it clear that he was not in office to simply play politics. The Coolidge Administration worked diligently to ferment and solidify eras of economic growth, avoiding the constant bickering of the legislative branch over useless concerns in policy. Thus Coolidge, who is by no measure a very popular president, left a legacy of concern for the well being of the people, not of his own future. He retired plainly and humbly, refusing to reinvent his image around the world like other leaders.
At its core, Jimmy Carter's ire is simply part of his own neglect. During his tenure, he failed to reach out and accomplish his own policies for a stronger America, instead wrestling for political survival in the city of Washington. After his embarrassing defeat at the hands of Ronald Reagan in 1980, he was left helpless, struggling to stay afloat above a precipice of obscure unpopularity in the American political archives. His most recent exploits are not attempts to strengthen the nation and the world, but to whitewash his mistakes as simply the results of obstructionism. And although it is relatively simple to debate the merits of even Kennedy's legacy, the senator at least worked continuously, which cannot be said of Jimmy Carter.
It is really unimportant which party occupies the Whitehouse; but they must each show leadership that places the Constitution at the helm of steering the country. Those who simply pursue our nation's highest office for political clout or legacy are the precise cause of poor leadership and little confidence in government. Until Americans elect a rational and patriotic citizen who is both qualified and focused primarily on the well being of the nation, we will be forced to live under the wathc of the most elite and the least in support of the endurance of the nation.
Jordan Wells
National Alliance Vice President for Policy
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