Carter is being quoted today as saying that the Bush administration is "the worst in history." This is of course an excerpted soundbite. The full statement made it clear that he was speaking in terms of the Bush administration's foreign policy rather than the presidency overall. Also very important is the qualifier "in terms of the adverse effect it has had on US foreign relations" (or something similar, I'm quoting from memory).
Carter this morning qualified the statement even further, placing it in the context of a question comparing the Bush administration with the Nixon administration, although he did not word his answer in such limited terms. For not doing that he characterized the comment as "careless." He was also careful to mention that the comment was about the administration as a whole rather than Bush alone.
However, I don't personally find the comment as fully stated careless. I think a good argument can be made that the foreign policy of the Bush administration has had a more adverse effect on US world relations than that of any previous administration. Time will of course tell. Who knows, maybe it will turn out a better world in the end. If so, I think it will be inadvertant and coincidental.
Truth doesn't care about feelings or office. It is cold and uncalculating. It is what it is and no amount of rhetoric can change it. I'm willing to overlook occasional overstatement because I think Carter is playing an important role in America right now, the role of "loyal opposition." He is often criticized for his criticisms, but I think the Bush administration long ago crossed the line when exceptions to this general rule became permissable.
The Bush administration responded that Carter was simply making himself irrelevant by such comments. But given the administration's approval rating on the war, such a comment points in the opposite direction. When Carter represents apparently the sentiment of the majority on the war, who is truly out of touch?
