I hate to state the obvious, but Obama meant between W and himself. You know, the one who will have the power to do anything in 2 weeks. You can't send mixed signals between the current president and the next.

Jimmy Carter, however, can speak his mind. He can do so as a former president with no repercussions. He is a remarkably under appreciated pol and has an excellent foreign policy mind.

The big question is: Why didn't you ask the author of the top recommended thread as I type this, entitled "Uh Oh" why he recommended his own post? Has he no shame? Why did the author of the third most recommended thread recommend his own post? Has he no shame? Could it be that you are angry that you couldn't explain yesterday why an impostor impersonated Oswald, why two different brains were examinated allegedly being Kennedy's, etc? That is the only explanation I can come up with. Your blood is boiling and that explain the double standard.

I highly recommend my posts.

Truthseeker77 you'd do well to take your own advice for President Carter.

President Carter is a wiser, more knowledgeable, and far better human being than you will ever be should your wildest dreams come true. He also has far more understanding of the current situation in both Gaza and the Mideast in general than you will ever achieve, even if you devote the rest of your life to swallowing whole the propaganda you regard as intellectual nourishment.

You are nothing more than a belligerent, blithering idiot - a monkey throwing its own feces seems a semi-accurate, if insulting (to our simian brethren) metaphor.

Take your own advice. And stick it where the sun doesn't shine.

Truthseeker:

What got your riled up here? The actual opinion?

Carter has been looking at that region for 30 years and was instrumental in the setting up of the first normalized relations between Israel and and Arab country (Egypt). Carter is one of only two US Presidents (Nixon is the other) who has had a significant impact on decreasing tensions in that area.

I would say it's a near certainty that Obama's office saw that piece around the same time as it was delivered to the WaPo. It's quite possible that Obama will use Jimmy Carter as his special envoy to the area. He then pulls in the Clintons afterward before taking the stage himself for a negotiated settlement. In fact, the US has never been so poised as having an impact in the region.

Lastly, let's not forget that in addition to being president of the United States, Carter is a Nobel Laureate.

This post represents the rock bottom level of the "one-president-at-time" authoritarian stupidity that is going around. Now its not just presidents-elect who are supposed to shut up, but other important private citizens as well?

Carter does not need to shut up dude. Me thinks it could be you that needs the quiet time. Carter can and should say something and I hope that Obama sends him over there to help.

And Bluemeanie - you got that right, the lights are out over there and have been for the last 6 months. What a lame excuse for president and his administration. Is this going to be one of those things that we look back on and say "My God, how did I put up with that for all those years - he should have been impeached."

First, it is important to note that what Jimmy Carter says is true. It is also fair to note that not only does Carter talk the talk, he walks the walk. You may remember that, if we don't include Eisenhower ending the Suez adventure, Jimmy Carter is actually the only US president to have ever brought any peace to the Middle East.

I think the chances of Obama sending Carter to the Middle East are those of a snowball in hell. Obama is going to be centered on the economy and he does not want the enmity of the Israel lobby, to whom Carter is poison for the reasons I've noted above... Clear action and clear speech.

Plus I would imagine that it might serve Obama well to look and say that he is against Carter, to placate the rumbling from the right. It is almost a certified fact that all GOP'ers have an instinctive disdain for the man. Down here you have to verify your conservative credentials by railing agianst Carter and his admin while juxtoposing it with Reagan ascendence to making all that is right about America back. It may be a falacy but this does not change the rather tangeable hate of Carter from those I know.

I have never really understood this because I was very young when he was president. However my father, my uncle and I all got into this over X-Mas this year and my uncle being from Ohio had a very different perspective of Carter than my father. It's ludicrous to not acknowledge that Carter has worked for peace, acknowledged energy issues far earlier than any of the Presidents over the last 30 years and in my mind has been a perfect example of a man of faith and conviction.
Maybe that is why many Southerners have distaste for him, because he actually walks the walk and can talk the talk!

Shut the Hell Up, truthseeker77!
I agree with Obama on this one.
There's only one president at a time.
His name is George W Bush.

Ok, I have perused the 53 comments to this post and found the following:

28 distinctly disagree with Truthseeker
15 are neutral. They refer mostly to presidents other than Carter.
10 were distinctly favorable, although they were all made by Truthseeker. However, mysteriously, the post did get 10 recomends.

From the above raw data, I conclude the following.
1. Truthseeker has more enemies than friends, although he apparantly has 9 friends who recommend his posts. They are the strong silent type.
2. Truthseeker is very good at getting people a little riled. On purpose, I think.
3. Truthseeker is pretty good at pulling people's legs.
4. Many highly intelligent people don't know when they are getting their legs pulled.
5. Y'all should spend a little time in the South where leg pulling is a favorite sport.