Would you prefer to believe the Jordanians and Egyptians are righteously angry with us for deposing an incredibly evil dictator who enslaved, tortured and slaughtered his own people? Does that sound more reasonable to you?
Look at the Lebanese people's overwhelming support for the Hezbollah terrorists. How much more evidence do we need that it isn't our actions that cause them to hate us? Or, even if it is, that we can't quit fighting this war just so we can score higher in foreign popularity polls? (This is just a wild hunch, but I'll bet Jimmy's best buddy, Fidel Castro, disapproves of Bush's foreign policy, too.)
Since Carter has no plans to rebuke himself for slamming the leader of America's strongest ally, perhaps other Democratic leaders will step up to the plate and at least gently admonish him for alienating our allies and trying to validate the Muslim world's complaints against us.
Right.
The truth is that Tony Blair has been a courageous statesman and a refreshingly reliable ally throughout the war. He's stood tall against those in his own country and ours who have, in the spirit of Neville Chamberlain, turned their backs on the realities of 9/11 and pretended the evils we face don't exist, rather than confronting them.
By contrast, Jimmy Carter only sees evil in those who are fighting for good and opposing evil, like George Bush, Tony Blair, the United States and Great Britain.
Since the Democratic ex-presidents club is so determined to violate the traditional rule that former presidents don't criticize sitting ones, maybe President Bush should consider breaking that rule in reverse. As the sitting president, he might apologize to Tony Blair and the British people for the uncharitable, unfair and reprehensible remarks of former president Jimmy Carter, who has dishonored the sacrifices of America, Britain and their respective armed forces.
When it comes to foreigners' attitudes toward America, I'll take respect over popularity any day.