Nobel Mediocrity: Jimmy Carter & Al Gore

By: Steve Yuhas

By any measure former President Jimmy Carter is among the worst American leaders in history.  Whether the poll is taken at a local VFW hall in the most red, white and blue district in the country or a national poll talking to voters of all ages and backgrounds; Jimmy Carter is not remembered as doing anything particularly well.

For his horrible running of the United States during his single term in office, replaced by Ronald Reagan just in time for the country to find itself again, Carter is considered a statesman by some and among the loony fringe by others. 

Unfortunately, the former is the image that many in the media have allowed him to portray as they dance the delicate dance of former presidential protocol that comes with landing an interview with the Nobel laureate. The mainstream press has to allow him enough space to get his nutty points across while the rest of us have to use the rope he provides us to hang him. 

No, not literally Mr. Secret Serviceman and not in the Louisiana racism sucks sense either so calm down Reverend Al and put your bullhorn away Jesse.

Recently on the BBC Carter told the world that Vice President Cheney was a “disaster” for the United States and on CNN he declared that he “knew,” for a fact, that the United States tortures terror suspects and detainees.  He was not challenged for his declarations nor did he get a follow up question when he determined that Iran was not a threat to the United States.

Do nutjobs get the daily intelligence reports or are they reserved for the adults leading the world?  Just curious what a peanut farmer is doing with information that nobody else has.

One would think that his record on Iran would be one that the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize recipient would prefer not to bring up, but since he did – does anyone remember the disaster that were gas lines and a hostage crisis that lasted 444 days?

Breaking Thursday afternoon was news that former Vice President Al Gore is heading to Europe to pick up a Nobel Peace Prize.  Exactly for what nobody is quite sure since his accomplishments do not add up to much more than receiving an Oscar for a docudrama declared a fraud by a British judge.

The mediocrity necessary to receive a Nobel Prize has been faltering ever since former Palestinian Liberation Organization terrorist Yasser Arafat received one on the heals of setting the stage for the mass killing of innocent people in Israel.  It didn’t matter that the million dollar prize went to his personal account – particularly since that is where all of the aid to the Palestinian people was going – but am I missing the peace that Arafat brought or are we talking about the peaceful missile firing folks in Hamasastan?

I digress, one has to look at the actions of these two former office holders and just ask them what they achieved for peace or anything else for that matter.  Carter received his Nobel Prize in 2002, according to the Nobel Committee, “for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.”

Carter presided over the worst economy in modern American history.  He was awarded the prize for effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, but nothing he tried has ever been successful.  This is the Nobel equivalent of promoting your kid to 6th grade because he tried really hard despite the fact that he can’t read or write.

Okay, maybe Carter can get away with receiving a prize for trying, he did help a bit with Israel and Egypt and was elected – thankfully once – President of the United States, but what exactly has Gore accomplished – or even tried?  Sure, he was the second in command in a White House run by Bill and Hillary Clinton, he stood next to the only elected impeached President in the history of our republic (Bill Clinton for those of you on social promotion status) and asked us all to get along and then he ran for the big job himself, failed and made a movie filled with junk science about global warming.

Not even his Congressional record has anything that the Nobel committee can point to as something to be proud of.  He did nothing while he was in Congress and nothing when he worked for Bill Clinton.  Now he flies around the world on private jets and buys fictitious carbon offsets to feel better about his pollution.  Well, so does everyone in Hollywood, but they’re not getting Nobel Peace Prizes for their ridiculous efforts – they’re getting laughed at for trying to drive tiny little hybrids then showing up at clubs and awards, when they think nobody is watching, in gas guzzling cars.

Is there really nobody in the world who has done anything worthy to receive the prize?  If not, maybe the time has come to just abolish this silly little Norwegian committee.  Surely mediocrity has not risen to a level in the Nobel committee can continue to admire so much so that they give their prizes out to people who “try” and terrorists.  In Carter at least the group praised him for trying, but one can only wonder what the citation for Gore will be.  What did he try to do that would affect international peace?  He hasn’t even had a job that would allow him to put it on a resume – yes he can get away with pretending to invent the Internet, but come on – world peace?  Leave that to wanna-be Miss Americas.

As we watch Carter and Gore take aim at the current occupants of the White House we can only hope that after the next election that they will be forgotten.  They probably will because they’ll have one of their own mediocre candidates in there (unless the American public decides against wearing burqa and pandering to terrorists and keeps the place GOP), then we can go back to the good old days.  Remember when former Presidents stayed quiet about issues facing the country or spoke to the sitting President frankly, but privately? 

It will be nice to see Carter and Gore less and hearing them less will be nice too.  The loony left will always have people to help out our enemies – Carter can retire.

Gore doesn’t talk much anymore – he doesn’t have to since people just look at him and get verklempt as he sucks the oxygen from the room. 

It will be interesting to watch what happens in Norway in the coming days and weeks and the precise wording of the Prize, should it be received, by Gore.  His acceptance speech is already in the bag – he can give the one he was going to give after he lost to President Bush or he can just do what he does on a normal night out after getting an award for doing nothing.  Head for the buffet and fly home on a private jet while his minions wait for a bus or brave the rain on a bike.

Steve Yuhas is a radio talk show host on AM 600 KOGO in southern California and may be reached at www.steveyuhas.com or steve@steveyuhas.com