Tom Finch – 6/8/07

This page was last updated on June 18, 2007.

Bush is the true nitwit; Thomas M. Finch; Beaver County Times; June 8, 2007.

Mr. Finch’s letters never disappoint. As usual, his letter is little more than a string of liberal talking points. It’s at least the 14^th anti-Bush and/or anti-Republican letter from Mr. Finch since December 2004 and the ninth since August 2006. I wish he could get a regular column in the Times. I also wish he could get at least five minutes per day on a local radio and/or TV station.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“I say two thumbs down to the dim-witted ravings of letter writers Charles Hagerty (‘Shameful coverage,’ May 31) and Mary Smith (‘A traitor and a nitwit,’ Monday) and their childish name-calling directed at a decent man like Jimmy Carter.”

[RWC] I got a chuckle out of this letter as I do most of Mr. Finch’s submissions. After all, the letter attacks name-calling yet itself engages in name-calling from the first sentence all the way through the penultimate paragraph.

It’s true the target letters were themselves exercises in name-calling. I believe Ms. Smith and Mr. Hagerty would have been more effective had they simply provided an accurate picture of the results of Carter administration actions and policies and stayed away from personal attacks.

Actually, Democrats – including Mr. Carter – enjoy some culpability. As a reminder, during a May 19^th interview with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Jimmy “decent man” Carter made the following statement: “I think as far as the adverse impact on the nation around the world, this administration has been the worst in history.” The saying about those who live in glass houses not throwing rocks comes to mind. If you’re going to call President Bush the worst president in history over and over again, don’t be surprised when the rocks come back at you when Mr. Carter is in your house.

A couple of days after Mr. Carter made his comment, he attempted damage control. During a Today Show interview Mr. Carter said, “They were maybe careless or misinterpreted” and that he “certainly was not talking personally about any president.” I’m not sure how anyone could misinterpret Mr. Carter’s comment; it was pretty explicit and is consistent with Mr. Carter’s nonstop bashing of President Bush for the last several years.

“When confronted with an administration as corrupt and incompetent as George W. Bush’s - where so little in the past six years can be regarded as good - his supporters try to amuse themselves by throwing mud at Jane Fonda and ex-President Carter.

“Criticizing Fonda is a no-brainer. She’s an easy target due to the stupidity of her youth. Everyone has to live with the choices they make. But by now she’s immune to the public’s revilement of her.”

[RWC] Note how Mr. Finch can’t help trying to defend Ms. Fonda by using her alleged “youth” as an excuse. At the time Ms. Fonda visited North Vietnam in 1972 and – among other things – referred to American soldiers as war criminals, she was 34 years old! How old do you have to be before you can’t use youth as an excuse?

“Carter is an intelligent, honorable man who believes in human rights and responsible government. He was praised for his work on the Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt in 1978. He was a good man who didn’t grasp Washington politics - and had no Karl Rove to bail him out.”

[RWC] I’m no expert on this issue, but I believe you’ll find President Sadat and Prime Minister Begin had a deal pretty much worked out before they approached Mr. Carter. They approached the U.S. only because they were looking for handouts, and they got what they were looking for. Mr. Carter agreed to an annual multibillion-dollar subsidy for Egypt and Israel that continues to this day.

Regarding Mr. Carter being an “honorable man,” for many years I felt Jimmy Carter was an honorable man who meant well but simply wasn’t up to the job. Given his behavior in recent years, I now view Jimmy Carter as simply another bitter partisan without the class befitting a former president

“His term was marred by difficulties, the worst being the Iran hostage fiasco, which paved the way for a two-bit actor to gain the White House.”

[RWC] Mr. Finch appears to believe Carter administration policies didn’t play a role in the events that led up to the taking of the U.S. embassy in Tehran.

“To some, just being a Democrat is reason enough to trash him. Was Carter a good president? A 1995 Chicago Sun/Times poll of presidential scholars ranked Carter 22nd out of 38 presidents, so I’d have to say no. But labeling him as the worst president ever is an unsubstantiated injustice.”

[RWC] I almost couldn’t stop laughing when Mr. Finch claimed “labeling [Mr. Carter] as the worst president ever is an unsubstantiated injustice.” This is the same as Mr. Finch criticizing others for name-calling. Review Mr. Finch’s body of letters you find they are based on unsubstantiated allegations, that is when the letters aren’t name-calling. Heck, even above Mr. Finch refers to the Bush “administration as corrupt and incompetent” but provides not one scintilla of evidence.

“Was he a nitwit? Absolutely not. His work as an international mediator won him a Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. Do you think anyone will ever ask for Bush’s advice on international relations once we’re finally rid of him?”

[RWC] If anyone believes Mr. Carter got the Nobel Peace Prize for “his work as an international mediator,” I have a bridge to sell you. Given his international relations record, it becomes obvious Mr. Carter received the award for his work as an international President Bush basher. It’s the same reason Al Gore was nominated this year.

“Bush is the true nitwit who rightfully deserves the moniker worst president ever.

“He can’t retreat into the background soon enough.”

[RWC] Lefties are crawling out of the woodwork to defend Mr. Carter, so rather than repeat myself here, please read this recent critique.