Weekly Standard: Jimmy Carter's Hypocrisy
The funeral of Coretta Scott King last week in Lithonia, Ga., brought together two of The Scrapbook's favo-rite statesmen, Sen. Edward Kennedy and former President Jimmy Carter, on the same podium for the first time since--oh, maybe it was the 1980 Democratic Convention, when Kennedy effectively declined to endorse Carter for reelection.
Well, that was then, and now the two old warriors are united by a common adversary, George W. Bush, who sat on the very same podium at Mrs. King's funeral. The president was soon to be taught an interesting history lesson. First up was Kennedy, who regaled mourners with the story about how Martin Luther King had been "jailed in October 1960 and given an incomprehensible sentence of four months of hard labor in a rural penitentiary for a minor traffic violation. The situation was ominous, and many feared for his life. I remember my brother, President Kennedy, calling [Mrs. King] to say he would do whatever was necessary to help. Robert Kennedy called the judge the next day, and miraculously Martin was released!"
Actually, he was Senator, not President, Kennedy at the time; but when Edward Kennedy said that "Robert Kennedy called the judge," the congregation erupted in a loud, prolonged, even raucous ovation--so prolonged, in fact, that Kennedy was obliged to repeat the phrase and, presumably, instill in the minds of Mrs. King's mourners the idea that the Kennedy brothers had been champions of civil rights.
Then came Jimmy Carter. The Scrapbook has long since given up expecting a modicum of dignity from the winner of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, even at a funeral, and he didn't disappoint us. In a finger-wagging allusion to the Bush administration's policy of eavesdropping on suspected al Qaeda terrorists, Carter told the congregation that "it was difficult for [the Kings] personally--with the civil liberties of both husband and wife violated as they became the target of secret government wiretapping, other surveillance, and, as you know, harassment from the FBI.''
Carter, too, was rewarded with pro-longed applause. But here's the history lesson: Who, as attorney general of the United States, authorized the "secret government wiretapping, other surveillance, and, as you know, harassment from the FBI" of Martin Luther King? The answer is Robert Kennedy, the very same Robert Kennedy who "called the judge" in October 1960. The Scrapbook does not expect an ovation for clarifying the record, but readers are welcome to savor the irony.
Read entire article at Weekly Standard's The Scrapbook
Well, that was then, and now the two old warriors are united by a common adversary, George W. Bush, who sat on the very same podium at Mrs. King's funeral. The president was soon to be taught an interesting history lesson. First up was Kennedy, who regaled mourners with the story about how Martin Luther King had been "jailed in October 1960 and given an incomprehensible sentence of four months of hard labor in a rural penitentiary for a minor traffic violation. The situation was ominous, and many feared for his life. I remember my brother, President Kennedy, calling [Mrs. King] to say he would do whatever was necessary to help. Robert Kennedy called the judge the next day, and miraculously Martin was released!"
Actually, he was Senator, not President, Kennedy at the time; but when Edward Kennedy said that "Robert Kennedy called the judge," the congregation erupted in a loud, prolonged, even raucous ovation--so prolonged, in fact, that Kennedy was obliged to repeat the phrase and, presumably, instill in the minds of Mrs. King's mourners the idea that the Kennedy brothers had been champions of civil rights.
Then came Jimmy Carter. The Scrapbook has long since given up expecting a modicum of dignity from the winner of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, even at a funeral, and he didn't disappoint us. In a finger-wagging allusion to the Bush administration's policy of eavesdropping on suspected al Qaeda terrorists, Carter told the congregation that "it was difficult for [the Kings] personally--with the civil liberties of both husband and wife violated as they became the target of secret government wiretapping, other surveillance, and, as you know, harassment from the FBI.''
Carter, too, was rewarded with pro-longed applause. But here's the history lesson: Who, as attorney general of the United States, authorized the "secret government wiretapping, other surveillance, and, as you know, harassment from the FBI" of Martin Luther King? The answer is Robert Kennedy, the very same Robert Kennedy who "called the judge" in October 1960. The Scrapbook does not expect an ovation for clarifying the record, but readers are welcome to savor the irony.