Jimmy Carter's Narcissism Gone Wild; Bill Clinton Not Far Behind

In an interview with NBC's Brian Williams for purposes of promoting his twenty-fifth book, "White House Diary", former President Jimmy Carter, whose arrogance is only exceeded by his fatuity, sought to place himself on a higher pedestal than other former presidents:

"I feel that my role as a former president is probably superior to that of other presidents. Primarily because of the activism and the injection of working at the Carter Center and in international affairs, and to some degree, domestic affairs, on energy conservation, on environment, and things of that kind. We're right in the midst of the constant daily debate.

And the Carter Center has decided, under my leadership, to fill the vacuums in the world. When the United States won't deal with troubled areas, we go there and we meet with leaders who can bring an end to a conflict, or an end to human rights abuse, and so forth. So I feel that we have an advantage over many other former presidents in being involved in daily affairs that have shaped the policies of our nation and the world."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dG-XXHS2BH0

Carter, however, was correct in one regard: The Obama administration has indeed created a foreign affairs vacuum, which has allowed Jimmy to freely exchange niceties with rogue states, e.g., North Korea and Syria, and terrorist organizations, e.g., Hamas. When will someone in the Obama administration screw up the courage to inform this "narcissist gone wild" that his perambulations, discourse with tyrants and self-serving flatulence are an embarrassment to the United States?

Given this foreign affairs vacuum and not to be outdone, Bill Clinton also managed to stick his foot in his mouth in a roundtable discussion with reporters on Tuesday:

"'An increasing number of the young people in the IDF are the children of Russians and settlers, the hardest-core people against a division of the land. This presents a staggering problem,' Clinton said. 'It's a different Israel. 16 percent of Israelis speak Russian.'

According to Clinton, the Russian immigrant population in Israel is the group least interested in striking a peace deal with the Palestinians. 'They've just got there, it's their country, they've made a commitment to the future there,' Clinton said. 'They can't imagine any historical or other claims that would justify dividing it.'

. . . .

Before pontificating on the peace process, Clinton seemed to realize he was stepping into some sensitive territory, but decided to proceed nonetheless.

'I wouldn't say too much about this if Hillary weren't Secretary of State and in charge of these negotiations, so I'm darned sure not going to say too much now,' he said, before going in depth on the issue for over 10 minutes."

http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/09/21/bill_clinton_russian_immigrants_and_settlers_obstacles_to_mideast_peace

Thanks, Bill, for your insipid commentary. No mention by Clinton of Israel's miraculous absorption of some one million penniless, oppressed persons from the former Soviet Union, who are today fully integrated into Israeli society. Their contribution to Israeli science, industry and culture is profound. They are represented in all leading Israeli political parties, they have served proudly in the IDF, and many have fallen in Israel's wars. Who is Bill Clinton to say that their perspectives and insights are mistaken or less valid than those of other Israelis, native born or otherwise?

May Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton find other, less damaging outlets for their narcissism and allow the world to make do without their arrogance.