With A Little Luck, Maybe This Time They'll Keep Him....

[Gob]

American freed by North Korea arrives back in US

The US State Department said it played no official part in Mr Gomes' release

Former US President Jimmy Carter has arrived back in the US with an American whose release by North Korea he won.

Mr Carter and Aijalon Gomes touched down in Boston, where their plane was met by Mr Gomes's family.

Mr Gomes, who had been living in South Korea, was jailed in January after crossing into North Korea from China.

The insular nation's state-run news agency said leader Kim Jong-il had granted the former president's request to "leniently forgive" Mr Gomes.

His friends and family applauded when the flight landed at Boston's airport shortly after at 1400 (1800 GMT) on Friday.

Mr Gomes, who appeared thin, embraced his mother and Mr Carter upon walking off the plane.

The former president spent two days in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, before leaving with Mr Gomes, who had been working as an English teacher in South Korea.
Continue reading the main story

Mr Gomes reportedly crossed the border from China into North Korea on 25 January. It is not clear why he entered the country.

The teacher, described by colleagues as a devout Christian, was also fined 70m won ($700,000; £460,000 at the official exchange rate).

He was visited by a US official and two doctors in a hospital in Pyongyang earlier this month. North Korea said in July that he had tried to kill himself.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11117205

I can see no down side in this for Mr Carter's reputation, he was asked to go as a precondition of this idiot's release, he obliged.

Uncle Ronnie would have bombed Malaysia or something.

[Lord Jim]

I can see no down side in this for Mr Carter's reputation

I'm with you on that....

He has no reputation to lose....

Whatever "reputation" he had went south a long time ago....

For TIC to worry about his "reputation" would be like the town slut worrying about her virginity...

It's no longer an issue...

[Gob]

Oh I don't know Jim, in the places that matter, out here in the civilised world, Carter has a far higher reputation than any of the brain damaged moron republican presidents you vote for. indeed.

[Lord Jim]

Oh I don't know Jim, in the places that matter, out here in the civilised world,

Oh I don't know Jim, in the places that are of absolutely no consequence , out here in the hand wringing defeatist world,

Fixed it for you.....

Having a reputation that wins you kisses from Euro weenies and $4.00 will get you a double Grande Non-fat Latte at Star Bucks...

One thing Obama has proven is just how little being "liked" by the "street" in the rest of the world means in terms of Realpolitik....

There is not a single major policy change that has been adopted by any country, friend or foe, since the bad old days of George W. Bush....

[rubato]

Carter

Camp David Accords. = Most important diplomatic achievement by a president since the Marshall Plan. Ended the state of open warfare between Israel on one side and Egypt, Jordan, Syria on the other.

Volcker Disinflation.* = Broke the back of Nixonian hyperinflation and ushered in the expansion of the 1980s (which would have been better w/o Reagan's deficit spending)

Oil Deregulation. = cut US dependence on foreign oil and broke the back of OPEC for 20 years.

Eliminated Guinea Worm in all of Asia saving millions from disease.

Eliminated Guinea Worm from most of Africa.

Made great progress in eliminating River Blindness in Africa and the Americas.

Made great progress in eliminating Trachoma, they have built 500,000 latrines and distributed antibiotics.

He is the greatest man to be president since Lincoln.



yrs,
rubato

*Alan Greenspan admits as much in his book.

[dales]

That's my LOL moment for today.

FDR doesn't even rate?

[rubato]

"the greatest man to be president" and
"the greatest president"

are different statements.

FDR was the greatest president since Lincoln but he faced both of the two most difficult crises since the civil war.

yrs,
rubato

[Crackpot]

so FDR wasn't a man

[Econoline]

Unfortunately, in this instance Lord Jim and rubato are both basically right--and are both wildly overstating their positions. Carter seems to be a fundamentally decent person who had a lot of bad luck as President (I'm thinking mostly of the Iran hostage crisis, an unprecedented event the origin of which Carter had nothing to do with and without which his Presidency would not now be seen as an unmitigated disaster. Ironically, if he'd engaged in strong military action early on he'd probably have been regarded as a great leader, even if all the hostages had been killed; now, hardly anyone remembers that he succeeded in his stated goal of getting them released alive.) Other than that, he made some good decisions, he made some bad decisions, and on balance was a thoroughly mediocre President...and a much better EX-President than anyone had any reason to expect.

[Crackpot]

Actually Carter did have alot (though likely unwittingly) to do with the revolution and the hostage crisis. It's generally regarded as poor form to trumpet the excellent human rights record of a leader who is abducting and torturing his opposition.

[loCAtek]

Also he would have been seen differently if the Rescue Operation had succeeded. That was a bold move.

[Econoline]

Actually Carter did have alot (though likely unwittingly) to do with the revolution and the hostage crisis. It's generally regarded as poor form to trumpet the excellent human rights record of a leader who is abducting and torturing his opposition.

The revolution...maybe a little. But the fall of the shah was pretty much inevitable (due to events and forces that had been building since long before Carter took office); it was just a matter of when. The hostage-taking was unprecedented and unforeseeable and the hostage-takers were out of the control of anyone in in Iran except for perhaps the ayatola himself.

Also he would have been seen differently if the Rescue Operation had succeeded. That was a bold move.

True.

[dales]

It was a bold move, just poorly planned.

Much like the the Bay of Pigs.

[loCAtek]

Can't control the weather.