Carpe Datum

Carter Bashing

In the neverending race to the bottom of the scumbucket, the ConservaBorg is bashing Jimmy Carter for old times' sake. The occasion? A new nuclear attack/surveillance submarine has been commissioned with the name USS Jimmy Carter:

"The USS Jimmy Carter?!? My mind is starting to explode with all of the comedic possibilities. What, will the sub break down in the middle of the ocean on its way to rescue operations? Will everyone on the sub have to wear sweaters? Instead of a morale officer, will the boat feature a "malaise official?" What if the sub comes across a rabbit in the water? Will there be a "moral equivalent to combat operations" on this sub? These jokes just write themselves."

"Will the U.S.S. Jimmy Carter be hammered together by weekend volunteers?"

"I'M JUVENILE but I can't get over how ridiculous a the sound of a Jimmy Carter attack sub is."

Kevin Drum responds with a little bit of a history lesson about real heroes vs dress-up heroes:

Jimmy Carter, of course, is an actual Annapolis graduate who served on board submarines for seven years. During that time he served on one of the first nuclear submarines, the USS Seawolf, which makes it all the more fitting that the last of the Seawolf class of subs should be named after him. This contrasts with, say, Ronald Reagan, whose closest connection to an aircraft carrier was on a Hollywood sound stage.

Suck it up, guys. I know you don't like Carter, but he was a fine naval officer, a president of the United States, and has done more good in his post-presidential career than probably any president in history. Show a little respect just this once. You can go back to your usual bellyaching next week.

Kevin is pissing into the wind here. These guys have no class. They say they respect the military and support the troops, but when it comes to real people, genuine combat heroes like, say, John Kerry, Jimmy Carter, Wesley Clark, etc. the don't hesitate to spit on 'em just to get the day's blog comment in between coffee breaks.

Posted by Observer at February 19, 2005 07:39 AM