The petty little men who run the White House snub James Carter

First US President to invite Pope to White House is
uninvited to the Pope's funeral by current President

The petty little men who run the White House snub James Carter

He was the only president ever to host a pope at the White House when John Paul II came to visit a quarter-century ago, and in many ways Jimmy Carter had a powerful spiritual and philosophical affinity for the Polish pontiff. But when the pope is buried at the Vatican this morning, three living U.S. presidents will be in attendance and Carter will not.

The reason has touched off a classic Washington imbroglio fueled by suspicion, animosity and distrust, one that has reopened a rift between the camps of the former president and the current one. When Carter was left off the delegation list assembled by President Bush's White House, Democrats assumed he was snubbed. The Bush team is angry at what it considers an unfair smear.

The truth is a little harder to sort out. Both sides agree that the White House invited Carter and that he ultimately chose not to go, but questions immediately arose as to whether he was genuinely welcome or subtly discouraged from joining the entourage. Both sides have officially denied any dispute and issued instructions to their various surrogates not to discuss the matter publicly to avoid prolonging what has turned into a messy sideshow to a solemn event.

Is this a misunderstanding? Try modus operandi.

There are only four living former presidents. Can't a plain spoken man, God fearing Christian President just ring up Carter on the phone and have cleared this up in a minute?

The Carter snub is intentional. These guys play politics with everything. They are playing politics with Carter going to the Pope's funeral. If you aren't with them, and Carter opposed the Iraq War, then you're punished. This is punishment. Stupid, counter-productive and vindictive. Carter's a real Christian and he'll turn the cheek to protect his Nations Honor but the White House is operating on purely political ground.

The snub isn't subtle as was suggested in the WaPo article. It's a petty act but a very visible act that shows how non representative this regime has become, They feel it politically necessary to exclude a former President from such a symbolic meeting.