Jimmy Carter vs. the European Union

The media have often portrayed ex-President Jimmy Carter as some sort of paragon — always going abroad to monitor elections and ensure a fair process.

It seems that Carter and the European Union are at odds over a recent election in Ethiopia. Carter declared the process Kosher, but a more sober assessment is found in an EU report that was obtained by the Associated Press. As reported by AP:

The EU report also said former U.S. President Carter, who led a team of 50 election observers, undermined the electoral process and EU criticism with “his premature blessing of the elections and early positive assessment of the results.”

Unless there is a “drastic reverse toward good democratic practice” the observer team and EU “will have to publicly denounce the situation.”

“Otherwise, the EU jointly with ex-President Carter will be held largely responsible for the lack of transparency, and assumed rigging, of the elections.”

Carter has a rather unsavory history of giving his blessing to nasty tyrants, while at the same time attacking President Bush.

Perhaps it’s time to face the fact that he’s not a hero of democracy, but rather a sanctimonious busy-body.

The conservative Wisconsin blog Jiblog notes that having the EU and Carter at odds is like watching a Bears/Vikings game: “you wish there was some way both could lose.”