Carter Baby Steps Back Comments

President Carter, whose comments a few days back called the Bush Administration's foreign policy the worst in the nation's history is walking back from those comments just a bit.

Former President Jimmy Carter on Monday said his comments over the weekend about the Bush administration were “careless.”

Carter was quoted Saturday as saying “I think as far as the adverse impact on the nation around the world, this administration has been the worst in history.”

The Georgia Democrat said Bush had overseen an “overt reversal of America’s basic values” as expressed by previous administrations, including that of his own father, former President George H.W. Bush.

Interviewed on the TODAY Show about the comments, Carter said, "They were maybe careless or misinterpreted." He said he “certainly was not talking personally about any president.”

When pressed by NBC’s Meredith Vieira as to whether he was saying his remarks were careless or reckless, the former president said, “I think they were, yes, because they were interpreted as comparing this whole administration to all other administrations."

Every time Carter opens his mouth he says something careless. He's also been objectively wrong on this and other issues relating to foreign policy and instead sees things through a partisan lens.

Carter knows that people take his words seriously because he's a former President. They carry weight, despite the fact that Carter's own foreign policy record is awful save one moment at Camp David. He oversaw the Iran hostage situation where he was incapable of taking any steps to defend the nation's interests against a rogue regime. That inaction only emboldened terrorists and Islamists around the world. We're still dealing with the repercussions of that inaction today.

America's basic values include extending the ideals of freedom and democracy around the world. President Bush liberated 50 million people from totalitarian and thuggish regimes, which is more than Carter can say. Carter couldn't even liberate the hostages held by the Islamists in Tehran.

Carter knew exactly what he was saying and meant every word of it. He's expounded on the subject in the past and this is completely in keeping with his earlier statements and sentiments.