With the unprecedented announcement that President Bush would attend the funeral of Pope John Paul II, small notice was given to the fact that not every living ex-President would travel along with Bush to the Vatican. Bush's father and Bill Clinton -- the political Odd Couple these days -- were selected to attend, but Jimmy Carter got left off the list. (Gerald Ford is considered too frail for extended travel now.) Carter eventually griped publicly about the snub, but as the Prowler explains, he can hardly claim to be surprised after his actions over the past four years:

According to White House sources, Carter's representatives, apparently from the former president's Carter Center, reached out to the White House over the weekend and offered to lead the U.S. delegation should the President or other senior Bush administration officials not be able to attend.

"There was no misunderstanding. It wasn't Carter who made the actual call, but the message was pure Carter gumption," says a White House source. "We were getting lots of calls from lots of people looking to get on this delegation. I would say over the weekend alone we got more than 100 requests, maybe more."

Carter went public on Tuesday with his dissatisfaction at not being invited, after the White House announced that the official delegation would be made up of the current and two prior sitting Presidents, and Secretary of State Rice. ...

"The other thing that people forget is that Carter has treated President Bush very badly. He has openly criticized the President in a manner that President Clinton has not," says a Bush administration source. "He has traveled around the world bad-mouthing this president and this country's policies. I would be surprised if a single person gave a thought to including him in the delegation."

Former American presidents have a tradition of avoiding criticism of the current occupant of the White House, one which almost every ex-president has upheld, except Carter. Not only has Carter made every attempt possible to annoy Bush, he did the same thing with Bill Clinton -- remember Haiti and North Korea? He managed to mostly keep his mouth shut during Bush 41's term, but was more vocal during Reagan's years in office. After a long and well-established track record as a pain in the ass, Carter can hardly expect us to sympathize with him for being left off of a state visit to anywhere, let alone the funeral of a Pope who, as the Prowler also notes, didn't think too highly of the former President himself.

Perhaps Carter can sit around the house this week and contemplate how much better off he and the rest of us would be if he had just focused on building houses for the poor after he got rejected for a second term in the White House.

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» Jimmuh Carter, aka President Peanut Fart from Conservative Friends
was left off President Bush's delgation to Pope John Paul II's funeral. Gee, that must have been a tough decision, and I, for one am glad Bush excluded him. It is just good manners not to bring wackos to solemn occasions. [Read More]

Tracked on April 6, 2005 9:38 AM

» BUSH HUMILIATES CARTER: HOORAY! from Right Wing Nut House
UPDATE Jimmy Carter is a sanctimonious, self-serving, self promoting, anti-American zealot whose trips abroad in the last 4 years have been marked by his harsh, unreasoning criticism of President Bush's foreign policy. His speech at the Democratic ... [Read More]

Tracked on April 6, 2005 10:58 AM

» Quit Yer Whining from Slublog
Jimmy Carter seems to have made quite an issue of not being invited to be part of the presidential delegation to the funeral of Pope John Paul II. MSNBC is talking about it right now on its somewhat stilted "Connected... [Read More]

Tracked on April 6, 2005 11:54 AM

» Captain's Quarters from NixGuy.com
According to CQ Jimmy Carter's been snubbed by being noninvited on the presidential delegation to the pope's funeral. Apparently this is payback for all the nasty things Carter's been saying about Bush. But Carter is still getting off way to... [Read More]

Tracked on April 6, 2005 12:44 PM

» Worst President in US History Feels Snubbed from The Political Teen
Wah wah wah! According to White House sources, Carter's representatives, apparently from the former president's Carter Center, reached out to the White House over the weekend and offered to lead the U.S. delegation should the President or other seni... [Read More]

Tracked on April 6, 2005 7:37 PM

» TNOYF Exclusive: Phone Transcripts From Jimmy Carter from The Nose On Your Face
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Tracked on April 7, 2005 5:05 AM

» Carter's Feelings Hurt, Bush Stands Firm from The Nose On Your Face
The amazing news that President Bush will be attending Pope John Paul II's funeral in the Vatican has obscured what might potentially be an even bigger story: the hurting of Jimmy Carter's feelings. [Read More]

Tracked on April 7, 2005 6:36 AM

» http://www.midknightgallery.com/archives/2005/04/07// from MidKnight Gallery
While I'll hardly be the first to comment on the "Jimmy Carter snub," the thing that really gets me is the fervent desire to milk the story into a slam against Bush on the parts of some of the media. One perfect example is MSNBC's Countdown on Wedn... [Read More]

Tracked on April 7, 2005 6:53 AM