  The conventions are stupid and I've given up on politics anyway. That said, why can't we re-elect Jimmy Carter? The Democratic Party has been running from Carter since he lost his bid for re-election. In fact, this is the first time he's spoken at a Democratic Convention since his nomination. But tonight they came home. Tonight Carter stuck on the Kerry/Edwards ticket like PB on J. He grasped the Navy connection and played it for all it was worth, and it ended up being worth about three Bush service jokes.
Jimmy Carter looks like a man humbled in the sight of his Maker, like he still has blisters on his hands from the day's efforts to house the poor. He stands in awe of all he cannot accomplish and hunches over under the weight of his failures. In my truest moments, I've understood a small part of what he feels.
In our age of all-too-public religious experienced politicians, Carter's conviction is rare. And in this light of religious conviction, I found myself wondering if Carter was stumping or praying as he said, "The biggest reason to make John Kerry president is even more important. It is to safeguard the security of our nation. Today our dominant international challenge is to restore the greatness of America, based on telling the truth, a commitment to peace and respect for civil liberties at home, and basic human rights . " Once shunned as too far from the center, Carter was now called upon to give the thesis statement of the Kerry/Edwards campaign. Carter continued: "Truth is a foundation of our global leadership but our credibility has been shattered.
And we are left increasingly isolated and vulnerable in a hostile world. Without truth, without trust, America cannot flourish. Trust is at the very heart of our Democracy--a scared covenant between a president and a people. When that trust is violated, the bonds that hold our Republic together begin to weaken. " These words were delivered and after one more sentence regarding 9/11, the stadium erupted in cheers. Was it a cue? Do the people in that stadium really care about the liberal foundations of policy before violence?
Are they merely cheering on the cue cards? Since the party has turned its back first on Ralph Nader and then on Howard Dean, I find myself doubting all. But Jimmy Carter is the missing link that I could believe in. He's the road from Clinton/Gore back to Kerry/Edwards. We have yet to see if Carter is merely a sidelined bit player. In my fantasies, Carter is the Kerry/Edwards' Secretary of State, and they announce this in their campaign in their efforts to prove themselves dependent on the power of the word over the power of the bullet. I hesitate to say this, but such a move could actually pull my Nader vote back to the Democratic ticket. We'll see. I bet they don't have the guts. 
