By Alan M. Dershowitz
If money determines political and public views-as Carter insists "Jewish money" does-then Carter's views on the Middle East must be deemed to have been influenced by the vast sums of Arab money he has received. If he who pays the piper calls the tune, then Carter's off- key tunes have been called by his Saudi Arabian paymasters. It pains me to say this, but I now believe that there is no person in American public life today who has a lower ratio of real [integrity] to apparent integrity than Jimmy Carter.
The public perception of his integrity is extraordinarily high. H is real integrity, it now turns out, is extraordinarily low. He is no better than so many former American politicians who, after leaving public life, sell themselves to the highest bidder and become lobbyists for despicable causes. (link)
Comment: I never voted for Jimmy Carter, but I have always liked him. I thought he was a poor president but a good man. Since leaving office, I have admired his work with Habitat and efforts to combat poverty in undeveloped countries.
I am taking this commentary from Alan Dershowitz with a grain of salt. Dershowitz has been a consistent, enthusiastic, public supporter of Israel and Jewish causes his whole career so he can hardly be considered an unbiased observer. Although he served as an informal advisor to Carter during his administration, after Carter published his book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, Dershowitz became a critic.
It is difficult to know how much a person or organization is influenced by their funders. Those who favor nationalization of health care in America, are quick to point out that opponents of health care reform often receive large contributions from the insurance and pharmaceutical industry. Does that mean that we should discount their criticism? Do funders support people who share their opinion or do people take positions that please their funders? Is Carter immune from the influence of money yet other people are not? It may be a little harsh to say Carter is and ex-President for sale. I have no idea to what extend Carter’s financial ties to anti-Semitic Arab interest influences his opinion, but that connection should certainly be revealed.
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