George Will has a column in today’s Washington Post addressing his role in the so-called briefing book scandal during the 1980 Presidential Race during which the Reagan campaign allegedly got it hands on Jimmy Carter’s briefing book before the first debate. Carter, apparently, has long believed that Will played a role in the affair. Here’s part of a letter Will wrote to Carter in response to that allegation:
“Regarding your briefing book, I will tell you what I have told many others. When I got to David Stockman’s house on the day he was preparing to play the role of you in the debate preparations, he had on his kitchen table what I gather was the briefing book. I do not know how he got it; more to the point, I do not know who thought having it would be helpful. Frankly, you deserved better. My cursory glance at it convinced me that it was a crashing bore and next to useless — for you, or for anyone else.”
Even better, though, is what Will has to say about Carter’s ex-Presidency, which has been nearly as disasterous as his Presidency was:
The role of ex-president requires a grace and restraint notably absent from Carter. See, for example, his criticism of the United States when he is abroad, as in England two weeks ago. Having made such disappointing history as president, Carter as ex-president should at least refrain from disseminating a historical falsehood.
I was young during the Carter Presidency but recall vividly the state of the country by the time he left office. The United States was being humilated by a bunch of Iranian students, the economy was in a shambles, and we had a President taking advice on nuclear disarmament from his pre-teen daughter. On the day after the 1980 election, my friends and I went out and had pizza to celebrate his defeat. Little did I know that his annoying presence would be with us so many years later.
Hat Tip: Vodkapundit
