A President's Dignity, Another's Disgrace ~ Coretta Scott King's Funeral

Jimmy Carter Stoops with Dotard "Reverend"

This was to be her day. An event where tens of thousands would hope to catch a glimpse of the "First Lady of Civil Rights." This was the day to celebrate the life, and message, of Coretta Scott King. Celebrities, Clergy, Activists, Congressmen and even the current and former Presidents came to show their respects.

That is, all but two. Widely thought of as the Worst President in Modern Times, Jimmy Carter decided to follow the unfortunate example of an elderly activist/reverend (I'm trying to be nice) who had earlier shown his disrespect to the lady, and the occassion.

President Bush is said to have a very real affection for Mrs. King, having met with her on several occassions during his tenure in the White House. Despite an impossibly busy schedule he brought his wife Laura to pay their last respects to his friend Coretta ~ and got publicly slammed in front of millions.

Activist/Reverend Lowery during his "eulogy" ~

"We know now there were no weapons of mass destruction over there...but Coretta knew, and we know, that there are weapons of misdirection right down here," he bellowed, nodding toward the row of presidents. "For war, billions more, but no more for the poor!" The suddenly hip-hop-poetry-loving crowd cheered.((Glad to see he found a way to work Mrs. King's name in there somewhere.))

And if that wasn't bad enough, a smug Carter a bit later ~

"It was difficult for them then personally with the civil liberties of both husband and wife violated as they became the target of secret government wiretaps." The crowd cheered - wiretapping, get it? ((Of course, Jimmy neglected to mention that it was under a Democratic Whitehouse that Attorney General Robert Kennedy was surveilling the King couple.))

Further on, obviously not satisfied with his idiocy, Carter said Hurricane Katrina showed that all are not yet equal in America. New Orleans Blacks intentionally left to die, right?

Of course, the liberal blogs are making much out of the President sitting through all of this behind the podium, squirming in his chair with an embarrassed smile, while Laura looked a bit peeved. WHAT? How exactly would we expect him to react?

By remaining seated and silent, and by thoughtfully eulogizing this brave woman's life without attempting politics or smear like his critics, George Bush showed a great deal of poise and grace in a difficult position. The disrespect shown by these two pathetic activists on a day meant to celebrate Coretta Scott King's Life is a disgrace, and yet has some value - in that it demonstrates some very poignant distinctions. Naturally, it is up to the reader to decide what those are.