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George Will settles a score with Jimmy Carter
The Peanut Farmer
Columnst George Will settles a score with Jimmy Carter and reminds us of just how petty Carter is. At issue is Carter's recent claim that Will "had stolen my briefing book" and given it to Ronald Reagan's campaign, which used it to prepare for the sole Carter-Reagan debate. Will acknowledges that he inappropriately (from the standpoint of journalistic ethics) participated in the debate preparation and that the Reagan campaign had the briefing book, but he says he was not its source.
Carter also claimed recently that Will wrote to him "asking for forgiveness." This too is not true, Will says. "The only letter I ever wrote to Carter was in response to one he wrote to me on Oct. 29, 1993," Will writes, and he quotes from his own letter setting Carter straight on the false briefing-book allegation.
What's most striking about the story, though, is Carter's 1993 letter to Will, which Will quotes:
His letter began: "For a number of years I have felt some resentment toward you because of the reports that you either knew about or actually used my personal briefing book in preparing Reagan for our campaign debates [sic]." He added:
"Because of this feeling, and despite my lifetime interest in baseball, I even refrained from reading your 'Men at Work.' Recently, in order to learn how to be a better Braves fan next year, I spent $1 in a used bookstore for the book, and really enjoyed it.
"Even if the news stories about the debate incident are true, I feel that we are even now.
"Best wishes,
"Jimmy Carter"
So Carter (a) nurses this trivial grudge for 13 years (and still is after 25 years), (b) refuses to read Will's book because of it, (c) feels vindicated when he finds it on the remainder table, and (d) writes a letter to Will boasting about (c)! Next to this guy, Bill Clinton is Winston Churchill.
- Opinion Journal
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