We are constantly told the US is divided between Red States and Blue States. After reading through my mailbag on my Carter/Hamas column of last week, I'm thinking a far better way to assess the divisions that cleave this nation is the Carter Test: Was  Carter's  homage to Arafat (picured above) and obeisance to Hamas A) a Boon to Mankind or B) a Moral and National Disgrace? The two moral worldviews are mutually exclusive.

A sampling from the A) people, who, as you will see, discuss only the supposed depredations of Israel--never a word against or even about  Hamas.

Jimmy Carter is trying to achieve peace in the region where the Israelis are continuing to sow the  seeds of war by--

Don't tell me: blowing up discos? pizza parlors? shooting at commuters? kidnapping foreign journalists?

--continuing to allow settlements in the Palestinian [sic] territories. This is in violation of the Oslo Peace Accord agreed upon during the Carter [sic] presidency.

And now it gets really nice:

"American is turning into a gynocratic quagmire thanks to people like you  and that douche bag from North Carolina, Sue Myrick..."

Three cheers for Sue Myrick.

But OK. You get the foul picture. No need to continue.

Next:

Ms. West...You have a lot of nerve criticizing a man who has spent much of his life helping the less fortunate, and working for peace in the world.

What a guy.

If the Bush administration was doing the right kind of job, nobody would have to do this.

"This" being meeting with genocidal Hamas maniacs.

But the Bush Administration isn't about peace, they are all about war. They have given Israel their full support no matter what. And the Israelis are wrong about a lot of things.

Israel, Israel, Israel.

They have treated the Palestinians almost as bad as Hitler treated the Jews..."

Here we see the complete triumph of the Arab-Left propaganda machine that has successfully transformed reality into an endless loop of gibberish through which runs a barely contained antisemitism. Fact: The Fatah and Hamas Charters both continue to call for the annihilation of the Jewish state. Fact: Israel continues to attempt to defend itself against this relentless jihad, openly codified in these official Arab documents. In inverted-reality land, where antisemitism is apparently valued as a public good, the defensive war for existence waged by Israel translates into the Israelis acting toward the Palestinians "almost as bad as Hitler."

(Only "almost"?)

The above-mentioned letter droned on—“give Jimmy Carter a whole lot fo credit for criticizing the Israelis and the Bush administration”—and concluded:

"And next time you feel like bad-talking a peace maker, bad talk Jesus. He would do the same thing."

For talking to terrorists, then, James Earl Carter = Jesus Christ. Oddly enough, the purported holiness of James Earl Carter is a running theme in pro-Carter letters. Here is another letter in support of St. Jimmy:

[Diana West] reports that she was sickened by the activity of former President Jimmy Carter who takes seriously the words of the One who said, “Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you.”  Does she wish that Carter would follow those who say “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth”?

"Eye for an eye" is Old Testament, right? Hmmm.  

Isn't it right to dialogue with the duly elected leader of a people? 

If the "duly elected leader" is trying to bring about a people's annihilation  there's not much to talk about.

Isn't it good to seek to find the path to peace that each side can agree too? 

If the "duly elected leader" is trying to bring about a people's annihilation  there's not much room for agreement.

The longer peace is delayed the more land the Israeli government will steal from the Palestinians....[Meanwhile, the Israelis] are erecting a 30 foot  high wall that is the most crooked one can devise --

(Well, what can you expect from such "crooked" people...?)

"--so that they can--"

Three guesses: Keep Hamas out of Israeli cities? Keep Islamic Jihad out of Israeli cities? Keep Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades out Israeli cities? Nope.

"--create `facts' of ownership when they next find it expedient to again enter into dialogue with the Palestinians."

Secession from the Carter People, anyone?