Look what came in the mail today...

[Spitfire of ATJ]

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. That is one beautiful card.........and from President and Mrs. Carter!

Merry Christmas to you and yours, my dear Spitfire!

[Spitfire of ATJ]

3. To think,...there are some here who have questioned my loyalty to the Party.

[corkhead]

19. and the Mo Udall supporters would have said the same thing about you for not supporting

the front runner and party favorite at Christmas time in 1975

[Spitfire of ATJ]

20. It's nice that Carter made him his Vice Prez to unite the party.....

Oh wait,....he didn't.

[tblue37]

5. Notice that the cover art is an original painting by Pres. Carter. nt

[Spitfire of ATJ]

8. It's hand signed too.

[yeoman6987]

30. I hope it is

But I worked for a university that had a machine with a real pen that signed all the president's correspondence. In this case, I really hope he did really sign it.

[applegrove]

2. Saw on the cbc news today that people drive for hours, sleep in their

cars, all so that they can get a ticket 24 hours early for a seat in the Church Carter teaches in.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

4. Helen Thomas said his press conferences felt like Sunday School.

[UTUSN]

16. & there is the rub for me. JFK observed the separation of church and state. CARTER blurred it.

I can pinpoint the birth of the Jesus Freak phenomenon of the '70s, to Summer of '69. My ship was anchored off of San Diego, and about a dozen of us sailors in our Dress Whites (Cracker Jack uniforms) were in a little Liberty boat ferrying us to the beach for R&R. The ocean and sky were magnificently blue and a brilliant, unobstructed panorama. Yet alone was one of us all hunched over with his eyeglasses and nose buried in reading his Bible. I was thinking, how about *lifting* your gaze to see the magnificence all around us?! I completed my four years in '71 and back at college saw Jesus Freaks and Scientologists all over the place (along with all the other Ways of searching that were going on). Then after '76 it all became official with Jimmy and his Bible. I didn't/couldn't have this perspective about what it was all about back then.

[truebluegreen]

17. Everyone always overlooks that.

I personally don't give a rodent's behind about a President or presidential candidate's personal beliefs/view of God/whatever; I care about their policies and that's it.

To me the fact that Carter lives his beliefs does not excuse introducing them to the public arena--pray in private, dammit!

[SusanCalvin]

18. Exactly. nt

[Spitfire of ATJ]

23. Everybody also overlooks the number of Trilateral Commission cabinet members too.

[truebluegreen]

24. Very good point.

And if I recall correctly, deregulation started under Carter (airlines), as did arming the Afghan rebels...letting the Shah into the country, even for medical care, didn't turn out to be a boffo idea either.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

25. Remember the right-wing OUTRAGE over the pardoning of people who fled to Canada to avoid the draft?

[pinboy3niner]

26. I remember

I went from CA to D.C. to do a special USC semester program and a congressional internship at the beginning of the Carter Administration. I ended up writing my Representative's press release explaining Carter's amnesty order.

That was 7 years after I'd been wounded in Vietnam, and I agreed with President Carter and supported his action. Same with my internship supervisor, my Rep.'s Administrative Assistant. He'd served as an Air Force Captain in Vietnam, and the Army had promoted me to Captain in the hospital. We reserved our outrage for the chickenhawks, who somehow got a pass from the Right.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

27. I had one cousin who died in Vietnam and another who fled to Canada who was able to come home....

Carter did a lot of good that people could actually see.

[truebluegreen]

28. Yes, I do.

I remember the right-wing outrage over a lot of things (solar panels on the White House roof, the so-called "malaise" speech, the hostages in Iran, the botched rescue attempt etc etc etc: it is what they do best and always has been. But as much as I admire Carter the man and ex-President, I am still aware that we took some wrong turns in those years.

[Enthusiast]

6. That is so nice.

[JDPriestly]

7. Thanks for sharing. The card is beautiful.

[DUbeornot2be]

9. I knew the...

... whole data breach thing had President Carter's hands in it somehow!

Sort of expected this to be one of those unsolicited mailing threads when I hit the link... What a heartwarming surprise!

... a great card from one of the best!

Peace!

[daybranch]

10. Jimmy Carter is an authentic hero who warns us that we have an oligarchy.

Those that can't see that put themselves and our country in continuing peril. The oligarchy of the rich are killing us all. This greedy class is rapidly and greedily turning everyone else into the needy class. We need to fight back now for ourselves, our fiend , our children, our parents, and the world. Lets make a better America to celebrate Christmas in next year. You already know what you should do. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

[TexasProgresive]

11. Thanks for sharing

[brer cat]

12. Lovely!

I adore, admire, and respect the Carters so much. You are special to get one of those hand signed.

[Lizzie Poppet]

13. What a treasure!

I'd frame that and proudly place it on my wall.

[cwydro]

14. My mom got one too.

It's a beautiful card.

We have it proudly displayed with the others.

[Phentex]

15. I got one too. The signature is exactly the same so I don't think it's hand signed...

I think they are printed to look like it. Keep it and compare it to next year's.

I know at times it's good marketing but I can never refuse a donation request when it comes to Jimmy Carter. I have been a supporter for many years. He's the real deal.

[pinboy3niner]

21. When my son was little he got a wooden Easter egg engraved with the signatures of Jimmy and Rosalynn

He found the egg at the White House Easter Egg Roll in '77 or so. Luckily, he also found some plastic eggs with candy, or he would have been really disappointed. Mom and dad loved it, of course.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

22. Just looked at it under oblique light for an indentation and I think you're right.

[Phentex]

31. It's still very exciting!...

They do such good work for the world.

Rosalyn is the one I worry about right now. She still makes appearances but I had heard that she doesn't do so well at times. i know they can't live forever but i feel better knowing they have left an invaluable legacy with the Carter Center.

[malaise]

29. Gorgeous

Rec