A few years ago, I wrote a “two-cheers” tribute to Jimmy Carter’s presidency, which in many ways was more successful than one might think. (Of course, Carter really believed that the 70 percent marginal tax rates somehow contributed to American prosperity, but he went beyond his bad instincts and gave us some decent economic legislation.)

But, for all the statesmanship he has demonstrated in his very successful ex-presidency, I am reminded that in the end, he is little more than a political hack. Hence, we have the following quotes from Carter:

“I was teaching a Sunday school class two weeks ago,” he recalls. “A girl, she was about 16 years old from Panama City [Fla.], asked me about the differences between Democrats and Republicans.

“I asked her, ‘Are you for peace, or do you want more war?’ Then I asked her, ‘Do you favor government helping the rich, or should it seek to help the poorest members of society? Do you want to preserve the environment, or do you want to destroy it? Do you believe this nation should engage in torture, or should we condemn it? Do you think each child today should start life responsible for $28,000 in [federal government] debt, or do you think we should be fiscally responsible?’

“I told her that if she answered all of those questions, that she believed in peace, aiding the poor and weak, saving the environment, opposing torture . . . then I told her, ‘You should be a Democrat.’ ”

First, using a Sunday School class for partisan political purposes, whether the person be on the right or left, in my book is simply immoral. Second, as one who is familiar with the reign of Janet Reno, Democrats have used torture, false imprisonment, persecution of the weak, and war as political tools. Can anyone spell “Waco” or “Kosovo”? Enough said.

Seeing this quote reminds me once again that I simply do not like Jimmy Carter and realize that a leopard cannot change his spots. He is a political hack like everyone else who comes from that evil political culture.