President Jimmy Carter gave CNN's Erin Burnett what should be the standard response any time a Democrat is asked to respond to criticism from Oliver North.
March 29, 2014

From this Friday's Erin Burnett OutFront, President Jimmy Carter stated the obvious when asked what he thought of Iran Contra war criminal Oliver North's criticisms of him: Jimmy Carter: I don’t pay any attention to Oliver North; he was a criminal:

In an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, North slammed President Obama for his handling of the Russia-Ukraine crisis, by comparing him to the former president.

"Proof that the old axiom 'into any vacuum a leader will eventually come,' Putin has been handed this by what is essentially Jimmy Carter on steroids," North said.

Carter responds to the criticism by recalling North's checkered past.

Transcript

ERIN BURNETT: I’m curious what you think about this because I know this has to frustrate you on some level. The right links you to President Obama all the time. Former Reagan official Oliver North just recently said: ‘President Obama showed a failure of leadership with Ukraine. Putin has handed this by what is essentially Jimmy Carter on steroids.’ How does that make you feel?

JIMMY CARTER: I don’t pay any attention to Oliver North and I’m kind of sorry to hear you quote him. He was a criminal during the Iranian Contra crisis and was convicted of betraying the best interest of our country. And of course he is famous now because he is a constant critic of the democratic party and the democrats. But I don’t worry about that. As of a matter of fact, I don’t think anyone could have moved more strongly against the Soviet Union when they went into Afghanistan than I did.

ERIN BURNETT: And so again, you think it really is about drawing a line? So Putin knows? And believes that if he crosses there will be repercussions.

JIMMY CARTER: When you make a promise, you have got to keep it. You can’t make a deadline and then not honor it. And I think that Brezhnev was convinced that what I said I would do. And I would have.

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