Maybe Mr. Levin is missing the point. You say we are in back channel discussions with Hamas in violation of our foolish right wing president's philosophy never to talk to terrorists. These terrorists have more credibility, not due to Jimmy Carter, but due to Bush's insistence on an election in Palestine. Bush seemed to need to buttress his rationale for the Iraq War as being a war fought for the establishment of democracy when in fact the whole Middle East has become even more a jumbled mess because of Bush's policies. Yet Carter is to blame. Yours is a moronic argument. Why don't you put the Middle East mess squarely on the person who has exacerbated it more than anyone - George W. Bush.