Livid Lawmaker - Corzine Angry over Papal Funeral "Snub" of Carter

From Fox News' Political Grapevine:

"New Jersey Democrat Jon Corzine's office put out a statement today saying the Senator was 'livid' that President Bush 'refused to allow' Jimmy Carter to join the official U.S. delegation to the Vatican. Corzine accused the President of 'injecting petty partisan politics' into the Pope's death, and called the 'snub,' 'sad, disappointing, and extremely disturbing.'

"But Carter says he was invited to join the delegation and declined, saying that because of the limited number of invitations, he would defer to others who wanted to attend. What's more, Corzine now admits to FOX News that he hasn't spoken with President Carter on the issue and has no evidence to suggest that Carter was snubbed by the White House."

My Comments:
Imagine that. Without any evidence whatsoever, and without bothering to verify the truth of the matter, a Democrat U.S. Senator accuses President Bush of playing "petty partisan politics" with respect to putting together the official U.S. delegation to the funeral of Pope John Paul II -- just because Jimmy Carter isn't among the dignitaries attending, even though he was, if Corzine had bothered to check, invited.

Contrary to Corzine's assertion that the White House injected "petty partisan politics" into the decision, if anyone is using the death of the Holy Father to try to score cheap political points, it's Democrats like Corzine who make unsubstantiated accusations in an effort to embarrass the President on the world stage. Oh yeah, and let's not forget their willing accomplices in the media like Today Show hosts Matt Lauer and Katie Couric and their guest Andrea Mitchell who engaged in such factually unsupported speculation yesterday.

As for Corzine's knee-jerk assumptions and his willingness to cheapen the solemnity of the Papal Funeral for the purpose of political grandstanding, it seems that money may be able to buy you a seat in the United States Senate, but it sure can't buy you class.

UPDATE:
Sources say that Jimmy Carter's real motivation behind his desire to be in Rome is so that the Carter Center can monitor the upcoming Papal election for fairness. Apparently, Carter is responding to concerns raised by advocates for "social justice" and "liberation theology" about efforts within the College of Cardinals to impose a right-wing autocratic theocracy upon the Catholic Church.
:)