I'm not normally one to praise Jimmy Carter, but I just stumbled onto an interesting tidbit I'd never seen before that (because of my admitted bias) warmed me to him.

Not all Pit Bulls are bad, but they are strong and, when tested, they do attack with a bone-crushing, mutilating bite. The American Pit Bull is too much dog for the average dog owner, and should only be purchased by people who are willing and strong enough to channel that power into productive areas. Nevertheless, they are loving and protective of their families, and owners report them particularly responsive to training: herding, obedience, schutzhund and weight-pulling. An incredible Pit Bull weighing less than 70 pounds set a record by pulling 2,000 pounds. A host of admirers included Helen Keller, Theodore Roosevelt, Thomas Edison (whose dog, "Nipper," was the RCA model) and Jimmy Carter, who had one as a boy. Actors Michael J. Fox and James Caan are current owners.

(Emphasis added.)

Amazingly, there's a picture taken in 1937 of young Jimmy with his pit bull:

The dog's name was "Bozo," and the picture is right there at the Wiki page. While the Wiki writeup says nothing about Bozo, looking at the picture, the dog is obviously a pit bull, no question about it.

Very damning, I'd say.

I guess this means I'll have to step up my efforts to defend this much maligned breed.

Just kidding, folks!

Because, in light of his enlightened pit bull ownership, just for today I thought I'd find something nice to say about Jimmy Carter. So there's this:

Did you know that before he was elected Jimmy Carter had more executive experience than either of the two current candidates for President?

It's true. Carter was Governor of Georgia for four full years (from January 12, 1971 to January 14, 1975).

Why, that's four more years of executive experience than vice presidential candidate Joe Biden, who is often described as "experienced" but who has has spent his entire political life as a legislator, never as an executive.

In terms of hands-on executive experience, only Governor Sarah Palin can approach Jimmy Carter. While it's true that because she was sworn in as Governor on December 4, 2006, she's not quite as experienced as Carter, in terms of executive experience, she's the leader of the current pack.

And that happens to be the truth, regardless of what anyone thinks of pit bulls.