Jimmy Carter, in his ongoing quest for relevance, is calling for President Mubarak to step down, much the same way he contributed to the downfall of the Shah of Iran. Those of us old enough to remember what happened when Khomeini returned to Iran to lead the Islamic revolution do NOT look forward to a repeat of that disaster. 444 days of captivity, and the loss of U.S. military personnel in the poorly planned and executed ‘rescue attempt’ 172 days into the hostage situation that was hamstrung from the White House on down. Carter’s weakness, dithering, and overall ineptitude in the face of this attack on the U.S. caused harm that America is STILL paying the price for to this day.

Carter must be given credit, however grudgingly, for the brokering of The Camp David Accords. Not that it did Israel, Egypt or the U.S. any long-term favors, but the goal was admirable. Unfortunately, it cost Anwar Sadat his life; Carter recently noted the day of Anwar Sadat’s assassination was “one of the worst days of my life.” I don’t believe Anwar Sadat would have claimed that day as a ‘highlight’, either.

Carter would be hard-pressed to find a way to blame Israel for the current situation, though it’s easy to envision him, in his mocked-up Oval Office at his presidential library, sitting around trying to figure out how to dump the blame on the Israelis.

Carter’s weakness finds a mirror in today’s White House; Obama refuses to take the proverbial bull by the horns and DO SOMETHING; while Carter engaged in endless agonizing, Obama appears to blow off the consequences of the instability moving like wildfire through the region, as mere irritants.

The attitude of the current occupant of the White House is what we Americans have come to accept: aloof, disdainful, lecturing and hectoring President Mubarak. One wonders, were such problems to happen here, would other ‘world leaders’ come to Obama’s aid? Or would they tut-tut, and go on about the business of their governments? While Cairo is in what appears to be a state of siege, with President Mubarak holding on by his fingernails, Obama is too busy hosting a party for David Axelrod to offer any concrete solutions.

At least this time around, Obama will find it difficult to blame Israel; surely Benjamin Netanyahu is breathing a sigh of relief.