In 2008 Thomas Friedman said the U.S. could become China for a day

Thomas Friedman has long maintained a set of curious views about world affairs, including climate change.

In 2008 , he wished that the U.S. could become “ China for a day,” so that our government could enact the planet-saving taxes, regulations, and product bans that would then be irreversible.

Julian Zelizer : Friedman 's celebration of Carter 's supposed achievements is not surprising, given their shared underestimation of the real dangers facing the world.

Frida Ghitis : Carter deserves to be celebrated for his foresight on clean energy and Mideast peace.

She says he deservedly received acclaim for brokering the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel at Camp David in 1979 .

But he failed to appreciate the difference between Sadat 's willingness to negotiate peace and the unwillingness of dictators like Syria ’s Hafez - al-Assad and terrorist groups like Hamas to acknowledge the right to exist.

David Schaeffer : Carter displayed an extraordinary blindness and gullibility regarding world affairs.

He says he was forced to recant his views following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan late in 1979 , remarking that the invasion had taught him more than he’d ever realized about the ideology.

Still, over the long run, Carter retained his naiveté about both the Middle East and Communism.