Bond: Carter should 'retire permanently' from nat'l stage

Former President Jimmy Carter should retire permanently from the national limelight, one Republican senator said Thursday.

Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.), who is himself retiring from the Senate at the end of this term, slammed Carter's claims this week that an outburst by Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) during a joint session address of Congress was racially motivated.

"President Carter should retire permanently from the national stage," Bond said during a news conference with Missouri reporters.

Bond acknowledged that Wilson's outburst was "very inappropriate," but defended the House Republican's remarks, decrying any claims that they were racially motivated.

Indeed, Bond saved his harshest words for the ex-president.

"He was not a good president," he said. "He's done lots of things that are harmful as an ex-president, and this is just one of them."