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Carter, who died on Dec. 29 at age 100, outlived most of the cabinet officials and members of Congress who served while he was president in the late 1970s. One exception was President Biden, who as a young senator was early to endorse Carter's 1976 campaign for the White House.
Speaking before Carter's flag-draped casket on Thursday, Biden and others who eulogized the 39th president remembered him as a devoted Christian and longtime Sunday school teacher who sought to restore integrity to government after the Watergate scandal left Americans disillusioned about their leaders.
Biden said strength of character was Carter's "enduring attribute." A Navy officer and a peanut farmer from small-town Georgia, Carter "came from a house without running water or electricity and rose to the pinnacle of power," but "never let titles and politics deter him from his mission to serve and shape the world," Biden said.
Former President Gerald Ford addressed Carter in a eulogy written before Ford's death in 2006 that was read by his son, Steven. Ford, who lost the presidency to Carter in 1976, said the former adversaries became friends on a long flight in 1981 after both had known electoral defeat.
"Jimmy, I'm looking forward to our reunion," Ford said in his eulogy. "We have much to catch up on."
The moments before the service brought political rivals together. President-elect Donald Trump elicited a laugh from former President Barack Obama during an animated chat. Trump also shook hands with his former vice president, Mike Pence, who became an adversary after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot and ran against Trump for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.
Former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush also attended, as did other former first ladies except Michelle Obama.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة January 10, 2025 من The Wall Street Journal.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
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هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة January 10, 2025 من The Wall Street Journal.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول