Farewell To A Humble Humanitarian And Statesman: Goodnight Jimmy Carter
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Welcome to The Politocrat. I'm Omar Moore. It is Thursday, January the 9th, 2025. On this edition of The Politocrat, President Jimmy Carter heads to his final resting place and a funeral service honoring and celebrating the man. All of that coming up next.

Dear listener, welcome to this brand new edition of the Politocrat Daily Podcast. Today is a national day of mourning for President Jimmy Carter, the former president who passed away on December the 29th, just what, 10 days or so ago now.

And it was a very, I think, moving service that was given today in Washington, D.C. As the nation remembered President Jimmy Carter, as I said, who passed away yesterday.

Just last month, at the age of 100, it was one of those services that you had to watch. I'll be playing you some of the clips from the service. It was a moving, moving service. I found myself crying on a number of occasions. This is a decent human being that we lost. Of course, I had talked about that in a previous episode of this podcast late last year at

right after President Carter had passed away. And I played you his speech that I think is one of his most legendary speeches, a crisis of confidence. I might just do that again today, but maybe letting this service speak for itself might be for the better. As President Carter was laid to rest, and he was laid to rest in Plains, Georgia,

today after this service had concluded in DC at the church. And there were people who, of course, have occupied the White House. Previously, I found it to be interesting, all of them who are living were at the service. George W. Bush was at the service. President Obama was at the service. And President Biden was at the service.

President Clinton was at the service and they were joined by a convicted felon who was sitting next to President Obama and yucking it up with him. And the two of them were getting on like a house on fire, very friendly and jovial and in really positive spirits.

President Obama, I think, was probably designated to sit there as a buffer because no one else came up to, at least as I saw throughout this funeral service prior to it getting underway, nobody came up to the convicted felon. And why should they? Why should they come anywhere near him? Mike Pence, the former vice president, at least I will call him for his proper title because that's what he actually was.

Mike Pence, the former vice president, sat, what, one or two rows, I think two rows behind the convicted felon. And that must have been really something. I wonder if Mike Pence even looked in his general direction. I'm sure they did not have anything to say to each other. And so, yeah, it was something to see all of these people in the same room within, what, a few feet of each other. Vice President Harris was there. She completely ignored

the convicted felon. And, you know, again, I thought that was the right move. Her husband, the current second gentleman, Doug Emhoff, also ignored the convicted felon. And of course, the first lady of the United States, Jill Biden, was in the building, as was first lady, former first lady, Laura Bush. And the wife of the convicted felon was sitting there as well, looking as morose as ever. And

These two people should not be anywhere near the White House. We've established this a million times over, but again, the American public...

lack of decency. The American public who voted for this trash bucket lacked the kind of decency that Jimmy Carter exemplified. And of course, the trash bucket himself lacked all decency. And you'll hear from President Biden, and I think he was really aiming some of his comments squarely in the direction of the convicted felons. So it was remarkable to have all of these people in the same room.

The former first lady of the United States and the former presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, was in the building as well. And you also had Dan Quayle, the former vice president under George H.W. Bush, also in the building.

Which I found to be quite fascinating. Dick Cheney did not appear at the funeral service. The former vice president under George W. Bush, he did not appear. One can only think it was due to health reasons, distance, travel, all the rest of it.

Dick Cheney, who's originally from Texas, but has now made his home for the last several years and decades in Wyoming. Um, I think, you know, probably stayed there on the ranch and didn't want to go anywhere near that convicted felon. Um, and even, even someone like a war criminal, even a war criminal like Dick Cheney had the sense to stay away. And even the war criminal, like George W. Bush, uh,

had the good sense to not shake the hand of a convicted felon. Isn't that just remarkable? George W. Bush and Laura Bush walked in, in the pew, in the aisle in the pew, and did not go anywhere near

uh this convicted felon they did not even look at him really and sat down shook the hands of a number of people including former vice president al gore and um you know they had a pleasant handshake of all the people who shake hands you know it was george w bush and al gore they shook hands

and were quite cordial with each other and quite, you know, jovial with each other. But there was no way that George W. Bush, even George W. Bush, there was no way he was going to shake the hand or even look in the general direction of the convicted felon. So

That is just, I think, quite fascinating. There were some other people at this service before I get to the service itself, playing you some of the clips, dear listener. And I do hope you are well on this Thursday. Sunny here in San Francisco, obviously, still very much, my thoughts are with those in Los Angeles, where this wildfire, these wildfires have really, really, really now gone beyond out of control. They continue to multiply.

Hollywood Hills last night as well has now caught fire. It's just a horrible situation. The worst wildfires in the history of Los Angeles now, as now thousands and thousands of acres have been burned and, you know, fatalities grow, people's lives gone and memories gone and structures completely destroyed as well. So, you know, it's a very solemn day in that respect as well.

And one of the other things I wanted to say about this service, going back to that, is that there were some other people at the service that I shouldn't say I was surprised to see at the service, but I was somewhat surprised.

although I guess it shouldn't be, the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who will be the soon-to-be ex-Prime Minister of Canada. He was at the service. He was spotted there. President Biden shook his hand after the service concluded, and that's how I saw him. He was there.

And so it was good to see him, actually. And I need to still talk about Justin Trudeau in more detail at some point in the next few days since, of course, his resignation announcement earlier this week. And also, I was surprised to see, I know that Supreme Court Justice Katanji Brown Jackson would be there, and she was, and I saw her. But I was really surprised, actually, to see U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. I did not expect to see him anywhere near the building. But

but there he was, there he was, and I'm surprised to see him there. But I think those are the only two United States Supreme Court justices, current justices, who were in that chapel today. I also saw Republican Senate leader, the Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Thune, he was there in the building. That was not a surprise. But those are just about the names that

that I wanted to pick out there that I caught a glimpse of during the course of what was, again, a very moving service. I think a service that has some humor to it.

and some of the eulogies and the tributes and that had a solemnity and dignity and the feeling to it as well. As we remember the former president of the United States, the 39th president of the United States, uh, president Jimmy Carter, who, as I've said, died 10 days ago. Now it's incredible how this time zooms by, um, you know, just about 10, 11, whatever days ago it was about 12 days ago. I think it was now. Um,

At the age of 100. And so he also got to remember President Carter, one of the last things he got to do was to vote for Vice President Harris. And so it was a special moment. I think I saw that Vice President Harris was there and she completely ignored the convicted felon as well, as I think I mentioned earlier.

And so, yeah, this was really one of those kinds of days that was, you know, the emotions were definitely there for me as I was watching this ceremony and taking it in. And also, you know, again, I had met

President Carter. So I think that's another thing. I actually met the man, shook his hand, spoke to him. And, you know, he signed a copy of one of his books way back when, when he visited here in San Francisco, one of his book tours. And I posted this picture on social media, you know, you know, last year, late last year when he had passed.

the book Our Endangered Values, and he signed a copy of that for me, and it was really great to actually meet him. So yeah, for me personally, this took on a little extra emotional resonance. And so what I want to do now, dear listener, without any further ado, is play you a clip here and a clip there from some of these tributes and the eulogies that were performed today, that were given today during the course of this service. Now, the first person you're going to hear

is Stuart Eisenstadt. Now, he was the White House Domestic Affairs Advisor for President Jimmy Carter, and it was good to hear from him. And what you're going to hear for the next 10 minutes or so is the vast majority of what Stuart Eisenstadt had to say. Stuart Eisenstadt, not easy for me to say, obviously. Again, the former White House Domestic Affairs Advisor.

for Jimmy Carter. He was skilled in an astonishing array of activities, farmer, businessman, nuclear engineer, naval submarine officer, woodworker, painter, fly fisherman, music lover, poet, author, Sunday school teacher, creator of the Carter Center, and yes, loving husband, father, grandfather, and great grandfather and Nobel Peace Prize winner.

Behind that toothy smile was a man of steel determination, discipline, and self-confidence. In 1974, when he was governor of Georgia, I suggest that if he ran for president and won a few southern primaries, he might get lucky and be the vice presidential nominee for regional balance.

With his broadest grin, he said, Stu, I've already decided to run, but I will be the Democratic nominee for president, not vice president. For one of our nation's most religious presidents, it's appropriate to celebrate Jimmy Carter's remarkable life in this magnificent cathedral. His religious values gave him an unshakable sense of right and wrong.

animating his support for civil rights at home and human rights abroad, and propelling him to major achievements as the only Democratic president elected between 1968 and 1992. His faith brought integrity to the presidency after the Watergate and Vietnam eras. "I'll never lie to you," he promised. It was a vow he fulfilled.

But his faith respected other religions as well. He was the first president to light a Hanukkah menorah. He created the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, which I have the honor of sharing. He had a kosher Shabbat dinner at Camp David for the Israeli delegation and came to our house for a Passover Seder only weeks after he negotiated the treaty between Israel and Egypt. As we lay our 39th president,

to rest. It's time to redeem his precedence and also lay to rest the myth that his greatest achievements came only as a former president. The test of American presidents is not the number of years they serve, but the duration of their accomplishments. By this measure, Jimmy Carter was among the most consequential one-term presidents in American history. His intellect

Prodigious work habits, discipline and mastery of details were crucial to his success at home and abroad. President Carter parked politics at the Oval Office door to do what he believed was the right thing, taking controversial challenges on, regardless of the political consequences, and frankly, there were many. Much of his agenda passed with bipartisan support

a quaint notion in today's hyper-polarized politics. Independent surveys indicated he had one of the highest success rates in passing his major legislation of any American president. And he was remarkably accessible to the press and to the American people. This president from the deepest part of the deep south championed civil rights, appointing more people of color

and women to senior executive positions and judgeships than all previous 38 presidents before him. He created the Department of Education and dramatically increased funding for low and moderate income students. And we can thank him for all the ethics in government laws, comprehensive civil service reform,

the creation of FEMA to coordinate natural disaster relief and rebuilding that remain crucially important today and we see it in Los Angeles. Jimmy Carter was also the greatest environmental president since Theodore Roosevelt, adding 80 million acres in Alaska to the National Park System. And his Global 2000 report forecast climate change.

His energy bills were critical to move our country from dependence on foreign oil to energy security. We are now, as a result, the largest oil and gas producer in the world. He provided the first incentives for conservation and inaugurated the era of clean energy and symbolized it with solar panels he installed on the White House roof.

underappreciated at the time, but now widely recognized by Republicans and Democrats alike. President Carter was a great deregulator, winning legislative battles to loosen the regulatory bonds and shackles on airlines, thereby democratizing air travel, on trucking and rails, therefore helping our supply chains be more efficient.

Telecommunications leading to the cable TV era and even the beer industry, which encouraged local craft beers. And he did so without compromising health and safety. These laid the foundations for today's innovative economy. Nothing better embodies President Carter than how he dealt with the inflation that beleaguered the nation under three presidents, two Republican presidents.

Nixon, and Ford and himself during the 1970s. Over the objection of all of his advisers, he chose Paul Volcker to lead the Federal Reserve, knowing in advance that Volcker's tough monetary policy would raise interest rates and unemployment because Paul told him that, and would do so in a presidential election year.

You take care of the economy, Paul. I'll take care of the politics. Inflation indeed dropped like a rock after he left office and remained low for decades. Abroad, Jimmy Carter laid the building blocks for a better world. He was the first president to make human rights a priority for U.S. foreign policy. And this led directly to the release of thousands of political prisoners in Latin America.

and stimulated them to a lasting democratic transition. He ushered in a new era of hemispheric relations with the Panama Canal treaties, the toughest legislative battle of his presidency. He uniquely combined the soft power of human rights

championing freedom for the communist East Bloc countries and tripling the emigration of Soviet Jews. He combined that with hard power, rebuilding America's military strength after its post-Voligate decline. He negotiated a major nuclear arms treaty with the Soviets, while at the same time initiated every single weapons system

that came online in the 1980s. Those new weapons helped end the Cold War. He normalized relations with China, and even his critics applauded his tough measures after the Soviets invaded Afghanistan. Jimmy Carter's most lasting achievement, and the one I think he was most proud of, was to bring the first peace to the Middle East.

through the greatest act of personal diplomacy in American history, the Camp David Accords. For 13 days and nights, he negotiated with Israel's Menachem Begin and Egypt's Anwar Sadat, personally drafting more than 20 peace proposals and shuttling them between the Israeli and Egyptian delegations. And he saved the agreement at the 11th hour, and it was the 11th hour.

by appealing to Begum's love of his grandchildren. For the past 45 years, the Egypt-Israel peace treaty has never been violated and laid the foundation for the Abraham Accord. On the other side of the ledger was Iran. Jimmy Carter did not lose Iran. The Shah did. But the hostage crisis was a major factor in denying him a second term, despite his support for the Shah.

because he placed the safe return of the hostages above his own political fortunes. He took full responsibility for the failure of the bold hostage rescue mission and worked tirelessly even after his bitter re-election defeat to Ronald Reagan, securing their release on the last day of his presidency. In the end, Jimmy Carter taught all of us

how to live a life fulfilled with faith and service. He said, I have one life to live. I feel like God wants me to do the best I can do with it, to let me live my life so that it will be meaningful. Well, Mr. President, you've more than achieved that goal. He may not be a candidate for Mount Rushmore, but he belongs in the foothills of making the U.S. stronger and the world safer.

Jimmy Carter has earned his place in heaven. But just as he was free with sometimes unsolicited advice for his presidential successors, the Lord of all creation should be ready for Jimmy's recommendations on how to make God's realm a more peaceful place.

That was Stuart Eisenstadt, the former White House domestic affairs advisor for President Jimmy Carter, with his eulogy, his tribute to the man he worked for, for the four years that Jimmy Carter was in the White House as president of the United States. The last couple of minutes of Stuart Eisenstadt's eulogy is remembrance.

was when he talked about the hostage situation. And I've talked about this before, the hostage situation in Iran. The American hostages, dozens and dozens of American hostages held in Iran. Jimmy Carter had secured their release. And remember, this is something that Stuart Eisenstadt obviously steered clear of in his remarks that you heard. Remember that it was Ronald Reagan who committed an act of treason.

in aiding comfort and aiding the enemy and giving comfort to the enemy iran by telling them not to release the american hostages that uh present carter at the time had secured the release of and he said that look you can get them a better deal a better situation don't release them yet and um you know i will do i promise you if i win this election you know

Hey, release them afterwards. And that's exactly what happened, you know, and Reagan ended up getting inaugurated and within what, an hour, a day of Reagan's inauguration on January 20th, 1981, the hostages were then released. And had those hostages been released while Jimmy Carter was still in office prior to the election, because this hostage crisis went on for well over a year,

Jimmy Carter would have been a two-term president. I'm very confident of that. And in the economic situations and inflation, which he improved, by the way, and the whole oil crisis, which was really an issue for him, they were problems. But let me tell you, that was a problem, the oil crisis. But let me tell you, he would have got a second term had those hostages been released before the election. And, uh,

Ronald Reagan committed flat-out treason, as Republicans love to do in the history of this country. Create treason, you know, commit treason, flat-out treason. Remember that Richard Nixon did the same thing as a private citizen back in 1968 when he told the South Vietnamese to walk away from the peace talks in Paris. Remember that? If you are of a certain age, Anna Shinob, the spy, played a large role in facilitating that on behalf of Richard Nixon.

And Tricky Dick said, look, don't have any more talks. You wait until I get into office. I can get you a better deal than the...

Johnson administration, LBJ's administration was working hard to get this done and they wanted to, they encouraged these talks and they were very much in favor of making sure that there was a deal done. But that didn't happen because of the intervention of a private citizen named Richard Tricky Dick Nixon. And as a result of the election, when he won in 68, the hostages, the hostages, the talks

you know, collapsed before he got into office. And then, of course, you saw what happened. The war went on for several more years. So Tricky Dick Nixon and Ronald Reagan are two of the Republicans who committed treason against the United States, acting against the interests of the United States. And the infamous phone call, the unforgettable phone call that Everett Dirksen and

LBJ had while LBJ was still in office back in October of 1968.

When LBJ said to Everett Dirksen, the Republican Senate majority leader, it's treason, Everett. This is treason. He's talking about Nixon doing what he did with the South Vietnamese peace talks in Paris. Remember that. He says, you know, this is treason, Everett. This is treason. And then Everett Dirksen says in his very kind of low, understated voice, I know.

And it's just, again, that's the history of this country, history of what these Republicans have done. And both of those guys, Nixon and Reagan, got two terms in office. Fancy that, even though, of course, Nixon didn't serve two terms, two full terms, remember?

Ronald Reagan did. And of course, you've got Iran-Contra as a result. Arms for hostages. Hmm. I wonder where that came from, Ronald Reagan. So you had that under him. And of course, under Nixon, you had the disaster that was Watergate, although, excuse me, not only the disaster that was Watergate, the disaster that was Vietnam, although, again, it didn't start under Nixon. You

That is the short history. And Stuart Eisenstadt was talking about that hostage situation. And yeah, you know, Ronald Reagan absolutely committed an act of treason. He violated the

Logan Act as well. And there's a great book that talks about, goes into more detail that goes in, and this is a really good book to read. And I solidly recommend it. It's by Craig Unger, U-N-G-E-R. And he was actually on Roland Martin Unfiltered. Yesterday was Craig Unger, Roland Martin Unfiltered, by the way, can be watched on YouTube, youtube.com forward slash Roland S. Martin. And

between the hours of 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Eastern Time Live, although you can watch it on replay as well and on the Black Star Network app. And on the show with Roland Martin yesterday, that would be Wednesday, Craig Unger, the author of the book Den of Spies, which chronicles Ronald Reagan's...

undercutting of Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan committing treason, an act of treason against the United States of America and doing so as a private citizen while President Jimmy Carter is in office trying to get the hostages released prior to the election of 1980, the presidential election of that year. And so you have to read that book.

It really goes into some real depth about that whole period of time, how dastardly Reagan was, what Jimmy Carter was doing, and all the rest of it to try to safeguard these hostages and have these American hostages released prior to the election. So anyway, that's something I wanted to add.

People pretend to, you know, people try to forget or pretend that that Reagan treason didn't exist. You don't hear about it on the news. You don't hear about it in any conversations unless, of course, you go to someone like Roland Martin or unless you read the book by Craig Unger called Den of Spies. Bill Casey, the former CIA director, also played a huge role in the acts of treason that Ronald Reagan committed. And, of course, Bill Casey, someone...

who was a spy himself, really, and all the rest of that. So that is something that you need to be aware of. But when I come back, I'm going to be playing you some more clips from today's funeral service, which is actually held at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. All of the people...

that you respect were there, plus a convicted felon to say goodbye to Jimmy Carter, who had more decency in his pinky finger than a convicted felon, the orange convicted felon will ever have in his whole life. And so I'll be back with another clip or two from a very moving service and a moving tribute.

To the life of President James Earl Carter, the 39th President of the United States of America. Dear listener, welcome back. And during the National Funeral Service for Jimmy Carter today at the National Cathedral,

was a tribute from Jason Carter, the grandson of Jimmy Carter and also the board chair of the Carter Center. Jason Carter, by the way, was a state senator in Georgia from 2010 through 2015. And this, in part, is what Jason Carter had to say at the funeral service today. In the end, his life is a love story.

And of course, it's a love story about Jimmy and Rosalyn, their 77 years of marriage and service. As the song says, they were the flagship of the fleet. And rest assured that in these last weeks, he told us that he was ready to see her again. But his life was also a broader love story.

About love for his fellow humans and about living out the commandment to love your neighbor as yourself. I believe that that love is what taught him and told him to preach the power of human rights, not just for some people, but for all people.

It focused him on power and the promise of democracy, its love for freedom, its requirement and founding belief in the wisdom of regular people raising their voices and the requirement that you respect all of those voices, not just some. That conviction made him a naval officer who believed and demonstrated, as you've heard, that the greatest power of America was not the military, but its values.

And those values were personal to him and he lived them both publicly and privately. As you heard Stu say as president, he gave voice to dissidents, stood up to dictators, brought countries together in peace. His heart broke for the people of Israel. It broke for the people of Palestine. And he spent his life trying to bring peace to that holy land. And he talked about it at the dinner table.

It was the same in public as it was in private. And for the last 40 years, as you've heard, he spent his time living out that love and that faith alongside the poorest and most marginalized people in the world. And that work, again, has been based fundamentally on love and respect. The Carter Center has 3,500 employees, but only a couple hundred in the United States. The rest...

are spread throughout the countries where we work. Ethiopia, South Sudan, Chad, Bangladesh, and all of the Carter Center's programs are based on a respect, that same respect for the power of regular people, even if they are in tiny villages miles from anywhere else.

To give one example, we've all heard a lot lately about guinea worm disease. It's an ancient and debilitating disease of poverty. And that disease will have existed from the dawn of humanity until Jimmy Carter. When he started working on this disease, there were three and a half million cases in humans every year. Last year, there were 14. And the thing that's remarkable is that this disease is not eliminated with medicine.

It's eliminated essentially by neighbors talking to neighbors about how to collect water in the poorest and most marginalized villages in the world. And those neighbors truly were my grandfather's partners for the last 40 years. And as this disease has been eliminated in every village in Nigeria, every village in Sudan or Uganda, what's left behind in those tiny 600-person villages is an army of Jimmy and Rosalynn Carters

who have demonstrated their own power to change their world. And that is a fundamental truth about my grandfather. It begins where it ends. When he saw a tiny 600 person village that everybody else thinks of as poor, he recognized it. That's where he was from. That's who he was.

And he never saw it as a place to send pity. It was always a place to find partnership and power and a place to carry out that commandment to love your neighbor as yourself. Essentially, he eradicated a disease with love and respect. He waged peace with love and respect. He led this nation with love and respect. To me, this life was a love story from the moment that he woke up until he laid his head.

Conclude with this. As Andy Young told me, he may be gone, but he's not gone far. The outpouring of love and support that we have felt from you and from around the world has shows how many lives he has touched and how his spirit will live on in many ways for us. He'll be in the kitchen making pancakes or in his wood shop, finishing a cradle for a great grandchild, standing in a trout stream with mom Carter.

Or for me, just walking those Georgia fields and forests where he's from. Thank you.

Jason Carter there with his tribute and remembrance of his grandfather, Jimmy Carter, early today at the National Cathedral in the National Funeral Service. The day of mourning across the United States, and I would say across the world, for the former president, Jimmy Carter, who died last month, late last month, at the age of 100, I

As you sit and listen to these tributes and remembrances and eulogies and things, it just brings you to the present day. You cannot help but think about the incoming orange menace to the 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue address. You cannot help but think that with some of the comments you're hearing here in this funeral service today.

And I think you'll hear, as I said earlier, that President Biden aimed a lot of these comments right at his successor and also predecessor. I think that you're going to be discerning that from his comments. I'll have those comments, the eulogy by President Biden of Jimmy Carter in a few minutes time. But, yeah.

Jason Carter really in a very moving and texture. You can feel the texture of what Jason Carter, the grandson of Jimmy Carter, is saying there, you know, about the things that made Jimmy Carter who he was, not the things that you heard Stuart Eisenstadt say, although, listen, those things also made him who he was, but the simplicity, if you can forgive me for using that kind of word, but just the gentleness of the man, I think, is probably the most important

apt way to put what Jason Carter said there about his grandfather. Jimmy Carter was a gentleman. I, you know, Gentleman Jim, you know, Jimmy the Gent. I really, I know that that seems a little bit too casual to talk about a former president like that, but really let's be fair. Let's be honest here. Jimmy Carter was a gentleman. He was absolutely that. He was a statesman and he was a gentleman and

And he welcomed people. As I've talked about before, he really did believe in openness and inclusiveness. And he really did genuinely believe in treating everybody with respect and humility and decency and compassion. And as I've said many times, as I said last month in my tribute to him,

Jimmy Carter was a devout Christian and he really did practice his faith. He didn't throw his faith on people, but he was very open about his faith. And he practiced his faith by actually doing the kinds of things that actual Christianity asks of you.

to do. And instead of people these days, who of course, in politics, keep talking about the word of God, but don't practice the word of God for lack of a better terminology, and forgive me again for going into the religious zone,

But you know what I'm saying, dear listener. You know this, that there are people, Republicans, these conservative Christians, so-called evangelicals, or as I call them, evil-jellicles, who sit there and thump on the Bible and say this and say that. And then they do all these things like take away your health care, like take away funding for kids, like take away paid family leave, like take away, you know, Social Security or try to.

like take away books, ban books, and ban care for transgender people. Yeah, you know, this is what these so-called Christians do. And so Jimmy Carter, being an actual Christian, preached his faith and practiced what he preached. And he absolutely led by example. And so Jason Carter, I thought, was really terrific in what he had to say.

What I'm going to do now, actually, is play you Phyllis Adams' most of what she had to say. Well, she sang what you are about to hear, which is Amazing Grace. I just missed the first portion, just the first piece of it, but just by a few seconds. But I want you to hear this anyway, even if it is slightly about a few seconds in. Here now is Phyllis Adams, who was absolutely lovely and marvelous with her rendition of Amazing Grace. ♪

I have saved a wretch like me on those that was blind but know I see a grace that taught my heart

is

The great Phyllis Adams. The

soprano vocalist and absolutely wondrous rendition of Amazing Grace. She was absolutely brilliant at that and absolutely lovely in her rendition of it. This wonderful sister really gave it everything

And it was great to see her performing that really good rendition, absolutely lovely rendition of Amazing Grace. I hope you enjoyed that. What I'm going to do next, dear listener, is bring you the eulogy for Jimmy Carter as delivered by President Joe Biden. He now with 11 more days to go in his presidency after today gave a eulogy that I think is really, really befitting.

11 minutes, 11 days. Here are the next 11 minutes because they are the eulogy by President Biden for the former president, Jimmy Carter. Dear to the clergy, distinguished guests, most importantly the Carter family. In April 2021, Jill and I visited Jimmy and Rosalyn on a warm spring day down in Plains, Georgia. We wanted to see them.

Rosalyn met us at the front door with her signature smile. Together we entered a home that they had shared for almost 77 years of marriage. An unassuming Red Brig ranch home reflects their modesty more than any trappings of power. We walked into the living room where Jimmy greeted us like family. That day, just the four of us sat in the living room and shared memories that spanned almost six decades.

A deep friendship that started in 1974. I was a 31-year-old senator and I was the first senator outside of Georgia, maybe the first senator to endorse his candidacy for president. It was an endorsement based on what I believe is Jimmy Carter's enduring attribute. Character. Character. Character. Because of that character, I believe his destiny

destiny in our lives, and quite frankly, destiny in the life of the nation. It's an accumulation of a million things built on character that leads to a good life in a decent country. Life of purpose, life of meaning. Now, how do we find that good life? What does it look like? What does it take to build character? Do the ends justify the means? Jimmy Carter's friendship taught me

and through his life taught me the strength of character is more than title or the power we hold. It's the strength to understand that everyone should be treated with dignity, respect, that everyone, and I mean everyone, deserves an even shot. Not a guarantee, but just a shot. You know, we have an obligation to give hate no safe harbor and to stand up

to what my dad used to say is the greatest sin of all, the abuse of power. That's not about being perfect. It's not about being star perfect. We're all fallible. But it's about asking ourselves, are we striving to do things, the right things? What value, what are the values that animate our spirit? Do we operate from fear or hope, ego or generosity? Do we show grace? Do we keep the faith when it's most tested?

For keeping the faith with the best of humankind and the best of America is a story, in my view, from my perspective, Jimmy Carter's life. The story of a man, to state the obvious you've heard today, some great, great eulogies, who came from a house without running water or electricity and rose to the pinnacle of power. The story of a man who was at once driven and devoted

to making real the words of his savior and the ideals of this nation. The story of a man who never let the ties of politics divert him from his mission to serve and shape the world. The man had character. Jimmy held a deep Christian faith in God and that his candidacy spoke and wrote about faith as a substance of things hoped for and evidence of the things not seen.

Faith founded on commandments of scripture. Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and all thy mind and all thy soul and love thy neighbor as thyself. Easy to say, but very, very difficult to do. In his life, in this life, any walk of faith can be difficult. It can be lonely, but it requires action to be the doers of the world. But in that commandment,

lies the essence, in my view, found in the gospel, found in many faith traditions, and found in the very idea of America. Because the very journey of our nation is a walk of sheer faith to do the work, to be the country we say we are, to be the country we say we want to be. A nation where all are created equal in the image of God and deserve to be treated equally throughout our lives. We've never fully lived up to that idea of America.

We've never walked away from it either because of patriots like Jimmy Carter. Throughout his life, he showed us what it means to be a practitioner of good works and a good and faithful servant of God and of the people. And today, many think he was from a bygone era. But in reality, he saw well into the future. A white Southern Baptist who led on civil rights.

a decorated Navy veteran who brokered peace, a brilliant nuclear engineer who led on nuclear nonproliferation, a hardworking farmer who championed conservation and clean energy, and a president who redefined the relationship with the vice president. Jimmy and I often talked about our dear friend Walter Mondale, whom we all miss very much. Together, they formed a model partnership of collaboration

and trust, as both were men of character. And as we all know, Jimmy Carter also established a model post-presidency by making a powerful difference as a private citizen in America. And I might add, as you all know, around the world. Through it all, he showed us how character and faith start with ourselves and then flows to others. At our best, we share the better parts of ourselves

joy, solidarity, love, commitment, not for reward, but in reverence for an incredible gift of life we've all been granted. To make every minute of our time here on earth count, that's the definition of a good life, a life Jimmy Carter lived during his 100 years. To young people, to anyone in search of meaning and purpose, study the power of Jimmy Carter's example.

I miss him, but I take solace in knowing that he and his beloved Rosalynn are reunited again. To the entire Carter family, thank you, and I mean this sincerely, for sharing them both with America and the world. We love you all. Jill and I will cherish our visits with them, including that last one in their home. We saw Jimmy as he always was, at peace with a life fully lived, a good life,

a purpose and meaning of character driven by destiny and filled with the power of faith, hope, and love. Say it again, faith, hope, and love. As he returned to Plains, Georgia for his final resting place, he could say goodbye in the words of the prophet Micah, who Jimmy so admired until his final breath. Jimmy Carter did justly, loved mercy, walked humbly.

May God bless a great American, a dear friend and a good man. May he rise up, be raised up on eagle's wings and bury on the breath of dawn and make you to shine like the sun and hold you in the palm of his hand. God bless you, Jimmy Carter. President Biden.

With his eulogy for the former President Jimmy Carter, I thought that what President Biden had to say was really on point. Obviously, I think very pointed as well during the course of that eulogy at the convicted felon sitting in the pew there, what, roughly 100 feet away from him. And it's very important to

heed the words that President Biden spoke there. Although I don't think that the convicted felon will heed any of those words. He, I'm sure, is probably dozing off as he was throughout the service during the time that President Biden was speaking. But I thought that that eulogy was very much on point from the President of the United States. And yeah, Jimmy Carter really lived by his deeds and

You know, it's one thing to speak and talk and have all these words flying around and words are very important and they're very precious and what you say is very important. But what you do

is even more important because actions do speak louder than words. And look, in this world, all you have is your word. However, your actions underline those words and speak much, much louder than words ever can. So it's what you do in this life that is really critically important. And by any measure, Jimmy Carter did so much in his life. A reading from the gospel according to St. Matthew. Now, when Jesus saw the crowds...

He went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him and he began to teach them saying, blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand and it gives light to everyone in the house.

In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. The word of the Lord. That was James Carter IV, grandson of Jimmy Carter, delivering a hymnal, I guess a prayer really, if you will, during the course of the National Funeral Service today for his grandfather, the

39th President of the United States of America, James Earl Carter, who

who, of course, passed away late last month, that was late last year, at the age of 100. So I wanted to just play that to start this portion of the episode of the Politico Daily Podcast. I do hope, again, once again, that you are well, dear listener. I hope that all is well with you. And if it's not, you know, remember that tough times don't last, tough people do. A lot of difficult things going on across the world at the moment. And so I

persevere, persevere, persevere. I know it's very difficult, but I'm telling you, if you hang in there, you will get through. I know it's got to be painful for you if you're going through some difficult things or someone you know is, but I promise you that you will get through the other side of this no matter how challenging it may be. And have some faith in that. So I want to continue now, dear listener, and talk about

Or I should say, play the next clip, really, on what was a very solemn day, but a celebratory day as well, to honor and remember the one, the only, James Earl Carter, who died, as I said, at the age of 100, President Jimmy Carter, who was the third ninth president of the United States of America, being honored and celebrated today in this, the National Day of Mourning throughout the United States of America and worldwide.

And right now you're going to be hearing from Reverend Andrew Young. That's right, the Andrew Young. That's right, who was the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under Jimmy Carter from 1977 through 1979. And also was the former mayor of Atlanta. Remember that? Back in the 1980s through into the early 90s. That's right. For two terms, he served as mayor of Atlanta.

and was a congressman as well in the United States House of Representatives in the mid-1970s from 1973 through 1977. So Andrew Young, who I think is close to 90 years of age now, but he looks great. He looks terrific. They say black don't crack. And I think Andrew Young, who's been through everything, remember he of course was the right-hand man to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,

Here is now Reverend Andrew Young, who looks and sounds better than ever before, but of course you can't see him, but you can certainly hear him here. Here is what Reverend Andrew Young had to say about President Jimmy Carter. - The Apostle Paul, in writing to the Ephesians, the fourth chapter of the 32nd verse, "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ,

God forgave you. Jimmy Carter, for me, was something of a miracle. I was born in the deep south shortly a few years after him. And it was always a place of miracles. I couldn't see how we could have had the differences in background, the coming from different places on the planet, the experiences,

of slave and slave owner, the diversity of color and creed and national origin, and still become the great nation that we are in the United States of America. It was something of a miracle. And I don't mean this with any disrespect, but it's still hard for me to understand how you could get to be president

from Plains, Georgia. I knew Plains from my pastorate in Thomasville, Georgia, about 60, 70 miles south of there. And I was even nervous driving through Plains. And Plains and Sumter County gave us one of the meanest experiences that we had in the civil rights movement.

So much so that Martin Luther King said that the sheriff of Plains of Sumter County, he really thought was the meanest man in the world. And when I first met Jimmy Carter running for governor and said, the only thing I know about Plains and Sumter County is Fred Chappell. And he said, oh, yes, he's one of my good friends. And that was the last thing I wanted to hear.

And yet time and time again, I saw in him the ability to achieve greatness by the diversity of his personality and his upbringing. Dr. King used to say that greatness is characterized by antitheses strongly marked. You've got to have a tough mind and a tender heart. And that was Jimmy Carter.

And he grew up in the tremendous diversity of the South, and he embraced both sides. He was a minority in Sumter County. Just about 20, 25% of the population was white. But growing up as a minority, he became the friend of the majority. And when he went to the Naval Academy, he asked that his roommate be the first person

black midshipmen to come to Annapolis. And he said, I know minorities. I've been a minority most of my life and maybe I can help him in his adjustments. And he went out of his way to embrace those of us who had grown up in all kinds of conflict. But that was the sensitivity, the spirituality that made James Earl Carter

a truly great president. James Earl Carter was truly a child of God. Not only a good farmer, but a nuclear physicist chosen by Admiral Rickover to assist him in developing a nuclear navy. But at the same time he was working on a nuclear navy, he was thinking of peace on Earth and goodwill toward all men, and especially women and children. I've known

President Carter for more than half of my life. And I never cease to be surprised. I never cease to be enlightened. I never cease to be inspired by the little deeds of love and mercy that he shared with us every day of his life. It was President James Earl Carter that for me symbolized the greatness of the United States of America.

And I am truly grateful for him because in spite of the harshness of the depression and the explosions of inflation, he never wavered from his commitment to God Almighty and his love of all of God's children. Jimmy Carter was a blessing that helped to create a great United States of America. And for all of us,

and many who are not able to be here, I want to say thank you. You have been a blessing from God, and your spirit will remain with us. And as Jason said, he may be gone, but he ain't gone far. Thank you, President Carter, and thank you, Almighty God. The moving and compelling comments of Reverend Andrew Young. And I can tell you, when I was watching this, I could not stop

The tears from falling. It was, I thought, a very moving tribute, somewhat heartfelt, very heartfelt and funny at times as well, but genuine always from the Reverend Andrew Young, the legendary Andrew Young, who of course was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s right-hand man and icon in the civil rights movement, was, indeed is, I should say, Andrew Young. And he's never looked better. In my view, he's absolutely unbelievable.

I think he's up in his 90s now, you know, Andrew Young, with some really fond remembrances of Jimmy Carter. And of course, as I said before, Jimmy Carter had appointed Andrew Young as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. And you think about it, Andrew Young is now 92 years old. My goodness me, it looks in absolutely tip top shape.

Believe me, it looks terrific. It looks better than most 65-year-olds look. And sounds really strong, too, judging from what you just heard there. So that was Andrew Young. And I have to say, this memorial service, this funeral service for the former president, Jimmy Carter, was absolutely everything. I thought it was terrific. It was heartfelt, as I said. A wonderful service, moving people.

And some funny moments at times. Some fond remembrances. But again, what you come away from when you

when you come through this and listen to it, when you watch it back as well, there's the decency of Jimmy Carter, the man. And, you know, he was such a great human being in many respects and in every respect, really, challenged us to be better, challenged himself to be better. And he did the work that we need to be doing to make people's lives better, to enrich the country that we live in or the country that we live in, no matter what country it is. And

to be better, to leave things better than they were when you came in. So that was Jimmy Carter. And I got to tell you, I really found what he had to contribute to this world to be really insightful, inspiring, and a lot of courage, a great leader, and somebody who was really humble, a lot of humility, a lot of compassion, a lot of care.

And some of the books he wrote, he wrote 35 books, I think, and I think most of, if not all of them, were written after he became President of the United States, after he left the office of President. And I have several of those books, including a book called 90, A Full Life.

A Full Life, Reflections at 90 by Jimmy Carter. A really good book, by the way, which I've posted on several social media outlets. And you can find it particularly on Blue Sky. I posted it there. If memory serves me, popcorn, R-E-E-L dot B-Sky dot social. And of course, also on Twitter.

places like fanbase.app forward slash popcorn r-e-e-l as well as others spoutable i think as well spoutable.com forward slash popcorn r-e-e-l

Jimmy Carter left us so much. He gave so much of himself, as did his spouse, Rosalind Carter. They worked together as a team in tandem. They really were. 77 years of marriage. Not many people on this earth can say that they have been married to someone the same person for 77 years. I can tell you that right now. And it was a tribute to the relationship that they had that was loving, heartfelt, and

and wondrous as friends as lovers as spouses that jimmy jimmy and rosalind carter endure and continue to endure even though they are no longer with us the two of them but both of them dedicated their lives to service jimmy carter certainly did as well in terms of his whole career in the military and then in in in politics in public service and serving in government so um

A lot of us can, we can all learn from Jimmy Carter and his example. We can all learn, of course, from Rosalind Carter as well. And so farewell, Jimmy Carter. It's been a sincere honor to have you here. I sometimes think that the United States of America in particular doesn't quite deserve someone like you, particularly in this particular time. I don't know that we do. I mean, maybe we can say that, um,

President Carter serves now as a guidepost and a signpost for us in these perilous times. But this country has shown you that it never really has had a moral center. I know I had some people on social media say to me, well, you know, I feel someone said to me on social media that when he died, the moral center of this nation died with him. Well,

I didn't respond to that comment, but I will say I think that the moral center in this country never was, quite frankly. You know, there are obviously a lot of decent people and good people in this country. I will never, ever say otherwise. But there is nothing decent about 77 million people in America who vote for garbage and trash and violence and a convicted felon.

So, yeah, you know, the moral center wasn't ever here. If you just ask the Native Americans, just ask my ancestors, you know. So, yeah, and I take issue with that remark. But again, we all, every one of us, including yours truly, are entitled to our opinions on these matters. So it is with fond remembrance and a sad goodbye.

to say now farewell to Jimmy Carter, James Earl Carter, the 39th President of the United States. We thank you very much, sir, for all you did to raise humanity up and to improve humanity and to help humanity and to be as humane and as compassionate as you were.

Of course, you can follow yours truly on numerous social media platforms. I mentioned several of them just now, so I'm not going to actually repeat those. And you can follow this podcast. Please subscribe to the podcast, follow the podcast, The Politocrat Daily Podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, as well as numerous other podcasting platforms as well, Pandora included. Thank you very much for listening to this edition of The Politocrat. I'm Omar Moore.