Jimmy Carter's faith carried him until the end
A friend of mine in Chicago, Rick Jasculca, has the enviable assignment of managing many of the events surrounding some of the most famous people of our time.
You may not know his name. That’s exactly why Bill and Hillary Clinton and scores of others at the highest levels trust him.
Rick confided in me years ago that he had been asked to help manage the events surrounding the passing of former President Jimmy Carter. But as we all know, it seemed President Carter never could work an endgame into the schedule of his life.
I remember the last day of the Carter presidency. Ayatollah Khomeini waited until that last minute to release the American hostages in Tehran. Four hundred forty-four painful days of failed diplomacy and wasted rescue attempts haunted the president. Jimmy Carter turned over the White House to Ronald Reagan and made a quiet exit. He seemed to be destined to be a sad footnote in history.
But as we all know, his faith and talent and willingness to open the door to the poorest souls on Earth could never abide in a rocking chair retirement.
The last time I spoke to Jimmy Carter was at Donald Trump’s first inauguration eight years ago. President Carter, who had recently battled melanoma that had spread to his brain and liver, was still speaking to throngs of admirers who made the trip to his church in Plains, Georgia, for one last sermon. But President Carter even then still had years of preaching and helping to finish.
What gave him the energy and determination to complete his work? Simply said, he lived his faith.
He made his name in American politics as a born-again Christian and Sunday school teacher who promised he would never lie to the American people. He was fearless in his commitment to racial equality and dogged in his pursuit of peace in the Middle East.
He was a humble man in a world of politics where humility is the first casualty. In some of the most remote corners of the world, he left his mark.
A public servant can ask for no greater legacy.
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois
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