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>> we are here in the sanctuary of democracy. >> great responsibilities fall once again to the great democracies. >> american democracy is bigger than any one person. >> freedom and democracy must be constantly guarded and protected. >> we are still at our core a democracy. >> this is also a massive victory for democracy. ♪ >> good morning and thank you for being with us. the announcement former president carter's death came yesterday afternoon. several newspapers and major outlets are noting it on their front page. from the washington times, this headline. jimmy carter, 39th u.s. president dies at age 100. president, dies at age 100. in passionate statesmen and dear

friend. new york times, a peacemaker who never stops driving. it notes that the photo of him is from 2007, saying he was a self percent -- self-professed outsider intent on reforming washington. from the wall street journal, former president carter, nobel winner, dies at 100. the photo here says it was taken in 1977 and notes he was the longest living ex-president. from the washington post, this headline, one-term president who shone after the white house the article says jimmy carter come at the no-frills southern governor who was elected president in 1976 was rejected by disillusioned voters after a single term and went on to an extraordinary post-presidential life that included winning the nobel peace prize, died sunday

in his home in plains, georgia, according to his son. he was 100, the oldest living u.s. president at the time. the cause of death was not immediately provided. in a statement in february 2023 term the carter center said the former president would stop further medical treatment and spent his remaining time at home under hospice care. he had been treated in recent years for an aggressive form of melanoma, skin cancer with tumors that spread to his liver and brain. his wife died november 19, 2023, at 96. the article says mr. carter survived by his children jack, chip, beth, and amy, 11 grandchildren, and 14 great-grandchildren. according to the current terse -- carter center, they set a public event would be held in

atlanta and washington, to be followed by a private event in planes. president joe biden ordered a national day of mourning on january 9. further details for final arrangements, including public events and motorcade routes, are pending. former president carter was on c-span in 1995, discussing his book "always a reckoning and other poems he spoke about his passing and the plans for his eventual funerals. here is a portion of that interview. [video clip] >> you have a poem in here about -- i am probably too far in the book, but it is a poem about the end of your life in a munch of -- bunch of professions.

what is the story behind it? >> we were trying to analyze the impact on the -- of the carter center and its relationship with emory university when i was dead. we got a group of scholars at emory to analyze how the university would treat the carter center after i was no longer there, and they cannot bring themselves to use any sort of language about my being dead. so they finally used the euphemism that my level of participation would be reduced. >> did you hear them talking about this? >> no, it was in a written report by the university. they cannot bring themselves to say "when he passes away" or "when he is gone" or anything like that. >> it was a euphemism they used

instead of saying when he was dead, they would say his level of participation was reduced. to kid them, i wrote the first version of this poem, and it fit and interesting concept. >> this sketch by your granddaughter here i assume is the carter family, your gravesite. >> it is a preacher with part of a funeral ceremony. there are a lot of very nice things you can say are passed on. going to meet his maker or no longer with us are having passed away. but these professors cannot even bring themselves to say i was going to pass away or going to meet my maker, they just said my level of participation would be reduced. >> being a former president, do you have to think about your

eventual departure more than most people would? >> matter of fact, my wife and some of my staff have complete funeral ceremony plans in advance. i hear about what president ford has done. so i know some things you have to decide before a president's demise. a former presidents level of participation is reduced. a lot of plans have to be made. i have not been participating in yet. i have let my wife be the ultimate judge on what should be done. there is professional staff associated, i think, with the marine corps, who knows the history of presidential funerals and processions and the display of the body and how much is done within the capitol building and how much is done different places. >> is your family buried in

planes? >> yes. my first ancestor. there was born in 1798, and rose's first ancestor was born in 1787. since then, most of us were born and died in planes. host: that interview and several others are on c-span's website. there is a tribute page on the homepage that you can click on for the key moments and videos from his time and also after he was out of office. we will start hearing from our callers. cynthia in melbourne, florida, is first. good morning. caller: good morning. yes, i remember this man as a great, thoughtful humanitarian president. he was governor of georgia. he was a veteran. he stood his ground against racism. he was a civil rights leader and

believer for blacks and hispanics. he stood as the example for humanitarian with his work with habitat for humanity. a nobel peace prize winner, putting together egypt and israel. he stood his ground against israeli apartheid, on palestinians. even though he was a peanut farmer and he had a country accent, he had a genius iq. he returned the panama canal to the panamanians for their control, and they really have benefited well from that. but what is sad is that most of our living presidents did not go back and refer to him on the issues that are happening in the world today. they pretty much demonized him or avoided him. but what i love about president

carter is that he wanted to be remembered as a champion of peace and human rights. he will be. thank you for listening. host: that was cynthia. mark in massachusetts. good morning. caller: good morning. good morning. so the question, the comment, can you tell me how i am supposed to respond about president carter? host: we're talking about the life and legacy of former president jimmy carter. what are your thoughts? caller: life and legacy, yes, what a great christian man. yeah, he did so many things. i was just watching some interviews of him from the past few decades andtuff. i think many people -- i did not even know that he deregulated

the airline industry, the banking industry, transportation, and many other industries, deregulated the economy and stuff. he normalized relations with china, which i don't know -- you know, but the greatest thing i remember and know about him, and it is very, very unknown, that between the time he was governor of georgia and when he ran for president, he met with his very christian religious sister and wanted to know how to have a closer religious experience. and she kind of got him in touch with god. and he went on a missionary trip up here to massachusetts and spent about a year and a half up here in the northeast, in new

york city, and around springfield, massachusetts, spreading the gospel and doing the work of a good christian man. thank you for your show. you guys are awesome. and thank you for letting me get on. so early and i got right on. host: that was mark in massachusetts. gail in north carolina, good morning. caller: good morning. i would like to share my admiration for president jimmy carter. his faith in jesus christ, he himself said his life was a sermon. from his inauguration, he walked from the capitol to the white house. he was married to his beloved wife for 77 years. at his inauguration, said walk humbly with your god.

he was truly a peacemaker. he secured the panama canal treaties. he decrease the deficit he appointed more black americans to judgeships, only second now to president biden who has done a wonderful job in that regard. he was there during the three mile island crisis. as a lieutenant in the navy, he saw the nuclear reactor problem on a submarine. he has had one of the most productive post-presidencies with habitat for humanity. he passed immigration reform. he boycotted the russian olympics and placed an embargo, which i think led to the beginning of the dissolution of the soviet union. deregulated the trucking and airline industries. extended health benefits for low income families. a defender of civil rights, and said the era of segregation was

over at his inauguration. he advanced apartheid in south africa pure he was an environmental president and preserved more monumental lands with executive orders, conserved land in the united states. the carter center provided and decreased the number of guinea worm infections to 14 worldwide and just about enam and aided river blyton -- just about eliminated river blindness. he had intelligent persons and his cabinet, harold brown as an example. he taught sunday school in his post-presidency. he defended the new role of the vice presidency and elevated walter mondale to become a true friend. he and gerald ford became long-lasting and respectful friends in the post-presidency. he wrote 30 books, 20 of which

were new york times bestsellers. and he grew up with blacks in his childhood, which formed his character. and he hired a woman who was convicted of second-degree manslaughter to work in the white house. he invited bob dylan to the white house. i just admire him as a christian. and he embodied what a christian should be, what a great leader we have lost. god bless you, president jimmy carter. host: that was gail. josh and they reno, nevada. good morning. caller: good morning. thank you for having me on c-span. here at tweed street, we think about jimmy carter really being

-- host: we will go to cliff in new york. caller: thanks. host: go ahead, cliff. caller: good morning. host: apologies, cliff. i think we lost you. go ahead and give us a call back. we will go to frank in new york. good morning. caller: good morning. i was eligible -- 1876, and i did not know much about politics or economics but i had a gut feeling about jimmy. i was not, at that age, a tree hugger or concerned about pollution. there was social justice and civil rights back in the 1960's, and i wondered what was going on

there. jimmy struck me, he had a gentle, sort of kind personality. i thought to myself, this guys going to represent me more than the other fellow. >> are you there? hello? hello? host: frank, are you there? we will go to jason in waikiki --sorry, in hawaii. good morning. caller: hi, i am a young man. i look in his legacy and compare it to current president biden's. to me, they're very similar. both what looks like to be one term president, both democrats, a believe both are humanitarians in their nature.

biden more recently a humanitarian. i want to say that i think president carter, while i do not agree with many of the things he did during his administration, i do believe he was a good man and lead a good life. i think he end biden have striking -- i think he and biden have striking similarities. thank you. host: in a 1999 interview on c-span, former president spoke about his -- spoke about the office of the presidency. here's a portion of that interview. [video clip] >> for a moment, talk about the american presidency, the office of the president. would you change anything if you could? is it as powerful as it should be? >> it is extremely powerful in the arena of foreign policy. when i decided to normalize diplomatic relations with china, the constitution gave me unilateral right to do so.

congress had no role to play in that decision. i could have gone into ba ttle without consultation with her permission from the congress in advance. foreign policy, the president is it. in domestic legislation, almost all the legislation passed in my four years originated in the white house. i cannot remember a single major bill that originated in the congress. congress expected me to present to them this is what i want you to do about these subjects, and we had a very good batting average. the thing the president has practically no control over is the economics of the nation. he has an equal role to play with the congress in taxation. but the federal reserve board really determines the rate of inflation and the tightness of

money, which results in the growth of the economy. even better than that is the free enterprise system of our country, what the king kong -- conglomerate mass of major corporations do, general motors and ibm and so forth. and the other factor over which the president has no control is the international situation. if the were -- if they wore europe so you have a so-called asia crisis, the president has nothing to say or do about that -- if a war erupts. when i was governor and there was the formation of opec and the oil embargo against anyone who treated with israel, we had long gas lines and the prices of oil went sky high. that was not nixon's fault. he did not have anything to do with it. so the president can splint for economic changes if they are bad. he takes credit for them if they are good. i would say the president plays a 10% or 15% role in the

nation's economy. foreign policy, president is it. domestic policy, 50/50. economy, very little. host: we are hearing your thoughts this morning on the life and legacy of former president jimmy carter. he passed away yesterday at the age of 100. we are taking your phone calls and getting reaction on social media. this from steve, great human being, president carter really tried to live up to the creed of what a president should be, honest and kind, yet fair. jd says jimmy carter, known for his post-presidency humanitarian work, cofounded the carter center, earning a nobel peace prize in 2002 for promoting peace and democracy, his habitat for humanity efforts were legendary. this text from tony in florida, jimmy carter was president when i first came to america.

despite my differences with his agenda, he helped shape my political philosophy and my reference to the presidency. god bless you, james carter. back to your phone calls. jessica in wilson, north carolina. good morning. caller: good morning. thanks for taking my phone call. i am in mourning this morning. jimmy carter and his wife were my best friends. they helped me build my house in new york when they came to the first new york city habitat for humanity project. and i worked on at least 16 projects with them and got to know them very well. this hit me very hard yesterday, and i am still speechless, even though i knew that he would not last long right after his wife because they were so close. for me, i remember we would build houses together.

in the morning, he would not eat breakfast unless he had his grits. then he would go out like a champion and we would build houses. people ask me, does he really build those houses? does he really work? yes, he works hard, and he demands that anyone that is on his team work equally as hard. if it wasn't for him, i would not have had a place in new york. i am one of the people who he salvaged, and i will always remember him in my heart. and i hope the country remembers his legacy. thank you so much. host: that was jessica in north carolina. she is talking about former president carter's humanitarian work. this from the washington post, talking about his life after the white house, saying that carter was a volunteer extraordinaire for habitat humanity, helping the international nonprofit build, renovate, or repair thousands of homes for the poor.

his commitment and that of his wife are so unwavering that for more than 35 years, both gave one week a year to the organization, drawing tens of thousands of other volunteers. it was the carter work project, and the first habitat site was less than a dozen miles from his own home in plains, georgia. his last site was in nashville in 2019. and he carried on drill in hand despite a black eye and stitches, suffered in a fall the day before. in between, he was part of house raising projects throughout the united states and the globe. habitat's final tally for him, 4390 homes in 14 countries in north america, caribbean, europe, africa, and asia. let's hear from alfred in west palm beach, florida. good morning. caller: good morning morning,

good morning, good morning from rainy south florida. thank you for taking my call. i want to say, sometimes our lives go in parallel lines with world thinking, but the thing i remember about president carter, his honor, his character, his compassion, the dignity that he gave while in the oval office. and then when i think about the other aspects of his life, the time between the dashes, the time that you are born and the time that you close your eyes, i can hear him say, made the work be done, speak for me. certainly, the work that he did for humanity, mankind, his

respect, and as a vietnam veteran, i give my greatest honor to this man for serving this nation in so many capacities, given the time as a veteran, given a time speaking for the lord, and the mere fact that he was a great man. funny, i remember my mom used to always say, give me my flowers while i can see them and i can smell them. i think we waited too long to now give the tribute and honor to a great man i believe god placed upon this earth. president carter, may the lord continue to bless your family and comfort them during this time of sorrow. thank you. host: gaylord in oakview, california. good morning. caller: good morning. i am very disturbed that jimmy

passed. my dad's stepmother is jimmy carter's first cousin, and she was a beautiful, wonderful lady with humanitarian thoughts, just like jimmy. it makes me really sad to see jimmy go. i wish he could have lived another 100 years. he was a great guy. you know. he is going to be well missed. thank you for having me on. host: steve in charleston, south carolina. good morning, steve. caller: good morning. well, i want to talk more about jimmy carter, the man, like everybody else, not his presidency. i found the phone number on twitter this morning, so i am

not doing this to hear myself talk on tv. his presidency can be viewed overall is maybe a failure. what an honorable man he was. he was a southern baptist. i am southern baptist. people from my church would go down there, and people would go down to plains to watch him teach sunday school. it was a big deal to go see jimmy. he was a strong christian. by the way, he is the only president who admitted to alter or to adultery, not because of a physical event because he said he lusted after another woman in my heart, and he said as a christian, that is the same thing as doing it. and i am a christian. boy, i tell you, he sets the bar pretty high. he lived a life like we should all live our life, a life of service, a devotion to god and serving our fellow man. working humanitarian comes to mind.

i have to admit, i did not vote for him, i voted for gerald ford back in those days. but what an amazing human being. he will certainly be remembered for his humanitarian efforts and trying to do for the unprivileged like they could not do for themselves. i really loved him as a man. i do not think another president will ever reach the level he reached as far as humanitarian efforts. thank you for your time, and have a great day. host: that was steve. let's hear from mark in st. paul, minnesota. good morning. caller: good morning. at the risk of being deterred in the punch bowl, but ron kessler wrote a book about the secret service two, three, four years ago, and indicated that every time marine what would land on the white house lawn, carter would insist upon carrying his own luggage into the white house. as soon as the cameras turned

off, he dropped the luggage and then continued on to the white house. just kind of strikes me as phony and manipulative. i heard a hack historian, evan meacham, whatever his name is, on msnbc earlier this morning, he indicated that he thought carter was a complicated and ambition man, two adjectives which i do not consider to be content -- to be particularly flattering. thank you, goodbye. host: allen in cleveland, ohio. good morning. are you there? we will try to get alan back on the line in a bit. first, we will show you an interview, another clip from an

appearance that the former president had on c-span. it was 2010, talking about another book he wrote called "the white house diaries." he spoke about the iranian hostage crisis. [video clip] >> with the iranian hostage crisis, they eventually all came home. do you hear from any of them? >> yes, quite often. and i go on a book tour, usually one or two hostages will send word that they want to meet me behind the scenes. obviously, i shake hands and have photographs made. i verify the fact that they are doing quite well. this is not as much as it used to be right after i left office, but a good many of them would drive to plains and let me know in advance that they were going to come, and they would spend a few minutes to think me for the fact that they did come home safe and free. so i have had a good many

relationships with all of them. >> iran was so much part of your administration, in your book, you talk about there were two white houses, the carter white house and the dealing with the hostage crisis white house. in retrospect, is there something you would have done different throughout the course? i know you said an extra helicopter on the rescue mission. but do you wish you would have done something differently? >> not really. if i had known completely what was happening, what would happen, i might have done something different, but i don't think so under the circumstances. i let the shah come to new york for treatment of his terminal cancer, and henry kissinger and

the doctors and advisors said let him come, it is the humanitarian thing to do. the president and prime minister of iran, i told them i was contemplating letting the shah to new york for treatment, and i wanted assurance from them that they would protect americans globally. at that time, they were about 8000 americans in iran, working in different courses, including 66 members of the embassy staff. they sent me word that they would guarantee that nothing would happen to the americans if the shah came to new york, provided the shah would pledge not to make any sort of political statement while he was in america. and the shah did give me that assurance. and then, to the surprise of me and i think to the surprise of the president and prime minister

of iran, the militants took hostages, two of them. when the ayatollah, after three days, supported the capture and holding of the hostages, then both the president and prime minister resigned in protest. but that was just the beginning of a long ordeal when they held the hostages. so do not really believe i would have done anything different. the main advice i got was to attack iran, to bomb iran, and so forth, but i was convinced that had i done so, i would have killed 10,000 innocent iranians and they would have immediately executed our hostages. host: we have just under one hour left in this first portion of today's program, hearing your thoughts on the life and legacy

of former president jimmy carter . coming in on social media, this from jason on x, says, he really walks the walk compared to so many who wear their supposed face on their sleeve or use it to manipulate. carter, in my opinion, is the most unfairly maligned former president in the modern era. he handled several crises as best as any president could have been expected to. steve says, i went to college in 1981, received tuition assistance and a work-study job, the next year reagan's cuts went into effect, no more pell grant, no work-study, and my parents had three kids in college. god bless jimmy carter. this from mylan, carter made me so disillusioned with government that that i turned to the libertarian party, lasted only a year in that, it was a joke full of potheads, then i voted for reagan's second term.

brittany and tennessee says jimmy carter said he personally opposed abortion yet continued to support and represent the democratic party which has enabled the deaths of over 35 million on board -- unborn humans. helping to build a few houses will not offset that atrocity to humanity. back to your calls. lester in minnesota. caller: yeah, good morning. i just deleted my phone, or my tv. it is funny how great a man is after he dies, when he was the worst president up to his time. are you there? host: i. caller: ok. like i said, he was the worst president at that time. we had all the gas lines, and he brought all the people, draft

dodgers, back from canada, when we had 59,000 guys died in vietnam, 500,000 guys got wounded over there. they went there, he brings back the democrat cowards. the only thing good about carter was the carter who made the billy beer. you got any remarks? host: we will go to kyle in new york. good morning. caller: good morning, c-span. man, a tough crowd. on a personal level, my father was brought in in the 1970's under the clean option energy proposals that jimmy carter was laying forward. my father worked with jack kemp in the buffalo area. my father was working on some clean energy, alternate fuel

sources, and had the honor to work with jimmy carter's admistration on that. i did not know too much about it until i got older. i was just born around that time, but i remember hearing the stories about how the democrats and republicans worked together about those alternate fuel source issues. and then when reagan got into office, a lot of those programs went away, the grants. obviously, people know about the solar panels on the roofs from the white house. probably when reagan came in, it took probably 30 years behind. talking about all these different issues that seem to be kind of rushed in now with the image of carter and all this stuff. but there is the positive stuff about his legacy, and my own family, we appreciate the

opportunity he gave my father to work with his engineering degrees and stuff, especially in those days when black americans were not really being promoted. i think you did a good job, at least with that. thank you. host: brian in rhode island, good morning. caller: good morning. yeah, i think he was a great guy. his massive presence on between street, especially -- on tweed street, especially the alert systems he helped integrate with the u.s. government, especially with -- trying to think the tweed street bathroom incident. host: to russell in south carolina. good morning.

caller: yes, i just want to say that jimmy carter is the reason i was able to attend college. my father had a stroke, and because of the things he did at the department of education, it allowed me to get basic education opportunity grant. i want everyone to know that the people that went to that small hcb you, any are lawyers, engineers, doctors, and very successful people. right now, the current administration getting ready to take our plans on taking control of the department of education to reverse a lot of the changes that jimmy carter put in place that allows a lot of lower economic people to attend college. so when you compare carter to the folks that are getting ready to take over the country, no

comparison. host: let's hear from james in new jersey, good morning, james. caller: yeah, hi. i am trying not to cry. i kind of knew carter on a personal basis. long ago, [indiscernible] she grew up with carter since childhood. i knew her. she was like a mother. something else about carter, he helped start sidewalks, making it easier, so anybody who has a

wheelchair who was going up and down a sidewalk, he did that. [cries] bye. host: that was james in new jersey. yesterday after the announcement of former president carter's passing, president joe biden gave remarks about the legacy of the former president. here are part of those remarks. [video clip] >> entire carter family, on behalf of the world and the whole nation, we send our heartfelt sympathies and gratitude, gratitude for sharing president carter for so many years. jimmy carter stands as a model of what it means to live a life of meaning and purpose, life of principle, faith, and humility.

a life dedicated to others. he is like my dad, he thought -- he said, joe, the job is about a lot more than the paycheck, it is about dignity. about dignity. said it will be ok. he believes as i do, as many of you do, that it is absolutely possible, within our grasp to do that. it is not that hard. he served the nation, served in the navy, and the state of georgia, became president, and a beloved statesman all over the world. to know his core, you need to know he never stopped being a sunday school teacher at the baptist church in plains, georgia. jimmy carter, a man of a bygone era, with honesty and character, faith and humility. it mattered. i do not believe it is a bygone era. i see someone who embodied the most fundamental human values we

can never let slip away. sometimes it seems like it is. we may never see someone like him again. we should all try to be a little more like jimmy carter. bravery lives in every heart, and someday it will be summoned -- every time it was summoned, he stepped up. every time, politically, personally, morally. and everything -- the one thing i admired most about him, he thought and believed, he really did believe this and i do, as well, everybody deserves an even shot. no guarantees, just a shot. host: former presidents have given statements on his passing, and so has president elect donald trump. here is what he has said to those of us who have been fortunate to have served as president understand this is a

very exclusive club and only we can relate to the innermost responsibilities of leading the greatest nation in the history, the challenges jimmy faced as president came at a pivotal time for our country and he did everything in his power to improve the lives of all americans. with that, we owe him a debt of gratitude. melania and i are thinking warmly of the carter family and his loved ones during this difficult time. we urge everyone to keep them in their hearts and prayers. back to your calls. roxanne in maine. good morning. caller: good morning. i want to stress i grew up during the carter era, and yes, i remember there was no gas. that was temporary. what i want to say is a president is for the people, and a president should be a peacemaker, not take from the people but to give to the

people. because we are the ones who are screaming for this. we're looking for law and order. we are looking for resolution with guns. we're looking to be heard, and he did. he heard us. yes, every president has some faults, and i have to appreciate him. i always did. i always did. and i am a northerner, and i appreciated him a very, very, very much. thank you for listening. host: that was roxanne in maine. anthony in pennsylvania, good morning. caller: good morning, c-span. happy new year, everybody. i have a personal story about jimmy carter that happen to me while in college that i would like to share. when he was campaigning in 1980, he came to my college and i was lucky enough to get tickets.

i was even more like you to ask him a question. when i asked him the question, he did not have an answer for me. being a standup guy, he goes, let me get your phone number at your house and i will call you back with an answer. i just thought he blew me off. thought this guy is not going to call me. couple days later, i am sitting in my house with my family and the phone rings and my grandmother picks up the phone, sure enough, it is the white house calling. i'm like, come on, you're kidding me. sure enough, there he was. i spent about five to 10 minutes on the phone with him discussing the question that i had that he could not answer, and he wanted to know more about my life. he was very interested in what i had to say. i thought that was very cool. the man was a standup guy, only democrat i ever voted for. and i am sorry to hear that he has passed, although he lived a

great life, 100 years, more than anybody could ask for. the fact that he called me and answered that question gave me a lot of faith and honor in our presidency at that point. he was a good man. host: anthony, what did you ask him? caller: when i was back in the college, i was in a group that was trying to get research done for spinal cord injuries and money was being placed in the 25 different places and we wanted it in one place. there was a bill before congress that would do that. i asked if he would support that bill. he did not know about it, and he researched it. eventually, when he called me back, he said i cannot really say yes, but we will see what

happens when it comes to my desk. and never got anywhere, but he did call me back, and my family was very impressed. good man. him and his wife are a couple we should all look up to for their 77-year marriage. god bless them both. stay well. host: anthony in pennsylvania. robert in minnesota. good morning. caller: good morning. a couple of very special times with president carter. i was there for his inauguration, and i believe that was the last time they had it on the opposite side of the capitol. it was the same time they had the first section of the subway system open to the public and everybody got free rides. i ran to him, he made a cross-country flight to california but decided to stop in minnesota to find some books, and the thing that was so funny

about the situation was that it was not well announced but there were still a few people there. we were told that we -- if we had more than six books for him to sign, we had to go to the end of the line. most people are only allowed one book, and here they allowed six. i had a very special pen i used for a number of people, including caroline kennedy and president obama, and i try to get the secret service to allow him to sign it with the pen. this is president of the united states on it with america and the presidential seal. i do have a picture of me going to the table and him -- my leaving the table and him sitting in the background. he did not get the credit went president, but he will go down in history for everything he did after he left the white house. everybody knows what he has done there. president carter did a great job

with what he could get through with congress and stuff. by the way, the pen that i was talking about, president obama signed with it, and i asked when he came to the twin cities, i said this is the same pen caroline kennedy signed books for me year ago, and he said i will sign with that pen, i would be honored. and president obama also stated to me personally, and this was october 2006, that he would be back in minnesota the following year, and i knew right away then he was running for office. caroline kennedy, she saw the pen and said where did you get something like this, and i picked it up at the white house gift shop, but president carter will be remembered more for what he did after office. thank you for taking my message. host: that was robert in minnesota. the wall street journal has a

blurb about president james earl carter in their opinion section this morning, says, believe it or not, a democratic president once campaigned on deregulation, fiscal restraint, and federal programs, jimmy carter came out of nowhere, plains, georgia, to win the white house in 1976 on a centrist platform, only to be undone after one term by economic and foreign-policy mistakes and the left of his own party. carter died sunday at the age of 100, was a winner in an era of gop presidential dominance, won the democratic nomination by figuring out how to exploit the changes that made primaries and caucuses more important than party bosses, narrowly defeated gerald ford who had taken office after richard nixon, ran on an earnest, evangelical, who would

restore integrity to the white house, a sign of our american culture has changed, the 1976 campaign, there was a carter interview with playboy magazine in which he conceded that he sometimes had less in his heart. he swept the south except virginia and won 30% of self-described conservatives. it says carter brought good intentions and admiral character to the white house but was unable to address the main problems at the time. democrats nominated him as a fresh face in a bright era of american politics, but he was ran down by the left and the presidency paved the way for the great reagan restoration. back to your calls. irene in sun valley, california. good morning. caller: good morning. yes, i will put you on speaker. jimmy carter, he was known as

the worst president ever, and then there was biden. anyways. even howard dervish made comments -- howard jarvis made comments about how terrible carter was. my parents had a sticker on the car that said don't give away panama canal, give them carter instead. then one said give them kissinger instead. the state of florida, a lot of people would visit miami or go to live there, from the east coast, or they would go to florida to vacation, and crime went up, people lost their lives , and that was because of castro opening up his prison gates, and it was thanks to carter to allow that we must not forget that. families lost their families

from crime. i believe it was miami where there was high crime at that time. we must not forget the damage he did. he was the worst president. i believe cruz medic,, he said, oh, goodie, not the worst president ever, because we have biden. carter should never have been president, did a lot of damage to the country, and let's not forget the people that lost their lives in florida because of -- they called it something, castro let the prison gates and let all the criminals into america where they came to florida. so let's not forget that thank you for your time. thank you for c-span. host: that was irene in california. she said she thought former president carter was the worst

president in history. wanted to share something that c-span does every time a new administration takes office, presidential historian survey, most recently done in 2021 after now president elect trump left office. the historian's result list kercher -- list carter's ranked 26 in 2001. first time c-span the survey was 2000, and he was at number 22 at that point. looking at the specific categories, the categories he did best in in 2021 were moral authority, ranked seventh, and pursued equal justice for all, came in fifth in that category. let's hear from jimmy in raleigh, north carolina. good morning. caller: good morning. hi, am i on?

host: yes, you are. caller: good morning, and happy new year. honestly, i think jimmy carter did a great job. coming from a mentally disabled person -- host: we will go to robert in tuscaloosa, alabama. good morning. caller: good morning. 1998, i said jimmy carter was the best president i had ever seen. the lady said he was the worst, but she voted for the worst president jimmy carter was a great man, the best president african america ever had. most europeans or white people don't know what he was involved in the nuclear weapons with iran , killing those people because there were a few hostages from the united states. he was a great man, best

president african americans had seen before president barack obama in my opinion. have a great day. thank you. host: joe in washington, d.c. caller: good morning. i am kind of like the last of the x generation, and i was a little boy with president jimmy carter, i was born in 1967. jimmy carter, i remember him. it is pretty sad this man died. i was -- i grew up, born in 1967. i remember him. i was not from georgia anything like that.

but i just remember the man had a character about him. and of all the presidents that i grew up with, i remember him. i never met the man -- [cries] i never met him, but i just felt he was a very good man. i will miss him. thank you. thank you. host: that was joe in washington, d.c. this from the washington post, 11 facts about jimmy carter that may surprise you. one says he was the first president to be inaugurated by

nickname mr. carter, born into office on a family bible held by his wife rosalynn carter, he took the presidential oath of office using the name jimmy instead of james, his actual first name, which he rarely used. bill clinton and joe biden used their nickname in the white house, opted to be sworn in using their full name during the inauguration, after mr. carter was sworn in, the organizers at his inauguration ceremony floated a giant peanut shaped parade to honor his roots. jimmy and rosalynn carter were married longer than any other residential couple, 77 years. the day after jimmy took her on a date to the movies in 1945, he told his mother that he knew he wanted to marry her. a year later when she was 22 and he was 18, they were married. over the years they became not

only friends and lovers but partners. breslin set seven decades later at his 90th earth day celebration. after leaving the white house the couple returned full-time to the house they lived in before he entered politics. the two-bedroom ranger that is valued at less than the vehicle parked outside. dolores and marilyn. -- in maryland. caller: good morning. i listened to rachel maddow's podcast and she had a report about jimmy carter earlier this year or the end of last year and she said that when she was in the navy, she was in charge of deconstructing a nuclear meltdown.

she saved the lives of the men that were engineering, that they would go in for only one minute so they would not suffer from the radiation. they were able to take them that nuclear meltdown, clean it up. thousands of people saved. that was so selfless and so heroic. i didn't know that about him until i heard it on her show. also when i was in high school, in order to graduate from high school you had to do some specific activity.

and i remember his speech that he gave when he accepted the nomination for president. i heard it on c-span and it reminded me what a great man he was his forward, progressive policies help everyone. it's like being president wasn't all that he wanted, the only issue was to help people all throughout his life and i think god that we had him as the president everyday. thank you. host: we will get back to your calls and comments in just a few minutes but first, joining us to

discuss former president carter's legacy is stuart eisenstadt. he was chief white house to mr. policy advisor under former president carter. he's also the author of president carter: the white house years. thank you so much for being with us. guest: thanks for having me. host: remind viewers about your work with former president carter both before and during his presidency. guest: i had more than a 50 year relationship with him. i was his policy director when he ran for governor in 1970. i was his policy director when he ran for president in 1974 and 1976 and i was the chief investor policy advisor in the white house. we had a very close relationship but it was also a personal relationship. he came to our house just two weeks after the egypt-israel peace treaty for our passover

annual seder, and reading about the jews leaving egypt 2500 years ago, and here is the man who made peace between egypt and israel. it was very emotional. one of the issues that i would like to discuss with you is that his post-presidency was so successful building homes for habitat for humanity, monitoring the carter center, solving to africa diseases -- two african diseases, that it eclipsed what was actually very impactful presidency. and i believe that he was one of the most important one term presidents we've had. the energy security we enjoyed depended upon his energy policies. all of the ethics legislation which we have today, limits on gifts and things all came from

him. department of education started with him. he was a great environmentalist. he doubled the size of national park system. and one of the things often forgotten, and them so glad conservative republicans said this in the wall street journal, and that is that is that his deregulation of airlines, of rail, of telecommunications, modernized the entire economy under president reagan and others. he was a deep south southerner who was a great civil rights advocate. he doubled and tripled the number of african-americans and women on the bench and in senior positions. more african-americans, hispanics and women appointed than all 38 presidents put together before him.

and on foreign policy and human rights policy, he really was a friend that connected all of his actions toward latin america, toward russia and one of the things he is not given credit for, ronald reagan implemented a lot of weapons distance thought to be important in bringing down the soviet union and i applaud him for that but every single one of them was signed by jimmy carter. the cruise missile, the silk bomber, that power was also very important in dealing with the soviet union. the normalized relations with china, and what has lasted now 40 years and even to the gaza war today, camp david accords and the treaty between egypt and israel. this was, over 13 hard days and

nights drafting 22 peace agreements. and shuttling between the cabins and it is a monument to his personal diplomacy. if i may give one anecdote, the 13th and last day, prime minister reagan come for the president cabin and says i cannot make any more compromises, please let me take you home, i had a lane waiting. the president realizing this would be a flight on his own administration. so he took eight copies the first day that they came, and then he endorses each one to

each of reagan's grandchildren, with hopes for peace, jimmy carter. he sees reagan vocalize the names of each of his grandchildren. his lips quivered. he puts his suitcase down and he says mr. president, for my grandchildren i will make one last try and that is what ended up stealing the most consequential agreement between israel and its arab enemies to that day. host: what you are talking about is the topic of two op-ed's in the papers today, one from the wall street journal, jimmy carter's unappreciated legacy and the washington post history views jimmy carter all wrong. why is it that historians and voters view former president white house years the way they do? guest: i think because we put a

premium on winning the second term. somehow if you don't win a second term you are not successful. we lost the opportunity for a second term because of three reasons. i call it the three i's. interparty warfare. ted kennedy from the left attacked carter. it was debilitating, and ted who we never really reconciled and came together for the president. the second was inflation. we inherited high inflation from president ford and under nixon it got worse. but one of the reasons they got worse was because of the second oil shot. the iranian revolution not only caused the hostage crisis doubled the price of oil. people were very angry at this. and third with the hostage crisis it doubt.

440 four days of trying to negotiate their release. he finally did, they all came home safely, but just to rub salt in his wound they were only released when reagan was sent in. so this was a debilitating mark on his presidency. they thought about inflation and iran. this was one of the most courageous acts any president could do and many of the seat that he planted on deregulation, education and energy only blossomed after. so what happened was july, 1979, inflation was rory area -- roaring. he decides to appoint paul volcker to have the federal reserve. volker told him very specifically in the oval office if you appoint me, i'm going to

squeeze it out by high interest rates and it is going to cause a lot of economic pain during your reelection years. and president carter set i don't want my legacy to the that i didn't deal with inflation. you take care of the economy, i will take care of the politics. it was an enormously courageous thing and one folder did did succeed, but only by the time ronald reagan came. inflation dropped like iraq but it didn't come in time to help jimmy carter. but still, that act of courage showed how he governed. he did the right thing even if it was unpopular like the panama canal, like taking on the middle east, like taking on energy. all of these were thankless but they left a legacy which future generations, future presidents benefited from. host: as we get ready to say goodbye to former president jimmy carter, how would you like

americans and historians to remember and honor his legacy? guest: that he lived a life full of purpose and meaning. and he taught us therefore how to live. but also, he taught us how to die at peace with ourselves. he was at peace with himself. he knew he had done his best. he had a 77 year marriage, he had four wonderful children, he had 25 grandchildren and great-grandchildren. he had created under the carter center and lasting legacy that dealt with solving two african diseases, guinea worm and river blindness. he was a man in full. he lived a life worth living. and he was a renaissance man, as close to it as we've had in the oval office in modern times he was a farmer and engineer, a

preacher, a poet. he was the author of 32 books. he was an excellent woodworker. the giant cross on the back of the church he made himself. he was a great fly fisherman. he was as close as we've had to a renaissance man, and he served in the navy, went to the naval academy. he was a submariner. he only left the navy because his father was dying of cancer and he had to settle his family business. he was a man of so many dimensions, and i hope that they will all be remembered. host: you knew former president carter for decades. do you have a fond memory or something you always were member him by? guest: i have two.

one was unlike any president before or since, he knew we had to be away from families so he allowed the senior white house staff and their families to come to camp david. and when we were there, he would invite us over to watch movies and have corn. he invited my young son to jog with him and my other memory is only weeks after he had negotiated the first peace treaty between israel and its arab enemies, for our passover seder, would celebrate the exodus earlier from egypt. and the juxtaposition of that with sitting across her us in our dining room table, the man who had negotiated the first peace with egypt was really so meaningful. a memory i will never forget, our son ryan, our son jay, my

parents, cousins and relatives, my wife's sister, we were all there. it is a memory we will never forget. he stayed through the entire two our service. host: author of "president carter: the white house years." thank you so much for spending time without and sharing those memories and information about carter, we appreciate it. guest: i appreciate c-span not just for this interview but for everything you do to bring objective news to the public in a time when it is sorely needed. host: thank you for those kind words. we have just about 10 to 12 minutes left in this hour for this portion of this morning's program. your reaction, your thoughts on the life and legacy of former president jimmy carter, passed away yesterday at the age of 100.

we will hear next from allen in brooklyn, new york. good morning. caller: good morning. mr. eisenstadt reminded me of the incident described on the tv program last night, but with more detail. the details of these photographs of the three writers to camp david include the names of each of reagan's grandchildren, and the way he reacted to it fillon back to try to continue working on the treaty. this seems to be emblematic of something that might change america right now, if we could only refocus our attention from the stupor of the spirit of trump rallies that led to the election result we had, appealing to the very worst in people, the greatest hatred,

self-interest, shortsightedness. all the things that represent the very opposite of carter and oak is on the example carter presents us in his passing, and that we have forgotten about. perhaps we would have the clarity that may be even some of the partisan supreme court justices, congressmen, senators, people who have control over the next few weeks were realized article 14 section three means something. being faithful to the country means something. taking the oath of office if you are mr. carter means something. and that there is no reason why america should deem that section of our constitution to be repealed by some strange interpretation of this past supreme court. they did not claim that the events of january 6, 2020 ones are not an insurrection.

they dealt with the issue of the primary in colorado and all they said was that one state control the outcome of the election process for the remainder of the election season, but they basically tacitly accepted the findings of the colorado court that there was an insurrection into this point we had a few weeks left to realize we cannot have the death of jimmy carter honored by allowing someone to put his hand on the bible on this january 20 and swearing both to uphold the constitution that he has for the vowed to violate. not just on january 6, but his own words saying i will terminate the constitution. in his own words saying that we are going to eradicate all of the environmental laws in a way that the constitution would not allow. we have to focus on the fact that the memory of jimmy carter allows us a stasis say whatever

the process is, we must restore decency to our white house. host: good morning, brett. caller: hello. hello? host: you are on. caller: hello? host: can you hear me? caller: hello? host: don't think brett is actually there and able to hear us. george in tennessee, good morning george. caller: i would like to say ditto to the gentleman from new york. president carter, i thinned the cardi museum and i was on a flight, and this was probably about five or six years ago, and he was traveling as a regular passenger, he and mr. carter. and when they closed the door,

everybody was boarded. president carter got up and he shift every passengers hand on that flight. he went up one side and down the other and i just thought that was so amazing. that memory will always stick with me. and i thank c-span for giving me the opportunity to share it with the rest of the world. you have a great day. host: that was george in tennessee. vivian in florida, good morning. caller: good morning. yes, i am so moved by the late president's life. he had all the qualities that we should look for in a president. the decency, the humility. his honesty. the story of his grandchildren,

how he used them and what they would stand to benefit from their grandfather making the correct decision instead of trying to be a fully. -- a bully. that is the message that america needs to understand, that is where our currency is, that is where our strength is. that is who we are. he looked out for those who didn't have much and pulled people up instead of pushing people down. america, please do not let his life go to waste. his presidency must speak to us and guide us through these coming years. i thank you, c-span, and may god bless america. host: that was vivian in florida. we heard earlier from biden about the passing of president carter and former president

clinton and former president bush have also made statements. this from clinton, hillary and i mourn the passing ofimmy carter. we give thanks for his long, good life. president carter lived through others until the very end. his commitment to civil rights as state senator and governor of georgia to his efforts as resident to protect our natural resources and the arctic national wildlife refuge, make energy conservation a national priority, return the panama canal panama and secure peace between egypt and israel at camp david. his post presidential efforts at the supporting honest elections, adncing peace, combating disease and promoting democracy and to their devotion and hard work at habitat for humanity. he worked tirelessly for a better, fairer world. and this from former president bush, james irvin carter jr. was

a man of deeply held convictions. he was loyal to his family, his community and his country. president carter dignify the office in his efforts to leave behind a better world didn't end with the presidency. his work at habitat for humanity and the carter center set an example of service that will fire americans for generations. we join our fellow citizens and giving thanks for jimmy carter and in prayer for his family. just a few minutes left, we will hear next from brenda in michigan. caller: good morning, happy holidays to your you always do a great job. i just would like to say that i'm 83, and i believe that president carter was and is a good man and i'm praying that our incoming president trump will change his stony heart and

become the man that james carter did and was. that's all i have to say because our leadership is important. we must have good leadership in order to be good citizens. thank you. host: that is brenda in michigan. catherine in massachusetts. caller: maybe i missed it because i didn't see the whole show, did they already mentioned the negotiations that sean conley did with iran before the hostages were released under the reagan administration? andrew their deals made at that point that would have basically said you with the election, they go free? as an older american, i lived through the gas lines and

everything else, and i don't think now is as difficult as it was then, but we didn't make a big deal of it. i wish there were other people in my age bracket, i'm almost 80, that might have said the same thing. they took have money for food, they don't have money for this. it was difficult in our time but it wasn't publicized and maybe could just accepted. but i'm sure for the hostage families it was a difficult time and that is all i wanted to say. has that been discussed already, the negotiations that went on behind the scene, and was a sneaky deal by reagan and the republicans? host: that wasn't specifically already covered. caller: ok. maybe i'm not clear on all of the details either, but i say from the time reagan was president to now, my opinion of the republicans is just a

disgraceful party. my family were republicans, and there's one family member that still is a republican, but the rest of that have gone to the democratic party, the malfeasance of the republican party in every single aspect of life, and i say when my parents were republicans and my grandparents and aunts and uncles, they were well-dressed, well-spoken, well-educated and dissipated in everyday life and politics and i don't think the same thing goes on with the republicans of today. host: we are going to have to leave it there because i want to get in one more call and we are short on time. troy in georgia, good morning. caller: good morning. can you hear me?

i'm going to refrain from current politics, taking shots at any current politicians. i would just like to share that jimmy carter. i grew up in maryland in frederick county and was a young man when the nuclear accident happened outside every, pennsylvania. and we were bracing ourselves in maryland for a possible evacuation of that area and i recall jimmy carter and rosalynn carter flew to the area to evaluate the situation at the time. many of his advisers were advising them to evacuate the area which at the time would have been the largest evacuation in american history, somewhere north or south of one million people was would certainly have affected us in frederick county. president carter, who was able to lie on his. in the united states navy, he

advised not to start that evacuation. and relying on his nuclear experience, he assessed the situation and made the correct call on the evacuation. he shows them really great leadership during that very dangerous time for the nation, and i think he doesn't really get the credit that he deserves for that time and that emergency and have you handle the situation. thank you. announcer: this week c-span digs into its archives to present donald trump's nominees in their own words discussing policy, politics, and their relationship with the president-elect. tuesday we hear from dr. and kash patel. watch trump nominees in their own words this week at 8:00 a.m.

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including sparklight. >> what is great internet? is it strong? is it fast? is it reliable? at sparklight, we know connection goes way beyond technology. from monday morning meetings, to friday nights with friends, and everything in between. but the best connections are always there, right when you need them. so how do you know it's great internet? because it works. we're sparklight, and we're always working for you. announcer: sparklight supports c-span as a public service, along with these other television providers, giving you a front row seat to democracy. announcer: president jimmy carter appeared on c-span over 200 times, and in fact c-span was founded in 1979 during the carter administration. president carter was the author of dozens of books, mostly nonfiction, but some poetry as well. and in 2006,