host: good morning. it is thursday, january 9. the country bids farewell to jimmy carter at a funeral

service at 10:00 a.m. eastern and we will have full coverage here on the c-span networks. this morning we want to give a final chance to reflect on the life, the presidency and post-presidency of jimmy carter. what do you think his legacy is? if you lived through his presidency, what memories do you have? what are your opinions about his successes or failures. eastern and central time zones, (202) 748-8000. mountain or pacific, (202) 748-8001. you can send us the text to (202) 748-8003. include your first name and city-state. you can post comments on social media. facebook.com/cspan and x at @cspanwj. welcome to today's washington journal. we will take your call shortly. as you call in, jimmy

carter was interviewed about a book called "always a reckoning and other poems." he references his passing and eventual funeral. let's take a look. [video] >> you have a poem in here about too far in the book but i will get you started on talking about it. it's about the end of your life. >> right. >> what is the point? >> [laughter] there are two or three poems. we were trying to analyze the impact on the carter center and its relationship with emory university when i was dead. we got a group of scholars to analyze how the university would treat the carter center after i was no longer there.

they could not bring themselves to use any frank language about my being dead. they finally derived a euphemism that my level of participation would be reduced. >> did you hear them talking about this? >> it was in a written report, document to the president of the university. they could not bring themselves to say when he passes away or is gone or anything like that. >> "i have recently reduced my level of participation." >> that was the use of his him -- euphemism the used. his level efforts as the patient is reduced. just to kid them, i wrote the first version of the poem is a funny thing. it's an interesting concept. >> this sketch by your granddaughter here i assume is

the carter family. they are standing at your gravesite. >> it's a preacher with part of a funeral ceremony. there are a lot of nice things to passing on, your heavenly reward, meeting your maker. these professors could not bring themselves to say i was going to pass away or meet my heavenly reward or meet my maker. they just said my level of participation is reduced. >> being a former president do you have to think about your eventual departure more than most people would? >> my wife and some of my staff do. they work on complete funeral ceremony plans in advance. there are some things you have to decide before a president's

demise but before their level of participation is reduced so you can handle it in an orderly fashion. a lot of plans have to be made. >> is it hard to do? >> i have not been participating. i let my wife be the ultimate judge on what should be done. there is a professional staff associated with the marine corps who know the history of presidential funerals and processions and the display of the body, how much is done within the capitol building and at different places. >> is your family. in planes -- is your family buried in plains ? >> almost all of us have been born -- born and died in plains. host: former president jimmy carter talking about his

eventual death and funeral, which of course his state funeral is happening today. scheduled to start at 10:00 a.m. eastern time. it will be at the national -- washington national cathedral. we will have live coverage on the c-span networks. stay with us for that. we are taking your calls on the life and legacy of jimmy carter. this is your chance to weigh in on that. he mentioned his wife, roslyn, involved in the planning of his funeral. she died in november of 2023. they were married for 20's -- for 57 years. terry and hagerstown, maryland. caller: god bless his soul. he is with jesus in heaven. as opposed president he was magnificent. he did a lot of good things building homes and helping people. as president he left a lot to be

desired. 444 days that u.s. citizens were held hostage and we were humiliated. post president, great man. god bless him and god bless you and your family. host: this is cj and minneapolis, minnesota. caller: good morning to you and good morning, america. thank you for allowing me to weigh in on this historical moment. jimmy carter was my commander-in-chief when i joined the navy in 1976. i was 18 years of age. i had just finished high school that same year. i voted for the first time that same year. i became a dad that same year. my son was born in the bicentennial year. i can tell how old america is by his birthday. out of all the ships i was on --

i was only on one ship. the ship was the uss inchon. jimmy carter picked my ship to be on to escort him to south america and africa for three months right before the hostages occurred. come to find out, and i don't how true it is, i think he was the commander of the ship during the vietnam war. host: you said you voted for him in 1976. did you vote for him again in 1980? caller: of course. yes. i voted for him again in 1980 and i was very disappointed he lost that race. when his mother came on tv and said that she was glad he didn't go back to washington because of the way he was treated during the hostage crisis, that made me feel a little better but i was disappointed. host: thanks for sharing those

memories. john in north palm beach, ford. caller: good morning -- florida. caller: good morning. i wanted to make a comment about this wonderful man. as a student of the scriptures he remembered the teachings of jesus when he was asked what is the greatest commandment. jesus said, you should love the lord your god with all your heart, soul, strength and mind. your neighbor as yourself. jimmy carter understood that as one commandment. that we don't ask who is our neighbor. we should always ask to whom can i be a neighbor. in other words, if you say you love god, you must love your neighbor. if you don't love your neighbor, you really don't love god. that is a fundamental insight jimmy understood from the scripture.

i believe that really explains his unique position as the president of the united states. a godly, moral, righteous man. thank you, jimmy carter, for teaching us. host: this is clayton in philadelphia. caller: good morning. i would like to share that the appreciation for president carter, who was mentored by hyman rickover, a very interesting anecdote on how jimmy carter did not think admiral rickover appreciated his interview. admiral rickover conversely appreciated the fact that jimmy carter was so truthful and honest about his placement in his class as an -- at the naval academy. i would add that president

carter, like president jefferson and president washington and president truman i might add were all farmers. part of the agrarian society. thank you. host: here is anna in new york. anna something. anna lee in enfield, new york. are you there? caller: i wanted to make a note of the fact that in 1985 i was on vacation in denmark, in copenhagen. with two of my coworkers. i spotted president carter and his wife just walking down the street. it was a rainy day. he had an umbrella over her head.

there were two secret service men with them. i got so excited to see the president. former president of the united states. of all places in denmark. i never got to see him in this country but i was so thrilled and i became so excited. the secret service men were being cautious, of course. i managed to take their picture. i regret i did not approach him and shake her hand and his. it was a memory i will always remember. jimmy carter is a wonderful man and human being. i might add i am 77 years old. that is how long they were married. it was such an honor to see both of them. i thank you for this call. i appreciate your coverage on c-span. thank you.

host: this is joseph in reading, pennsylvania -- reading, pennsylvania. caller: yes ma'am. host: go ahead, joseph. caller: president carter was a man of faith, a man of service. he served our country incredibly. what he accomplished on the nuclear submarines has led us incredibly through decades. a may not be removed well as a president but we need to look at his life as a whole. this man stands as a model for children today and young adults. we live in such a vile political landscape. the integrity he stood for is a model for generations to come. god bless president carter and thank you c-span for your

ongoing service to our community and great country. host: thanks joseph. former president jimmy carter was on our c-span program called afterwards in 2010. he was talking about his book, "white house diary." here's a clip or he talks about the iranian hostage crisis. >> they eventually all came home. do you ever hear from any them? >> quite often. when i go on a book tour, usually one or two of the hostages will send word ahead of time -- ahead of time to meet me behind the scenes. i give them a free book and shake hands and have a photograph made. i'm proud of the fact they are doing quite well. this is not as much as it used be after i left office where a good many of them would drive to plains and let me know they want to spend a few minutes with me and thank me that they did come home safe and free.

i've had a good relationship with all of them so far as i know. >> iran was such part of your administration. in your book, you talk about there were two white houses. the carter white house and then they are dealing with the hostage crisis white house. in retrospect, is there something you would have done different throughout that? you said an extra helicopter on the rescue mission. can you look at that whole situation and wish you had done something differently? >> not really. if i had known completely what was happening, what would happen in the future i might have done something different but i don't think so under the circumstances. i was the last holdout on my top management team and letting the shah come to new york for treatment of his terminal cancer. henry kissinger, cyrus vance in

my advisor said let him come -- and my advisor said let him come. i contacted the president and pride mr. of iran. i told him -- prime minister of iran. i told them i was contee putting that in the shah come for treatment. i wanted there assurance that would protect americans. there were 8000 americans in iran, including 66 of the embassy staff. they sent me word they would guarantee nothing would happen to the americans if the shah come to new york provided he would not make political statements in america. he did give me that assurance. to the surprise of me, and i

think to the surprise of the president and prime minister of iran, the militant took hostages. when the ayatollah, after three days, supported it, the capture and holding of the hostages, both the president and prime minister resigned in protest. that was just the beginning of a long ordeal where they held the hostages. i don't really believe i could have done anything differently. the main advice i got was to bomb iran and so forth. i was convinced then and still am convinced had i done so i would have killed maybe 10,000 innocent iranians. they would medially have executed our hostages. i'm glad i held out on that. host: that was from 2010. plenty more in the c-span

archives if you would like to take a look at interviews with former president jimmy carter. this is bill in traverse city, michigan. caller: good morning. lots of good memories about jimmy carter. i got to spend 1976 in washington, d.c. there was a tremendous party on the lawn. he had people come from all over. it was a different region. they have the food, the music, the culture, dancing. it was wonderful. as soon as the president changed, that ended. they took the solar arrays off the white house. the other thing i remember about that, i was in virginia at the time. a swedish sailor on a tanker waiting to unload oil. that was during the oil embargo.

they were not being allowed to unload. jimmy carter was a victim of a couple of plots. the oil embargo and ronald reagan's october surprise with the hostages was totally a manipulation. thank you for letting me share my memories. he was a great man. host: karen in mesa, arizona. caller: hi. i wanted to share a memory of president jimmy carter. it was one of the few prayers god ever answered in my life in the affirmative. when i was a young girl at our elementary school, heather hill elementary school, a girl got -- broader invitation to the president's ball. her father was invited to jimmy carter's inaugural ball. me and another girl were so in all of that -- awe of that.

i guess i was jealous of her that her dad was invited and our debts were not invited. -- dads were not invited. i prayed is there anyway i could ever see jimmy carter in the white house. sure enough, three years later, we went on a tour at the white house. they announced over the intercom, please stand to the side. jimmy carter will be approaching in the limousine and exiting. sure enough, jimmy carter came, exited the limousine, walked up through the white house and he and i locked eyes. i cannot believe three years later i really got to see the president in person. that was something wonderful. i was in complete awe. my dad was standing next to me. in a way god had answered the prior three years later. host: how old were you? caller: when i prayed i was 10.

when it was answered i was 13. host: where were you living at the time? caller: we were visiting that summer in washington, d.c. host: thanks for sharing that with us. richard in las vegas. caller: good morning. how are you? host: good. caller: i want to do a synopsis. i was a very young kid, probably 10 years old. my mom, you know, in that time in my life i wasn't curious about politics. my mom had disagreements with jimmy carter but as i grew older and got to see him after the presidency and looking back at the politics, people great him

-- grade him. i am a christian. a man of faith. this is more affirming that he was a good christian. i know he was the 39th president of the united states. politics are politics. everybody is different. i know he's in a better place. he is in heaven with his wife. with all the saints. i really am happy for his family. i know they are grieving because they lost their father, lost a patriarch, a man who was elevated to one of the highest offices in the land. good or bad, we are sitting here today to reflect.

there's a lot of people who have called in and i have listened to the stories that are pretty amazing. i just wanted to say that for america i think for us to come back and be thankful and to acknowledge a man who loved god first, loved his country, and did the best he could in the office. this is kind of a sad day, because, you know, the traditions and sensitivity of putting god first and serving people has kind of diminished in this country. dear really breaks my heart about that. -- it really breaks my heart about that. jimmy carter was a godly man and that is what i will remember. host: bob in fall river, massachusetts.

caller: thank you and good morning. i believe that the late president carter and the late mrs. carter were both associated with habitat for humanity. for about 1984 on i think they devoted a week a year to building houses. i recall in 1992, hurricane andrew hit southern florida and was devastating. the houses that were -- that sit up the best were those built by habitat for humanity. that is kind of a lasting legacy from the late president, who i voted for in 1976 but did not vote for in 1980. i voted for john anderson that your. i was disturbed by his -- host: sorry, disturbed by what? caller: his rose garden strategy. he refused to come out. i was supporting senator

kennedy. i was living in new jersey at the time. i started supporting fred harris. i recall i wanted to send a check to fred harris and ended up talking to his daughter at senator harris' home in suburban maryland and sending a check. the first request for funds are received was from this guy, jimmy carter. who is jimmy? i did not send him money. i did support him and the election but i ended up supporting john anderson in 1980. host: bob mentioned habitat for humanity, former president carter's organization to build homes. this is habitat.org if you are interested in taking a look at the website. manwell in houston, texas. caller: thank you, maybe. looking lovely as always.

jimmy carter was a great president. some people say he's not great but you have to keep in mind when he came into the presidency the united states had just had the vietnam war. the country was having to pay that debt of the war. we had other things. the oil embargo, inflation. those things hurt his presidency. he also did a lot of great angst. the camp david peace accords, which made peace between egypt and israel. to this this day -- to this day the piece has been kept. -- peace has been kept. programs like the epa, the board of education. his humanity. he was a great president. his morals.

i could go on and on. there were things that happened in the country that were out of his control. one thing that hurt with the iranian hostages was how reagan undermined him by saying just keep the hostages until reagan comes in office. to me that was undermining the president of the united states. anyway, rest in peace, jimmy carter. thank you for allowing me to speak my thoughts. god bless you. host: this is information on the camp david accords from the office of the historian, history.state.gov. the camp david accords signed by president jimmy carter. anwar sadat and israeli private after knocking big and -- menachem begin. they established a framework for a historic peace treaty concluded between israel and egypt in mar of 1979.

president carter and the u.s. government played leading roles in creating opportunity for this agreement to occur. carter and his secretary of state cyrus vance pursued intense negotiations with arab and israeli leaders hoping to reconvene the geneva conference which had been established in december of 1973 to seek an end to the arab-israeli dispute. jerome next in california. caller: good morning. oroyo grande. thank you for the opportunity to speak. i had voted for jimmy carter. i'm probably one of the older persons calling. i am 81 and change. i don't follow politics that critically. here is a man who could walk with mandela, martin luther king, abraham lincoln and not

necessarily walk behind them either but equally walk with them. he lived an incredible life as i am learning and listening to him being interviewed and listening to the people calling. i only hope america, which i lived in my entire life and enjoyed and prospered, will think realistically about the next election and stop electing people who are far to either direction. the vast majority of the people in this country are independent. when this country gets a majority of independent congressional, both senatorial and representative, individuals that are true independent and not swayed by their political ambitions, then this country will move forward. i thank you very much for my

privilege to speak on this channel. regarding something else one of the prior callers mentioned, i forgot exactly what i was going to say, but have a good day. host: this is sandy in allentown, pennsylvania. caller: my name is sandy. when i graduated from college in 1969 the vietnam war was going on. i got involved in draft counseling. not only myself but others. we sent quite a few men to canada because they did not believe in the war in vietnam. when jimmy carter became president, he i guess passed a law and allow these young men to come back home. and they did. you know, they were able to be with their families again. that is all i want to say. he was a good man.

host: this is harry in norcross, georgia. caller: good morning. i wanted to tell a little story about having met jimmy carter when i was at the university of new mexico in 1975. he came and spoke to us, to the student body. of course, we had been a couple of years before the national guard had broke up the a demonstration against richard nixon. it was pretty troubling for the students. jimmy carter stayed. he talked to us all, gave us a speech and then he stayed around for hours talking to students. i got to talk to him and ask questions. host: do you remember what you

asked him? caller: mostly i was asking about the vietnam war and all that stuff. what was going on down there. anyway, after -- i had been majoring in saxophone performance. i moved to los angeles. hi medic girl in los angeles who was from georgia -- i met a girl in los angeles who was from georgia. she decided to move back to georgia. this was 1978. six much later, i followed her there and we got married. i was living in georgia, in jimmy's state. we had a daughter in 1979. drove up through washington, d.c. visited the white house, just not inside but went around the fence.

jimmy was a real nice guy. attentive. he was interested in hearing what we had to say. host: harry and sandy mentioned the vietnam war. this is what npr is talking about. seeking to heal the country, jimmy carter pardoned men who evaded the vietnam war draft. it says that when president carter was inaugurated in 1977, and that is a picture of him. i don't know if you can see it. during his inauguration in 1977 he wasted little time fulfilling one of his most controversial campaign promises, pardoning those who evaded the vietnam war draft. it says carter issued a proclamation 4483 on his first full day in office, less than two years after the end of what was then america's longest war.

the new commander-in-chief was hoping to heal the divisions left by the conflict. the move also drew criticism from some who believed it was too wen yu towards the men who sidestepped military service during the war -- lenient towards men who sidestepped military service during the work. carter died at the age of 100. alan in fort pierce, florida. what do you remember about jimmy carter? caller: good morning. i want to first say i think the camp david accords was one of the most monumental peace treaties in the century. it still goes on. my personal story is that i met jimmy carter at the vero beach book center in the 1990's. i bought a couple of his books. i got to stand there as he signed them and he spoke with me. he was also signing amy carter's children's book. i purchased that for my niece in

north carolina. when she was about five years old i gave her that book. the cute part of the story is about a year ago my niece contacted me because she saved all those books. she has a daughter who is soon to be three years old. she said, i have a book that is signed by jimmy carter, the oldest living president and you gave it to me. i told her the story about meeting him. she did not understand that when she was five years old when i gave her the book. she was saying that is definitely something she will cherish because she has that amy carter children's book signed by the president. i just wanted to share that story. host: this is david in lynchburg, virginia. caller: good morning. that is our house.

[inaudible] jimmy carter was an upstanding man. i'm a vietnam veteran myself. i hold him high as my commander-in-chief. [indiscernible] i wish you the best. it is a very sad day. to all veterans, i appreciate your service. [indiscernible] it weighs on your mind. i wish people would respect. take care. host: we will be covering the

funeral, the state funeral for former president jimmy carter. it is happening today. scheduled to start at 10:00 a.m. eastern time. that is the washington national cathedral on your screen where the funeral will take place. the casket of the former president will move from the capitol where it is now to the church, the cathedral. it is scheduled to start at 10:00 a.m. we will have full coverage on c-span2 on the c-span networks. be sure to stay with us for that. in 1999, president carter was interviewed and he was asked about his views of the presidency. here is a portion of that. [video] >> 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? >> the american presidency is extremely powerful in the arena of foreign policy. when i decided to normalize

diplomat relations with china, the constitution gave me unilateral right to do so. congress had no role to play in that decision. if i had wanted to send troops into battle, i could have done so as they have done many times since i left office without getting permission from congress in advance. in foreign policy, the presidency is it. domestic legislation. almost all the legislation passed in my four years originated in the white house. i can't member a single major bill that originated in the congress. the congress expected me to present to them what i want you to do about the subjects. we had a very good batting average. the thing the president has to know control over is the economics of the nation --he has an equal role to play on taxation. the federal reserve board really

determines the rate of inflation. the tightness of money, which results in the growth of the economy. even greater than that though is the free enterprise system of our country. what the conglomerate mass of major corporations do. general motors and ibm and so forth and the others. the other factor over which the president has no control is the international situation. if he were a rupture or you have an asia crisis which we have had lately, the president has nothing to say about that. when nixon was in office, i was governor. we have the formation of opec and the oil embargo against anyone friendly with israel. we had long gas lines and the price went sky high. that was not nixon's fault. the president gets blamed for economic changes if they are

bad. he takes credit if they are good. for all practical purposes i was at the president plays maybe a 10% or 15% role in the nation's economy. foreign policy, the president is it. domestic policy, 50-50. the economy, very little. host: that was 1999. we are taking your calls on this day of the state funeral for former president jimmy carter. his life, his legacy, his presidency, his post presidency, memories you might have of him. this is stacy in elkton, maryland. caller: how are you doing? host: good. caller: i was watching his speech when he was running for president. that was one of the best speeches i have heard from someone running for president of the united states.

i liked his delivery. he reminded me of martin luther king. that is what we need. the problem with our system today is everybody loves controversy and bs. we need to stop that. i just started listening more to c-span last night. i watched him, his interviews. i listened to him during his bid for presidency. i thought at one time barack had one of the best. no. i listen to very well last night to jimmy carter. president jimmy carter. my goodness. that is what you should talk about when you are running for the presidency. you stay on topic. you stay where you want and talk about the people and what you will do for the country. i want to say farewell to him and his family. i served 24 years in the u.s. navy. i am blessed to have done that. i was young. last night listening to c-span and how president carter talked

to the country and what he had done. his legacy will live on. others that run for the house, look at the things he was doing and saying when he was running for president. he was not talking negative about nobody. he was not throwing daggers at anyone. he was teaching our youth had to be professionals. they will be the future tomorrow. we need to show them the right way and how to encourage anyone to get into government and look at what jimmy carter has done. thank you. host: this is thomas in delray beach, florida. caller: hello. i want to say i am actually coming on board to the administration. i look back at jimmy carter, one of the greatest things i think he ever did was proclamation 4483, which he did on january

21, 1977. kiefer gave those that dodged the draft in vietnam. i have a lot of respect for all the vietnam veterans. at the same time, i don't think there's anything wrong with a young person wanting to avoid a war that they don't feel is right or don't feel the are called for. that is something i have a lot of respect for him. as a president, as a man, i have to say i have talked to president-elect trump. we both agree he is one of the absolute finest examples of a man and a president this country has ever seen. rest in peace, president carter. you really were one of the finest we ever had. host: can you tell us what your role will be in the trump administration? caller: not yet. host: call us back and let us know when you can. caller: will do.

host: john in briarcliff manor, new york. caller: good morning and thank you for this opportunity. i wanted to say that my father died in vietnam on june 1, 1967, in the mequon delta. very cruel, painful death because of a malfunctioning helicopter. then i saw my mother years later watching the news. they were discussing the pardon of those that evaded the draft. my mom was crying. she looked at me and said i'm happy. it took me years to understand that, why she was that way. now i do understand. president carter was an incredible man of inclusion, not exclusion.. see him over all these decades working for habitat

for humanity well into his 90's. we have all seen the pictures of him after he'd gone through the hospital and he's back the next day building a home. what an absolute wonderful human being that he was. i wanted to say that. god bless the very of president carter. god bless america. -- god bless the memory of president carter. host: back in 1979, we have a portion of the speech for you that became known as the crisis of confidence or malaise speech. he talked about what he thought was the biggest threat to the united states. this is part of that speech. we would love to know what you think of it. [video] >> [crowd talking] -- >> i want to speak about a subject more serious than energy or inflation. i want to talk about i fundamental threat to american -- a fundamental threat to

american democracy. i do not mean our political and civil liberties. they will endure. i do not refer to the outward strength of america. the nation that is at peace tonight everywhere in the world, with unmatched economic power and military might. the threat is nearly invisible in ordinary ways. it is a crisis of confidence. it is a crisis that strikes at the very heart and soul and spirit of our national will. we can see this crisis and the growing doubt about the meaning of our own lives and the loss of a unity of purpose for our nation. the erosion of our confidence in the future is threatening to destroy the social and political fabric of america.

the confidence that we have always had as a people is not simply some romantic dream or proverb in a dusty book that we read just on the fourth of july. it is the idea that founded our nation and has guided our development as a people. confidence in the future has supported everything else. public institutions and private enterprise, our own families and the very constitution of the united states. confidence is defined -- has defined our course and served as a link between generations. we have always believed in something called progress. we have always had a faith that the days of her children -- our children will be better than our own. our people are losing that

faith. not only in government itself, but in the ability as citizens to serve as the ultimate rulers and shapers of our democracy. as a people we know our past and we are proud of it. our progress has been part of a living history of america, even the world. we always believed that we were part of a great movement of humanity itself called democracy. involved in the search for freedom. that belief has always strengthened us and our purpose. but just as we are losing our confidence in the future, we are also beginning to close the door on our past.

any nation that was proud of hard work, strong families, close-knit communities and our faith in god, too many of us now tend to worship self-indulgence and consumption. human identity is no longer defined by what one does, but by what one owns. we have discovered that owning things and consuming things does not satisfy our longing for meaning. host: what do you think of that? that was the summer of 1979, talking about overconsumption and a crisis of confidence. it became known as the malaise speech.

we are taking your calls about the legacy of former president jimmy carter. his state funeral is today, set to start at 10:00 a.m. eastern. we will have live coverage of that on c-span2. it is taking place at the washington national cathedral. we will shift into open forum, which just means we are going to continue taking your calls but on any topic related to public policy or politics or current events. you can give us a call by our lines. democrats, (202) 748-8000. republicans, (202) 748-8001. independents, (202) 748-8002. we have eva calling from daly city, california. caller: good morning. i was an immigrant in this country. i left my country for a

dictatorship. i attended skyline college for language. i wrote about president carter. i remember my professor was so impressed because i really saw all the qualities a leader must have after leaving a dictatorship. god bless his soul and pray to god we have more presidents like jimmy carter. thank you for allowing me to speak about it. host: can you tell us what country you came from? caller: i came from greece. host: and the dictatorship there was -- remind us. what was the dictatorship in greece? caller: 1967. we had a dictatorship from the

government. it makes me come to this country. host: here is lewis in dayton, ohio. caller: thank you for this opportunity. i was trying to call in for comments about president carter. host: yes. caller: i was a new second lieutenant in the united states army in 1976. that was my life. -- late wife's first vote. we canceled each other's votes. i supported president ford. she supported jimmy carter. fond memories of president carter.

i was stationed in korea in 1978 and 1979. during that time president carter came over to korea. i was air defense artillery. we were concerned about protecting our airspace while he was there. that was very exciting for me. i recall that he ran with the second infantry division. i just thought that was just amazing, that the commander-in-chief would actually get out and run with the troops and could actually run with the troops. that was exciting for me also. those are just some of my thoughts. host: you can see the flag is at half staff for the state funeral

of former president jimmy carter. he died at the age of 100 on december 29. this is roger in great neck, new york. democrat. caller: good morning. i want to thank c-span and take this opportunity to say thank you. my question is, all the press, msnbc, cnn, fox news, the regular channels, channel 2, channel 9, channel 11, all the news programs and the newspapers , new york day, post, newsday, they did not mention one thing resident carter did. on september 1, 1977, president carter opened up the u.s. intersection at havana,

cuba, that was part of the swiss embassy. went president obama made diplomatic relations with cuba, the u.s. embassy was reopened. we would not have the u.s. embassy if it wasn't for the u.s. intersection. that is one thing i did not see them talking about, about the opening up of the u.s. embassy -- intersection and havana, cuba. it was part of the swiss embassy. host: it says -- i have that here. established diplomatic relations with cuba in 1902. it said in 1977, during president carter's administration the united states and cuba signed an agreement establishing the u.s.

intersection and the cuban intersection and washington. both diplomatic missions operated under the protection of the embassy of switzerland. caller: they did not mentioned -- with all the platitudes in that stuff they did not engine the u.s. intersection. i don't know why. they did not talk about it. my father died at age 99. he lived in cuba from the earl -- from early 1942 to 1950. he lived opposite the american embassy. this is something that should have been discussed. host: roderick in fort lauderdale, florida. republican. caller: how are you doing? host: good. caller: i want to give my mutual respect to president carter.

he was a wonderful man. kim and his wife. at the same time -- him and his wife. the many wonderful things they had done for the country and also the world. i had never in my life seen any two people almost close to perfect to them. at the same time, i wanted to call in to get my tributes to a great wonderful man. host: this is the associated press report about president biden. it says carter and biden's long friendship had wrinkles. it will be on display with a eulogy. president biden will be eulogizing former president carter today. we will have that coverage on c-span2. you can see a picture of the two of them from 1978. this is from 2008, a much later picture of the two men together.

it says joe biden is the consummate washington insider. jimmy carter was anything but. host: here is samuel in paczki's, colorado. and -- hotchkiss, colorado. independent. caller: i thought jimmy carter was great. my mother was a democrat and my dad was a republican. they argued a little bit. i was about 18 years old when he got elected. 17 or 18. something that is not mentioned much in western colorado, at least once jimmy carter came out here to the black canyon, a huge deep canyon we have here. he went flyfishing. it was pretty neat for this area. we are kind of back in the back woods around here. the first time the college

students backpacked the rafts. you have to ride a raft down there. they backpacked down this steep trail jimmy carter hiked down in there the first time. i think the second time he came out here -- he came out here twice maybe. the second time i believe he helicopter down to the bottom of the canyon. it's about 2400 feet deep straight down. it's got some of the oldest rock in the world, like 4 billion-year-old stone down there. i wanted to say that he was not a politician. he was a sunday school teacher. there's a big difference. host: i was going to say do you think that's a good thing or a bad thing? caller: being a sunday school teacher? host: as opposed to a

politician. jamie in pine mountain, georgia, democrats, good morning. caller: dipping peach brandy out of a hole in the ground in woodbury, georgia. host: is that it? caller: --. host: here is a gary, a republican line. caller: first time i ever voted for a democrat was jimmy carter. what i called about, maybe -- maybe -- maime, i have arthritis

and i try to get a lid off of a product and it is painful. i want people to call the number on their juice bottles and tell them to get rid of the plastic. it is an incredible waste. the thing with putin, his eyes are bigger than -- he should have known he was going to have trouble going to ukraine.

he was abused as a child. host: do you live by yourself? caller: i have a wife and two dogs. host: does your wife help you with the plastic thing that bothers you so much? caller: no, she complains about it to. host: sonja, staten island, democrat. caller: good morning. the speech that you played, i think it just shows how jimmy carter was connected to the people and the fact that he is a servant of how people are feeling and how important that really is to the country. it just shows the personal connection that he really had,

how ahead of his time he really was when we think about how biden lost this election now because of how people were feeling, not being talked to let's say but it was actually the other way around. they were just hearing it in a different way. when people say that carter's presidency was failed, they are so wrong. there is so much we are still whipping the benefits from his administration, such as fema, the fires that are going on right now in l.a., fema is going to be there for them, hopefully it interfere when trump comes herein. -- when trump comes in. and his wife, with mental awareness, that was her devotion

as first lady. and he gave her an office. he was the worst president to recognize the importance of his wife and the work she was doing. host: david in new jersey, independent. caller: good morning. president carter was a great blessing to our nation. however, the principles he talks about of a nation where the people are more about who they are than what they have won't ever be realized in america and the reasons are complicated. most americans probably have no interest in understanding the depth of this. but it is explained in something written by a sociologist called the product -- protestant ethic and capitalism. american capitalism and

competitiveness are based on very complex principle starting with the earliest people who came here from england who believed that your material success in this world was an indication of whether you would go to heaven or not. in all of this competition of the american character is driven by a deep neurosis in fear of not going to heaven. we need to demonstrate that we are saved by material success. it is a very neurotic and unhealthily deplete psychological problem and drives this country. it won't never be cured. thank you. host: a post, goodbye to the last decent president. my condolences to his family, a true patriotic example. another post that i campaign for carter. he was a huge disappotmt, much like trump pretty promised

big and delivered little, made numerous missteps, blamed others and crushed the economy. this is tony calling from utah, republican. caller: i have a question. is the president laying in the capitol right now? host: the remains are outlined in the u.s. capitol. caller: when is he supposed to be taken to plains, georgia? the schedule is there will be a departure ceremony at 9:00 a.m. from the u.s. capitol. there is a motorcade that will take the casket to the national cathedral. then the arrivals are going to be at 9:30. the funeral itself starts at

10:00 a.m. we are going to have live coverage of that. after that ceremony, -- it is expected to last for about an hour. then they will go to joint base andrews and the casket and the family it will depart and arrive in georgia. there will be a motorcade taking him to the baptist church in plains. there will be a private service in the afternoon and a private interment ceremony later today. caller: i was also curious as to why don't they put them on the trains anymore to tour the country anymore after the death? host: don't know the answer to that. donald in pennsylvania, democrat. caller: i would like to say that

ever since they announced the death of jimmy carter, i have been wearing since that day two of his campaign buttons that he had. i would also like to say that i took part in his inauguration on the day he was inaugurated, january 20th, 1970 seven, and that was such a delight -- 1977, and that was such a delight. i could see the tops of their pets and i had a wonderful day during his like to say he was one of the best presidents whether the revolt to bash him a lot. that is my comment this morning

on former president carter. and god bless america. host: elizabeth, illinois, democrat. good morning. caller: i would like to explain that president carter became a friend of mine due to his invitation for a recital honoring the french premier on the occasion of the signing of the concorde airplane between jfk and paris and back. the president requested that i played mozart. he was a very loving, kind, welcoming, simple man and made

us feel so at home and i also played a wonderful work to honor the french culture and music for the former french premier by one of the greatest french violinist composers. when i laid, the french premier was thrilled and a stood up yelling bravo until president carter he was so thrilled an american violinist would do that for him, and we became friends. i almost wanted to call him his majesty. i think president carter was a man of rare nobleness and kindness towards others, even when he did not win the presidency to president reagan, he was so gracious and helpful.

and his after presidency is just so noble for everyone in the world to admire. i can't thank him enough for his graciousness to my parents and to myself. we had the same birthday, many decades apart, but he was a noble gentleman. i think it was a wonderful thing that he brought israel and egypt together to make peace and they have never broken it. thank you so much. host: thank you for that memory. can you still play the violin? caller: yes, of course. host: i am glad you are still playing. caller: it is important that know that president carter, besides loving guitar and all of that, he loved the music of mozart.

i think president carter held in his heart deeply. host: thank you for sharing that. this is david in washington, d.c., democrat. caller: very few presidents fit the mold of being a people's president, and that is what i remember about president carter. he brought in a positive atmosphere of love and compassion for which people were drawn to. i remember when he first traveled to india in the 1980's and he was probably when the first american presidents that traveled there at that time. his trip was received with such love and excitement that an american president -- he had come there with his wife. i just feel that way it lost a

very popular president that the people really love and care about. even though he lost the election to president reagan, he will always be remembered like he was one of us. i just feel that he was a people's president and very few presidents fit that profile. thank you. host: alice in maryland, democrat. caller: good morning. i am calling to say how much we miss president carter and hmmm much we love president carter and all of the things that he did. my dad was a local politician who had gone down to plains, georgia with a couple of other politicians prior to president carter being elected. i got from my dad a postcard saying i have just met the future president of the united states.

when he came to baltimore to campaign, my dad and the other african-american politicians along with others were out campaigning for him. i had the opportunity to attend the inauguration. it was a wonderful experience, my first inauguration. there were five inaugural balls during that time. one was held at union station. there was no alcohol. host: how do you make punch out of peanuts? caller: among those people attending was mohammed ali. the people were thrilled and in order for him to leave union station, they had to form a

human wedge to get him out of the station because everyone wanted. i was having a marvelous time to be alive to be around president carter. all the things he did for human rights and civil rights, he will never be forgotten and we just love him. host: that is washington green station on your screen. thanks for sharing. this is harold in vermont, republican. caller: i was in west africa and i have seen lots of piles and they brought them out. they could squeeze and get a peanut oil and that is what they were drinking evidently was peanut oil punch which is good

for democrats to drink because they are full of peanuts anyway. what he did to the military, he cut back so much funding and i was active duty in the military, a maintenance officer in a squadron that served on the u.s. -- uss saratoga. we went for a six-month cruise in the mediterranean, we had no parts for the airplane. we had to steal from the others to keep ours operationally ready and all you could do was not to any operations while we were gone. the parts and funds were not available. he had no clue. i think is refused in the aviation community is to call

them bobbleheads. the bubble was still on the head as far as running the military. one other thing he messed up was we had all the prisoners in iran at the time in 1979. they sat there for over 100 days. had they gone in immediately after they were taken prisoners and surprised the whole thing, it would have been a different operation. but he had to wait because he didn't want anybody hurt, he didn't want nobody killed. our men were killed and helicopters were lost. a military man he was not. he messed up our military and think i'd reagan came along to get it squared away. thank you for listening to me and my condolences to the carter family. it was a great religious man and he was friendly with everybody and spent more of his time doing that than paying attention to what was going on in the capitol and the white house. host: this is in dayton, ohio,

irma, democrat. caller: i am an 80-year-old veteran and i served and i volunteered at camp liberty. it was an overnight thing and as i was going to duty one day, i got a flyer on my windshield inviting me to speak -- a speech given by david duke. it was ironic that i found it on my windshield but they burned the cross right next to that word thing and most respect is about president carter is i knew

he was always going to try to do the right thing. the right thing to a higher leader and after the recent elections and the politics of today, i feel like i am being led at the national level by a calculator. i never in my wildest dreams that we would consider invading greenland or canada and taking over the panama canal. i can recall it was given over to panama because of the logistics of managing it. i am very uneasy. at the end of the day, i ask what would jesus do? i felt that he led in that

manner. i was also in florida and knew some of the people that were part of the iran rescue operation. i went through having a unit from that base as part of that mission. i am very grateful but the one thing that i wish i could have a president that when i go to bed at night that i can rest easy in knowing that he is going to do the right thing. i can't imagine that american-born children are going to be drug across the mexican border because the parents are illegal. i am being led by the dollar signs i think and i don't think that is always the best thing to make decisions. jimmy carter protected and tried to make the american people happy and for that i want to think the carter family.

i still have that flyer i found on my windshield in 1980. why i kept it i don't know. but i think i will offer it up to the carter family. but it is just part of my life. i also heard kennedy's last speech in fort worth, texas as a military member. i want to think the carter family. host: we appreciate your memories. matthew, maryland, independent. caller: in 1978, president carter visited africa in one of his stops was in monrovia, liberia and visited the president who had just become the chairman of the organization of african unity. with that position, he was

wearing two caps, both domestic and on the african continent. so the delegation to monrovia by president carter was interested in what was going on at the time. we know about angola as a neighbor to apartheid south africa. when i was in the heat of the civil war between those who wanted to liberate angola from other wings to cuba becoming an aligned country as it professed to be at that time. he used his influence as chairman of the organization of african unity to impress upon the leadership of angola to become aligned.

it was with the american foreign policy. i think during that time the secretary of state that was traveling with jimmy carter and there was also interested in domestic policy in liberia. they wanted liberia to go to monrovia and wanted american assistance. he also wanted assistance from america for highs in -- housing in liberia because monrovia was getting crowded. so some of the experiences we have in the respect we have for jimmy carter, i particularly visited the united states for the first time in 1988 and visited the carter center for

the first time and saw how wonderful it is and how many people it serves. so president carter will remain in our memories and we thank the united states of america for giving us such a leader on the world stage. thank you. host: in addition, starting at 10:00 a.m. eastern today, there are also the wildfires in southern california and we are watching the latest from that washington post and it says five people have been killed as a result of those players, at least 100 30,000 people fleet as crews struggle to contain the blazes. -- 130,000 people flee as crews struggle to contain the blazes. you can see the beach and president biden talks about the federal response to the wildfire

while visiting a station in the los angeles area yesterday. he spoke after he and california governor gavin newsom were briefed by the state fire officials. here is a portion. [video clip] pres. biden: the governor asked for a declaration and i am prepared to sign today. the fact is the dod rapidly providing additional firefighting personnel and also the california national guard is adding firefighting systems and to more being ready for the national guard in nevada. coming from the northern command and helicopters coming down from san diego.

anything as long as it takes to contain these fires and make sure they can get back to normal. it is going to be a long way. it is going to take time. host: here is from the washington post of the wildfires , the darker red color is an evacuation order. the yellow is an evacuation warning. there are fires here you can see this is santa monica, san fernando. this is pasadena so you can get an idea of the los angeles area in those areas that are affected. let's talk to gary in georgia. caller: i was 10 years old in 1968 when we were selected to be

president boys to the boy scouts for the president. we went to the state capital and we took letters and stuff up to the podium and we spent most of our time in the mail room drinking chocolate milk. we never had chocolate milk come from a machine before and we spent hours drinking chocolate milk. we got to meet the president who was the governor at the time. we got our picture taken with him and he gave each one of us a little bag of peanuts and he shook our hands and spoke to us. i remember him being such a nice, soft-spoken person that you had to feel love for him because he was such a decent person. we also met another that day and

you could tell there was a difference in the politicians. but jimmy carter was one of the best democrats there ever was in high creation more democrats would model themselves after him instead of some of the ones they are modeling after. my thoughts and prayers are with the carter family and with the people out in california that have lost everything and don't know whether to turn around or sit down and quit. host: this is tina, a democrat in greensboro, north carolina. caller: this is a somewhat sad date, but sometimes little things and actions matter a lot. jimmy carter in 1979 invited my

sister to sing at the white house. she was performing gospel music. after the performance, and photographer captured her with rosalynn carter and president carter. and of course he signed the photo. that was the first family member who brushed shoulders with an american president. a girl from north carolina, the city population was 1800 and a student at north carolina school of the arts. that photo was posted on my parents well until their death. it was also a passport for julia who became a broadway singer in dream girl.

she was posted on the billboard top 10. so little things make a great difference. when i look at jimmy carter's presidency, i have never seen a perfect person and when i compare it to the president-elect. there is a clearing and start difference. jimmy carter actually showed caring for the people. he wasn't a self centered man. and i am looking now that i have them in for bus mentality with ill-gotten gains. i look at jimmy carter, the sunday school teacher with dedication and a decent man versus one who cheats at golf

and plays too much golf versus running the country. i look at jimmy carter as a immoral and decent man, not one who is unethical for a convicted felon. i look at jimmy carter and a lot of people under stand, not one whose academic career is puzzling and hidden from public view. host: this is robert, a republican in stephenson ranch, california. caller: i would like to send my condolences to the carter family. jimmy carter undoubtedly had a complicated legacy but i think we have recognized his impact as to his strong moral character.

when you look at the post presidency today, jimmy carter has paved the way for that. i wanted to highlight that i don't think people focus on is the complicated political legacy of jimmy carter among democrats. when you look at republicans today like donald trump or even some others that came before, jimmy carter came out on the scene as a complete outsider, even in 1981 he was running for reelection, ted, the strong challenge almost knocked him out as an incumbent president. i think despite his failings as president i don't think that is appropriate to go into today. i think just the legacy of him as an outsider and particularly as it pertains to you could say defeating sort of the kennedy presidential dynasty, ted

kennedy lost in 1980 and carter would lose to reagan in a landslide but i think jimmy carter stuck by his beliefs with her i agree with them or not and i think that has to be applauded . in his final days he was very open about the disputes that he had with ted kennedy over a health care bill that didn't get past. even with clinton and obama, the post presidency relations were not always strong but i think he stood by with what he meant. in a way, that should be applauded. i want to send my condolences to the carter family. i think he will leave a legacy that undoubtedly historians will look at for many generations. i think the fact that he was the first political outsider that i could think of in the later 20th century, the key without a doubt has impacted the way we see politics today and when you look at donald trump and other

outsiders, you could go to jimmy carter. host: new jersey, independent line. caller: thank you for taking my call. i will relate an experience i assume no other listener has experienced. in 1979 or 1980, my wife and i were in manhattan and and in the evening after dinner walking down the street and i walked across the street and there was a long black limo surrounded by men in suits. so i crossed the street.

i walked up to the limo and put my face almost against the glass in the backseat and there was the first lady, rosalynn carter. and i gave her a wave and she returned a big smile and a big ve and nobody in the secret approached me my second comment is in september, i think it was early or mid september, i sent

100 birthday card -- 100th birthday card to the president. and i said i hope he lived to see his son's birthday and cast his vote for harris. i said, mr. president, not only will you celebrate your 100th birthday, but you will also live to cast your vote for kamala harris. and then i said lastly, you will also -- you and i will both on january 20, 2025 watch the swearing in of madam president.

well, i was right to out of three times. i only wish i was right. host: this is ann in pennsylvania, democrat. caller: a previous caller asked why a train was not used to take president carter to washington. he turned that down, according to an article in the new york times. i think it would have been very well done if he had gone ahead with that. the reason why is if anyone has seen the movie "bobby kunkel where they replay the actual footage of his -- bobby, where they replay actual footage. everything to executives in suits and blonde teenagers coming from a baseball game holding their hats over their

heart. very tearful. i just laud president carter for his morals and courage. host: joe in new york, republican. caller: i just want to compliment you on the vested -- fantastic job you are doing. i want to give you a quick applauded. [applauding] host: go ahead. caller: i do an internet radio show and i wanted to ask you since you did the report on the flyers in california -- fires in california and i complement your journalism that you took time to talk about that. also, my condolences to jimmy. he was a great president. i wish there were more democrats like him. but do you have any information

on how these fires, they are so annoying to look at in the media where california seems to have the worst record of fires. how do these fires start? basically this one westmark was it arson or do you have any information on that because it is just incredible. host: i have not seen reporting on that but if that does come up we will definitely share that with you. what you are looking at is just outside the capitol building. you can see the procession and we will just watch for a little bit.

[background sounds] [background sounds]

[background sounds] >> front, center. ready. ceremonial at ease. host: you just saw the military procession in preparation for

former president jimmy carter's state funeral. the events will kick off soon. we will show you that. we are simulcasting "washington journal on both c-span and c-span two. here on c-span at 9:30, the house will gavel in for legislative business so we will take you to the house on c-span. you can continue watching the state funeral of former president jimmy carter on c-span 2. we will continue to take your calls. we will go to justin in massachusetts, democrat. caller: my regards to the carter family. he was a great man. my main reason is when obama was in north carolina, i called and got a secretary and i told her

all our battleships, cruise ships have machinery technology to turn salt water into fresh water. why don't we put them out by california entrant beat fresh water and send the pipes in like watering the grass? you have all the letters in the world there. and she said -- most of the people have insurance. without the trees we are dead and she said, can i give that to obama to use? and i said sure. i with them a letter and nothing came of it. every year, fire, fire, fire.

put them out in the ocean and pump the water in and turn it into fresh water and water of the places that need it. host: the los angeles times is saying that it is one of the most destructive firestorms in l.a. history. five people have been killed as a result of the fires. it has burned 2000 building means, at least 130,000 residents are under evacuation orders. here is roy in woodstock, georgia, republican. caller: i do want to commend jimmy carter as an outsider. he was a true outsider but he was allowed to live throughout his whole term. now a second outsider in donald trump and immediately the doj,

cia, the whole washington, d.c. bureaucracy went against him to try to cast him out. on january 6, 2021, what happened is they lured his supporters into the building pages into the capitol police on top of the building throwing -- grenades and firing rubber bullets into a crowd of peaceful demonstrators. they were there to support president trump because the house was about to challenge the election. several congressmen were going to challenge it. senator cruz said he was going to challenge it. they went into the capitol to stop it. senator leffler changed her vote from challenging the election to accepting the election. so the whole country was hoodwinked by the bureaucracy in washington, d.c. trying to get trump removed from

office. the second time when he is running for office, you saw snipers sitting on top of a building walking around and his protection just waited for this person to shoot at a president and he shot at the president and almost killed him. and now we have an election they set the tone for another attempt and they keep saying he cannot serve again, he cannot serve again. i would not be surprised. host: he could not serve after this term, you mean? caller: you mean leading up to that, cheney and although said we cannot allow them back into the office, we cannot allow him back into the office. host: on your screen you are seeing the production of the card -- procession of the carter family living in preparation for

the state funeral. tennessee, democrat. caller: quite informative to hear the opinions and some misinformation. to me carter had some circumstances at the time, opec and the oil companies conspired at starting in 1973 to create artificial shortages to drive up the prices of oil at the tank and many times running them out. that continued through 1979, if not 1980. he is often blamed for the iran hostage crisis which was a revolution by the iranian people against the shah who was a dictator and brutal revolutionaries and cap -- kidnapped diplomats. in the efforts to free those

hostages, there are several books out that -- about that including a new one about the campaign in 1980 and the secret and illegal negotiations between the rating campaign beginning with the campaign chairman bill casey along with former texas governor john conley and henry kissinger and others to convince the hostages past the election in order to damage jimmy carter's chances. several times, the present and the ayatollah's people worked almost in agreement to get the hostages out in the summer of 1980, but the first arms for hostages secret deal occurred in august of 1980 with bill casey.

the promise was rockets to iran, u.s.-made weapons if they would hold the hostages until the minute reagan stepped on the inaugural platform should he be elected, and he was. the carter support collapsed in the week before with no hostages released. the weapons started flowing from, ironically, israel and turkiye straight to iran within five minutes the planes left delivering the weapons. with all the misinformation about carter not being a military man, he was a naval officer, there needs to be some corrections. i would recommend craig unger's book and then there was a book written called "october

surprise." there have been articles in the news and many others. thank you for letting me speak that. host: here is beverly in california. caller: good morning and happy new year. i wanted to speak directly about something i haven't heard anyone talk about. let me preface this by saying i am a speech therapist now retired 32 years. i particularly worked with those who did have a speech impediments, a stammer or a stutter. oftentimes they were thought to be slow or have memory loss or

dementia or things of that nature or even under the influence of either alcohol or drugs. a speech impediment, the older you get is documented, it is even more pronounced, as in the case of our president biden. he is not to have memory loss. president haydn is as sharp as a tack -- biden is as sharp as a tack. he has a disability of having a speech impediment. i was just appalled at trump in 2016 when he made fun of a person with a disability. and even more so when he made fun of president biden in the weight that he spoke.

it is because he has a speech impediment. i am so surprised that no one ever addressed this issue. i watch you every day and other news outlets as well and i heard no one address that issue and it is a known documented fact. are you aware of that? host: i appreciate you adding that. we are going to go back to our coverage of the jimmy carter state funeral. it is kicking off and you can see the family there, the military procession getting ready to go into the capitol. the casket will be taken to the national cathedral. we are going to be taking your calls and focused on the legacy, life of former president jimmy carter. if you would like to weigh in, the lines will be by region,

eastern central time zones, (202) 748-8000, mountain and pacific it's going to be (202) 748-8001. if you are already on the phone, please hold on and we will definitely get to you. you see a split screen with the inside of the national cathedral in washington. we will go to the phones, kathleen in dayton, ohio. caller: thanks so much always fort washington journal and c-span's coverage. it is so stark the difference between what is taking place in d.c. today at the capitol over the last several days to what took place on january 6, 2001.

the stark difference is alarming . it is calming in many ways watching what went on now to what went on in 2001. i worked on president carter's campaign when he ran for president. i so admire -- i grew up catholic and not catholic any longer but i admired as a young person how he walked the talk. it wasn't always possible for him to do so being the president but he tried so hard. this is what i admired most about him. but we are not hearing on media coverage on this incredible coverage of his life and i want to say c-span have -- has an incredible archive of his speeches. i recommend people go there and listen. the guy had some incredible

intelligence and had some marbles in his brain and maintained them until the end of his life. people are not talking about what he did with apartheid. nobody is talking about it. i wish people would talk about his stance on the palestine-israel conflict as well as read his book that came out almost 20 years ago. people are not talking about and to people on didn't even talk about that and they talked about camp david but didn't talk about his stance. gaza has dropped off the news media map. carter had an incredibly big heart and we know how he felt

about that issue. he wanted us to have empathy for what the jews went through during the holocaust and what gaza is going through and the people of palestine and i hope you cover that more often. this stands out in my mind so much about how frugal carter it even talking about taking a small bag when he would travel and washing his socks out at night and not throwing out appliances until they were absolutely broken. he walked the christian walk but was very conscientious and i was taken by him about his speeches on energy and his energy policy. they were phenomenal to watch. they were far ahead of any policy, way back when putting on solar panels and putting on a sweater and asking us to cut

back on usage. i am so moved by how honorable that man was. i have wept so many times this week watching coverage about it. he walks the christian walk. he was incredibly remarkable. host: you are watching just outside the capitol building, the remains of former president jimmy carter are inside capitol in the rotunda and will make its way to the national cathedral. we will continue our live coverage on c-span here we are simulcasting "washington journal on c-span and c-span 2 so we can continue and keep taking your calls. you can continue to call into the program. we are going to be taking your calls and taking a look at what is happening on the screen as well. a little information for you on the carter family. this is from today.com.

it says he and roslyn celebrated their 77th wedding anniversary month before her death in 2023. they were the longest married couple in presidential history. they have four children, john, known as jack is 77, james, known as chip is 74, and jess is 72 and their daughter amy is 57 years old. they also have a dozen grandchildren and more great-grandchildren. north carolina, good morning. caller: i would like to make a statement. i have been watching c-span for about a year and a half and have been watching it pretty close, and what i do not like is every

time somebody gets on making sense about trump, january 6, you hit the plug. and anyone else can get on and on going on putting him down. host: jeffrey, we are talking about former president jimmy carter. did you have a comment about that? caller: you are doing yourself a disservice every time. it is getting like is going to be like msnbc and cnn. host: there is that casket. we will watch for a bit here on c-span. this is the casket coming out of the capitol building. work. [background sounds] ..

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>> host: we are continuing our coverage of the state funeral of former president jimmy carter here on c-span. we are also on c-span2. we'll be ending this broadcast at 9:30 on c-span. if you are watching c-span, be sure to switch over to c-span2 if you'd like to continue seeing coverage of the funeral because we'll be going to the house floor for their legislative business right at 9:30 on c-span. but we will continue the coverage of the state funeral over on c-span2. some information for you on the speakers. you'll be hearing at the funeral joshua carter, his grandson. url' hear from steven ford, the son of president gerald ford. ted mondale, the son of the vice president mondale. his former advisor stewart

eisenstaedt. he was on this program a few days ago, if you would like to hear what he had to say see that in our archives. you'll hear from the -- from jason carter his grandson. also chair of the carter center board of trustees. you will hear from president biden who will give a eulogy. and grandson james carter as well as homily by the reverend andrew young, former u.s. ambassador to the u.n. you'll hear songs by garth brooks and trisha yearwood. that's all going to be starting at about 10 a.m. eastern at the national cathedral. you can keep calling in and sharing your remembrances, your thoughts on jimmy carter's legacy. here is is ron in minnesota. hi. caller: hi. first of all i want to compliment c-span on their coverage of his funeral.

condolences to the carter family. we have a great man in our presence. i have been trying to get coverage from channels on the funeral and i realized the fire is a disaster. but we need to celebrate the greatness of this man. whether you agree with his politics or not. i'm a trump republican and i respect the man, who he is, and who he was. i was touched by the number of young people that were at the funeral last evening.

and we need to have more civility in our discourse and campaigns. as i said i'm a trump republican. so i watched the debate between gerald ford and jimmy in your coverage yesterday, and i was so touched by the way in which he referred to his opponent. you don't have to be a democrat to respect this man. thank you very much for taking my call. host: gene in park ridge, illinois, you're next. caller: yes. good morning. i protected four u.s. presidents. my first president was president

carter. uniformed marked car. retired lieutenant. i also completed the secret service school down in georgia. and procedures, operations, and briefings. i just want to say some of the finest agents i ever worked with were with the secret service. i want to commend the men and women that are standing in that cold. they deserve our gratitude and salute. thank you very much. host: there's an article here from cnn.com, the president's club convening to honor jimmy carter at contentious moment for the exclusive group. it says this, it's the world's most exclusive fraternity, and on thursday, that's today, all five members of the so-called president's club will gather to honor one of their own. presidents bill clinton, george w. bush, barack obama, donald trump, and joe biden are expected to attend the state

funeral of former president jimmy carter. it says, it will mark the first time all of the club's living members will come face-to-face since the funeral of george h.w. bush in december of 2018. six years later the group has sharply fractured dynamic that will be closely watched at the washington national cathedral service. former presidents have directly and indirectly spoken forcefully against trump who mounted a successful political comeback after his defeat four years ago. and who in less than two weeks will return to the white house. this is d.j. in otherriano, california -- oceana, california. good morning. caller: good morning. god bless president carter. condolences to his family. he was a good man. a great man.

and i think a true christian. i would just like to say that to all the true christians in the country right now, only love can conquer hate. only truth can conquer lies. and deceit. lies and deceit are not from the lord. they come from another place. god bless you. god bless the united states. host: fayetteville, tennessee, good morning. caller: good morning. i just want to say that he was my first president i ever voted for. and i would just like to say he was a great person. president and after president. i just wanted to ask if you want

to show his funeral again sometime this week or -- i'm going to miss it. host: we'll have it on our website, janice, you can see it there. and you see on your screen that's former senator john kerry. these are the attendees that ard inside the national cathedral in washington. there is the motorcade just starting now its journey across-town to the washington national cathedral. the ceremony is set to start at about 10 a.m. eastern time. linda, detroit, michigan, good morning. caller: good morning. i want to express my condolences to jimmy carter's family and my appreciation for c-span for all it does for us, keeping us informed. i most would like to say that

jimmy carter was a great humanitarian and that he loved all people, including the black people in urban communities. he helped out most urban communities in this country. we are not aware of the money he spent in detroit, michigan. we received almost -- we received over $1 million after our communities were bulldozed down and he was there to assist us and help us. he expressed great love for our people. that's all i'd like to say. host: tom in buffalo, new york. you're next. caller: great. as soon as i heard carter died, i needly said i'm going to pull out that old v. c.r. tape, april, 1990, my kids were little. they were 8, 6, and 4. we had to do the disney world

thing. we went down to orlando. drove down there. this is april, 1990. let's stop in plains. like you couldn't do that now probably, it would be a circus. probably have to see if you are a terrorist or something. we went to plains. unfortunately he wasn't there. but this guy, the local -- just an old chevy van. he took people around. we were the only one there is. and we went all around. they drove us around. showed -- we went -- i had movies of the whole thing. wonderful. last about a half-hour. they drove us -- billy carter. had the gas station. it was so terrible. he drank beer. that was a big deal. it's crazy. we took -- the house he lived in is a little two bedroom. he lived in public housing at one time. you hear me? host: yes, we can. caller: it was wonderful.

they showed the -- cementtary. we just drove this guy in a van took us around. maybe 10 bucks or 20 bucks. host: tom, speaking of his humble beginnings, i heard that he grew up without electricity until the age of 11. caller: no indoor plumbing. they went out in the outhouse, i guess. even the house he lived in -- this is 1990. it was something -- a two bedroom. it was three, he knocked down the walls to make one a study. he lived -- such a simple man. unfortunately he wasn't there. they showed the church. he usually give sunday school classes there. unfortunately he wasn't there. what i taped, this tape is -- it was sitting in front of billy carter's gas station and the steps. everything was -- it was so neat. i felt so bad -- 100 years can't

feel bad. how many people live to be 100. he was really -- what i remember, he was just a simple man but honest. come on, i'm 76. and i couldn't vote for him in 1968. you had to be 21 back then. i voted for mcgovern. then i voted for carter. i think the only president in my lifetime -- look at all that was actually honest. there was no scandals. the only scandal i remember was billy carter drank too much. big deal. he drank a little beer. host: all right, tom. thanks for your memories. you're watching the carter motorcade make its way through the streets of washington, d.c. en route to the washington national cathedral. he should be getting there in about 10 minutes. and it's a cold day in washington.

you can see the snow on the ground. it's about 25 degrees outside. in that shot you can see the capitol dome in the background. some people taking pictures on the street there. in alexandria, virginia. good morning. caller: good morning. i wanted to share a memory. i'm sorry, his presidential campaign was the first presidential campaign i ever worked on. i was in college at the time. it wasn't the first election i voted. my first election was 1972. in 1976 i not only worked on his campaign, i was precinct coordinator for him back when i lived in illinois. and his was the first inauguration i attended. i just wanted to share that. thank you. host: here is tiffany in signal mountain, tennessee. caller: thank you, good morning. thank you for taking my call. i just wanted to share a

remembrance from my childhood. i was a child in jimmy carter was in office and elected. i grew up on a very rural farm. my grandparents were very big proponents of jimmy carter. i guess from just a very small child i learned that the civic responsibility just from my grandparents and how they supported him. just sharing that knowledge with children and understanding what our civic responsibilities are. carter -- jimmy carter just really exemplified the honesty, the integrity, and just being a champion of not everybody but especially rural people. and that's why my grandparents who grew up on this farm throughout their lives, it was just really kind of a special experience to have jimmy carter

as our president. i feel very privileged to have lived in a time where i remember that. one of my significant remembrances is my grandfather gave me as a child a little pocket knife that was white with a little blue writing on it. it had jimmy carter's name on it. that was one of my christmas gifts one year. i regret so much that i don't still have that little pocket knife. i just remember them being so supportive of him and everything he stood for and it just seems kind of a shame that he didn't have a second term and that the circumstances just kind of resulted in that single term because i think he was probably one of our greatest presidents ever. i just hope that we can return to some of those values that he exemplified. thank you for taking my call. host: all right, tiffany. the motorcade is making its way towards national cathedral. it will pass the white house.

and you will -- you'll not be able to see the white house in the background. it will slow down. you will see the inaugural viewing stand. and the presidential seal on the reviewing stand is the same one that was used for jimmy carter's inauguration. you can also see on your screen there the guests that have started to assemble inside the washington national cathedral in preparation for that state funeral. you saw the supreme court justices. you see there the orchestra playing. john in plain view, new york. hi. caller: thank you for taking my call. you are doing a fantastic job with the carter coverage. a wonderful human being. i was 10 years old when he was elected. i remember asking my dad about him because -- thinking back on it now at the time, no one really knew who jimmy carter was politically. my parents were greek

immigrants. they were kennedy democrats. i asked him, who is jimmy carter, and he -- my father said, i really don't know, but i do know he's always holding a bible in one hand. greek orthodox, we are pretty religious. that was a positive connotation. i didn't want to say anything negative but i have to. a lot of these evangelicals today, they could take a cue from jimmy carter because he was a real evangelical. love your neighbor and do unto others. i see a lot of present day evangelicals do not follow. jimmy carter would be an outsider in that community also. i want to say i felt he was a wonderful human being. a great presidency there is one story that i keep hearing now lately that he's gone when he was a young lieutenant in the navy apparently he was part of a rescue mission in a nuclear reactor meltdown in canada.

not a lot of coverage is spent on that. i find that story very fascinating. if your viewers want to look that up. it's a fascinating story about how he put his life at risk to help a canadian nuclear reactor. he was actually -- people forget 100 years old now. he was a young man once. him and his team they had to repel into this nuclear reactor and spend just limited amounts of time. then they had to come back out. once again i'll keep it brief. excellent coverage. i really appreciate you guys being on the air. farewell to a great man. thank you. host: thanks, john. you see the motorcade on one side of your screen. and the guests assembled inside the washington national cathedral on the other. you saw former vice president mike pence, outgoing canadian prime minister justin trudeau there all in attendance. also five presidents expected to be there, bill clinton, george

w. bush, barack obama, president biden will be speaking tonight, and also president-elect donald trump. here is mark in new york, new york. good morning. caller: good morning. grateful for the opportunity to express my appreciation for jimmy carter. and his inspiration. i had a chance to meet president carter. also was invited to be at the world premiere of man from plains. i led or was part of a number over the last 20 years or so in africa, we built 88 hometowns for orphans and vulnerable children through habitat for humanity which i would have never known about if it wasn't for jimmy cart earn his participation in that great program. a lot of great things in my life have come from that. met a lot of my great friends. helped me get the job i have

now. i met my wife in mozambique of all places. super grateful for just a great example the man was. just incredibly humble and an honor to be able to tell him everything that he's meant to me in person. just very accessible the. just great person. grateful for your coverage and opportunity today. thank you. host: joanna in milford, delaware. hi. caller: good morning. thank you so much for taking my call. i just wanted to say president carter was such a visionary. i think he lived 100 years above the 100 years that he has lived. he found empathy and found kindness in those who were the poorest of poor. he was not a people donna. he -- prima donna. he was not a politician.

he was a human being. on behalf of the entire state of delaware, i want you to know that we are so grateful. we are so grateful for his life and for his good deeds. i hope that we can continue them. there's not enough time in the day. there's not enough words to say. i couldn't find one human being who could ever say anything negative about president carter. i cannot wait for him to be happily in arms with rosalyn. god bless him, and god bless all of the soldiers and they are freezing standing outside in 20 degrees. god bless you guys. host: thank you, joanna. you see the motorcade there with

the remains of mr. carter. you see the guests inside the national cathedral. you saw hunter biden there. that's former vice president al gore sitting there as well. and former -- right next to former vice president mike pence. and we are going to be covering all of the funeral. expected to get started at about 10 a.m. we'll continue our coverage, we are simultaneousing on c-span2. we'll go to the house in about a minute when they gavel in for our gavel-to-gavel coverage of the house of representatives on c-span. but if you'd like to continue our coverage of mr. carter's funeral, please do join us on c-span2 if you are not already watching there. kenneth, san jose, california. good morning. caller: hi. thanks for taking my call.

just wanted to get a quick work in before tkpweu to work. it's early here. just want people to know this was a man who did many things outside of the presidency. he pretty much cured guinea worm. he was humanitarian. he built homes. a man of faith. i recommend people read his books about his boyhood. a lot of his humanitarianism can stem from the experiences at home. his mother was a nurse. host: kenneth, hold on just one moment with me. i'm going to let you continue the conversation. but here on c-span i'm going to tell viewers we are going to go the house of representatives. they are about to gavel in. we will again continue our coverage over on c-span2. the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. the chair lays before the house a communication from the speaker.