|President Jimmy Carter's Eulogy for President Ford |
| |
|Former President Jimmy Carter |
|Grace Episcopal Church |
|Grand Rapids, Michigan |
|January 3, 2007 |
|"For myself and for our nation, I want to thank my predecessor for all he has done to heal our land." Those were the first words I spoke as president. And I|
|still hate to admit that they received more applause than any other words in my inaugural address. You learn a lot about a man when you run against him for |
|president, and when you stand in his shoes, and assume the responsibilities that he has borne so well, and perhaps even more after you both lay down the |
|burdens of high office and work together in a nonpartisan spirit of patriotism and service. My staff and my diary notes, as I prepared for this eulogy, |
|reveal a list of more than 25 different projects on which Jerry and I have shared leadership responsibilities. He and I were both amused by a "New Yorker" |
|cartoon a couple years ago. This little boy is looking up at his father. And he says, "Daddy, when I grow up, I want to be a former president." Jerry and I|
|frequently agreed that one of the greatest blessings that we...
