General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Something kind of hit me today. [View all]Rhiannon12866
(204,743 posts)Which at the time were only Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. He kept them informed as a gesture of respect and while Nixon eventually decided it was too much information, Gerald Ford welcomed the gesture and the two former rivals eventually became good friends. Ford was quite helpful when it came to dealing with Congress since he had spent so many years there. And Ford also became involved with the work of the Carter Center since he also had international experience. In fact, one of their last phone calls was from Ford asking Carter to deliver the eulogy at his funeral. Carter was a little taken aback, but said he'd be honored to do it if Ford would do the same honor for him.
He said that it's been so long that he received little communication from President Obama which is too bad since they do have a lot in common. And unbelievably, the president who asked for the most help and advice from him was George H W Bush! Jimmy Carter is especially good at bridging divides and reaching out..