Jimmy Carter remembered a 'practitioner of good works' as US bids goodbye

Washington: The nation bade farewell to former President Jimmy Carter on Thursday with a majestic state funeral for a man who saw himself as anything but, remembering a peanut farmer from Georgia who rose to the heights of power and used it to fight for justice, eradicate disease and wage peace not war.

Five living presidents and a broad array of other leaders gathered at Washington National Cathedral to pay tribute to the 39th president, not only for his accomplishments during four years in the nation's highest office but also for his relentless humanitarian work in the four decades after he left the White House.

"Throughout his life, he showed us what it means to be a practitioner of good works, a good and faithful servant of God and of the people," President Joe Biden said in a eulogy, delivered just 11 days before he too leaves office as a one-term Democrat.

The grand service in the ornate cathedral on a hill was a classic Washington spectacle. As organs played and choirs sang, many had their minds on the soon-to-be-inaugurated president as much as the one in the flag-draped coffin. Mourners craned their necks to gauge the body language as President-elect Donald Trump sat near his four peers, none of whom care for him and most of whom ignored him.

Most of the tributes to Carter avoided pointed rebukes of Trump. But it was hard not to hear the implicit contrast drawn between Carter's fundamental decency and Trump's grievance-filled politics.

In his eulogy, Biden said that Carter's most enduring attribute was "character, character, character" -- a trait that he has maintained is missing in his predecessor turned successor.

"For keeping the faith with the best of humankind and the best of America," he added, "is a story in my view, from my perspective, Jimmy Carter's life."

The service represented the pinnacle of America's honors to Carter. From the splendor of the cathedral, he was flown to Georgia, where he was to be buried in a simple plot outside the modest house in Plains, Georgia, where he lived most of his life.

James Earl Carter Jr., who died last week at age 100, lived longer than any president in history, long enough to see his legacy transformed from that of a failed commander in chief to that of a public servant embodying faith, virtue and patriotism.

Carter was elected in 1976 on a promise to heal the nation after the traumas of the Watergate scandal and the Vietnam War only to find his presidency fatally damaged by runaway inflation, oil shortages and a hostage crisis in Iran.

Still, time has a way of polishing a president's reputation. After leaving office, Carter embarked on a new Nobel Peace Prize-winning career of negotiating ends to conflicts, combating diseases like Guinea worm, monitoring elections and serving the poor.

"Essentially, he eradicated a disease with love and respect," said Jason Carter, his grandson, who serves as chair of the Carter Center. "He waged peace with love and respect. He led this nation with love and respect."