'I choose to live until death'

Jimmy Carter has died aged 100. He was a truly great man. If you have ten minutes for his eulogy for 13 year old Mattie Stepanek, it says it all. RIP.

There are a few Jimmy Carter speeches in the Speakola library. I’ve put up the DNC acceptance speech from 1976, and his famous ‘Crisis of Confidence’ speech that might resonate with the 21st century Americans, because there was a malaise about the 2024 Democrats that is perhaps an echo of the late seventies.

I’d argue that in both cases, great presidents were unlucky with world economic conditions, and the national mood. What is beyond debate, is that Jimmy Carter was a man dedicated to his country and his fellow human beings. This eulogy for a 13 year old pen pal, Mattie Stepanek, who lived an extraordinary life and died at a young age from muscular dystrophy, is one of the great eulogies by an American president.

Somebody will write a great one for Jimmy Carter this week.

RIP President Carter. You will be missed.

for Mattie Stepanek: 'The most extraordinary person whom I have ever known' by Jimmy Carter - 2004

When I was running for governor a number of years ago, my wife and I didn’t have much money so we traveled around the state and we estimated later that we shook hands personally with 600,000 people.

Later I ran for president, as some of you may remember, and campaigned in all 50 states. Subsequently, I traveled around the world. In fact, since I left the White House, my wife and I have been to more than 120 nations. And we have known kings and queens, and we’ve known presidents and prime ministers, but the most extraordinary person whom I have ever known in my life is Mattie Stepanek.