by Ambassador Callista L. Gingrich and Speaker Newt Gingrich
Callista and I are sorry to learn of the passing of President Jimmy Carter, and we extend our deepest condolences to the Carter family.
I first knew President Carter more than 50 years ago, when I was teaching at West Georgia College and he was governor. He was energetic, intelligent, and constantly seeking reforms to create a better future for Georgia. Carter’s 1976 presidential campaign was an amazing performance of an underdog who simply understood the post-Watergate and post-Vietnam mood of the country better than anyone else.
In Congress, I served with President Carter in 1979 and 1980. Later, I worked with the Carter Presidential Library on ending corruption around the world — and with his Atlanta Project on helping the poor and breaking cycles of poverty.
At every turn, President Carter and his beloved Rosalynn worked to build a better world. President Carter invited me to join him in building homes with Habitat for Humanity in Georgia and Kentucky. Inspired by President Carter’s work, we built a Habitat home in San Diego during the 1996 Republican National Convention. House Republicans also built a Habitat home in Washington, DC.
President Carter was a great citizen and a remarkable American. His legacy of service is an example for all of us.
