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DEAD AT 100. MY NAME IS JIMMY CARTER. THIS WEEK ON ����vlog EIGHT NEWS. CLOSE UP. HIS IMPACT ACROSS THE GLOBE AND IN IOWA FROM PUTTING THE CAUCUSES ON THE MAP. CARTER’S CAUCUS CAMPAIGN WAS A MASTERPIECE TO HIS TIME IN OFFICE. I WAS ABLE TO DO A NUMBER OF GOOD THINGS WHEN I WAS PRESIDENT, FOR WHICH I’M VERY GRATEFUL. IN PEACE AND IN CRISIS, HE NEGOTIATED AND GOT US RELEASED, AND HIS TIME OUT OF OFFICE. HIS BIGGEST ACCOMPLISHMENTS? WELL, THE BEST THING I EVER DID WAS MARRYING ROSALYNN AND LASTING LEGACY. ����vlog EIGHT NEWS CLOSE UP STARTS RIGHT NOW. THIS IS IOWA’S NEWS LEADER. THIS IS ����vlog EIGHT NEWS. CLOSE UP. GOOD MORNING AND THANKS FOR JOINING US ON ����vlog EIGHT NEWS CLOSE UP. I’M CHIEF POLITICAL REPORTER AMANDA ROOKER. THIS MORNING WE’RE REMEMBERING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF FORMER PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER. ONE WEEK AFTER HIS DEATH, HE DIED AT THE AGE OF 100, IN HIS HOMETOWN OF PLAINS, GEORGIA. FUNERAL SERVICES STARTED YESTERDAY, WITH CARTER’S REMAINS BEING CARRIED TO THE CARTER PRESIDENTIAL CENTER. HE’LL LIE IN REPOSE THERE UNTIL TUESDAY. AFTER THAT, A FUNERAL PROCESSION WILL CARRY CARTER TO THE U.S. CAPITOL, WHERE HE WILL LIE IN STATE UNTIL THURSDAY. ON THURSDAY, A FUNERAL SERVICE WILL BE HELD AT THE WASHINGTON NATIONAL CATHEDRAL. CARTER’S JOURNEY WILL END WHERE IT BEGAN IN PLAINS, WHERE HE WILL BE PRIVATELY LAID TO REST ALONGSIDE HIS WIFE OUTSIDE THEIR HOME. CARTER SERVED ONE FOUR YEAR TERM FROM 1977 TO 1981, BUT THE FORMER PRESIDENT HAS LEFT A LASTING LEGACY. OUR KALYN NORWOOD TAKES A LOOK BACK AT HIS WORK IN THE WHITE HOUSE, AND AFTER. MY NAME IS JIMMY CARTER FROM GEORGIA. PEANUT FARMER TO PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. THE PEOPLE ARE LOOKING FOR HONEST ANSWERS. NOT EASY ANSWERS. JIMMY CARTER SERVED ONE TERM IN THE WHITE HOUSE. PEOPLE DID NOT EXPECT HIM TO WIN, BUT HE REALLY WAS ABLE TO CAPTURE THIS ANTI WATERGATE, ANTI-WASHINGTON MOOD. CARTER’S MOST NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS WERE ON THE FOREIGN POLICY FRONT, THE CAMP DAVID ACCORDS, THE PANAMA CANAL TREATIES, AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF U.S. DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS WITH CHINA. I WAS ABLE TO DO A NUMBER OF GOOD THINGS WHEN I WAS PRESIDENT, FOR WHICH I’M VERY GRATEFUL, AND THAT WAS A HIGH POINT OF MY LIFE, POLITICALLY SPEAKING. HE FACED SOVIET AGGRESSION ABROAD WHILE BATTLING HIGH INFLATION AND AN ENERGY CRISIS AT HOME. THE IRAN HOSTAGE CRISIS DOMINATED THE LAST YEAR OF CARTER’S PRESIDENCY. A FAILED SECRET RESCUE MISSION DOOMED HIM POLITICALLY. AMERICA, THE MOST POWERFUL COUNTRY ON THE PLANET, WAS REALLY POWERLESS. HIS GREATEST REGRET. I WISH I HAD SENT ONE MORE HELICOPTER TO GET THE HOSTAGES. AND WE WOULD HAVE RESCUED THEM, AND I WOULD HAVE BEEN REELECTED. BUT THAT MAY HAVE. REPORTER. BUT HE SAID FOUR MORE YEARS IN THE WHITE HOUSE WOULD HAVE DELAYED THE FOUNDING OF THE CARTER CENTER, WHICH HE STARTED IN 1982 WITH HIS WIFE, ROSALYNN. AND WHAT CAME AFTER THEIR YEARS IN THE WHITE HOUSE SET A MODEL FOR A LIFE POST-PRESIDENCY. THE CARTER CENTER’S WORK FOCUSED ON GLOBAL HEALTH AND DEMOCRACY. HE TRAVELED THE WORLD TO PROMOTE FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS. A CHAMPION OF HUMAN RIGHTS, CARTER WAS AWARDED THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE IN 2002, AND HE SPENT DECADES VOLUNTEERING HIS TIME BUILDING HOMES WITH HABITAT FOR HUMANITY. THEN, IN 2015, CARTER WAS DIAGNOSED WITH CANCER. WHEN ASKED AT THAT TIME ABOUT HIS GREATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT, HIS ANSWER WAS SIMPLE. WELL, THE BEST THING I EVER DID WAS MARRYING ROSALYNN. OVER HIS REMAINING YEARS, HE OFTEN SAID HE LEANED ON HIS FAITH IN GOD. AS THE CANCER WENT INTO REMISSION. THEN, IN FEBRUARY OF 2023, HE ENTERED HOSPICE CARE AT HOME, HIS WIFE’S HEALTH FAILING, TOO. AND IN NOVEMBER, THEIR 77 YEAR LOVE STORY CAME TO A CLOSE. TELL HIM I BEAT HIM AND I’M WAITING ON HIM. THE FORMER FIRST LADY’S FUNERAL MARKED THE FINAL TIME WE SAW PRESIDENT CARTER IN PUBLIC. HE WAS UNABLE TO SPEAK, SO THEIR DAUGHTER READ AN OLD LOVE LETTER. HE WROTE TO ROSALYNN. WHEN I SEE YOU, I FALL IN LOVE WITH YOU ALL OVER AGAIN. DOES THAT SEEM STRANGE TO YOU? IT DOESN’T TO ME. GOODBYE, DARLING. UNTIL TOMORROW. JIMMY. IN WASHINGTON, I’M KALYN NORWOOD. PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN ADDRESSED THE NATION HOURS AFTER THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF CARTER’S DEATH. MILLIONS OF PEOPLE ALL AROUND THE WORLD, ALL OVER THE WORLD, FEEL THEY LOST A FRIEND AS WELL, EVEN THOUGH THEY NEVER MET HIM. AND THAT’S BECAUSE JIMMY CARTER LIVED A LIFE MEASURED NOT BY WORDS, BUT BY HIS DEEDS. AND PRESIDENT ELECT DONALD TRUMP SAID THAT CARTER DID QUOTE EVERYTHING IN HIS POWER TO IMPROVE THE LIVES OF ALL AMERICANS WHILE IN OFFICE. AND THAT, QUOTE, WE ALL OWE HIM A DEBT OF GRATITUDE. THE OTHER THREE LIVING FORMER U.S. PRESIDENTS ALSO RELEASED STATEMENTS IN THE WAKE OF CARTER’S DEATH. FORMER PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA TALKED ABOUT CARTER’S FAITH, INSPIRED HIS LIFE OF SERVICE AND SAID IN PART, QUOTE, HE BELIEVED SOME THINGS WERE MORE IMPORTANT THAN REELECTION. THINGS LIKE INTEGRITY, RESPECT, AND COMPASSION. FORMER PRESIDENT GEORGE W BUSH SAYS CARTER DIGNIFIED THE OFFICE OF PRESIDENT FOR HIS LOYALTY TO FAMILY, COMMUNITY AND HIS COUNTRY. FORMER PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON SAYS THE CLINTONS WERE PROUD EARLY SUPPORTERS OF CARTER’S PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN, AND ARE PROUD TO HAVE WORKED WITH HIM IN THE YEARS AFTER HE LEFT THE WHITE HOUSE. WHILE MANY CREDIT CARTER FOR PUTTING IOWA’S CAUCUSES ON THE MAP WHEN HE RAN FOR PRESIDENT BACK IN 1976, HE WAS VIRTUALLY UNKNOWN AND OUTSIDE OF IOWA. SO WERE THE CAUCUSES. BUT CARTER’S UNEXPECTED SUCCESS HERE PROPELLED HIM TO THE WHITE HOUSE AND SET UP A PRESIDENTIAL PLAYBOOK THAT PUT ALL EYES ON IOWA FOR DECADES. FOR HALF A CENTURY, THE COUNTRY HAS LOOKED TO IOWA TO KICK OFF THE PROCESS OF PICKING THE NEXT PRESIDENT. BUT WHEN IOWA FIRST BECAME FIRST IN THE NATION IN 1972, NOT MANY TOOK NOTICE. THEY WERE A HOME GROWN IOWA EVENTS UNTIL JIMMY CARTER PUT THE IOWA CAUCUSES ON A NATIONAL MAP. ����vlog POLITICAL ANALYST DENNIS GOLDFORD SAYS IN 1972, A LITTLE KNOWN SENATOR FROM SOUTH DAKOTA, GEORGE MCGOVERN, FINISHED SECOND IN IOWA AFTER GOING ALL IN ON THE STATE. HE BEAT EXPECTATIONS, AND THE MEDIA TOOK NOTICE. SO JIMMY CARTER, A PEANUT FARMER, TURNED GEORGIA GOVERNOR, FOLLOWED MCGOVERN’S LEAD, PUTTING ALL HIS FOCUS ON IOWA. CARTER LEFT THE GOVERNOR’S MANSION IN GEORGIA AT THE END OF 1974 AND ESSENTIALLY CAMPED OUT IN IOWA FOR A YEAR. HE STAYED AT THE HOMES OF SUPPORTERS AND FRIENDS, FOLKS LIKE THAT, AND HE’D JUST MEET PEOPLE ON THE STREET. PEOPLE LIKE DEMOCRAT AND FORMER LONGTIME IOWA ATTORNEY GENERAL TOM MILLER. CARTER’S CAUCUS CAMPAIGN WAS A MASTERPIECE, MILLER REMEMBERS WATCHING CARTER CRISSCROSS THE STATE. HE MARVELED AT THE LITTLE KNOWN FARMER’S ABILITY TO WORK A ROOM. HE WAS VERY GENUINE. I MEAN, HE MET PEOPLE WELL, HE LISTENED. HE GOT TO KNOW IOWANS. IOWANS GOT TO KNOW HIM. HE WAS VERY PERSONABLE, WARM AND DECENT QUALITIES. MARY BREWBAKER ALSO NOTICED DURING CARTER’S CAMPAIGN BACK IN 2020, THE FORMER ����vlog TALK SHOW HOST REFLECTED ON HER COOKING SEGMENT WITH THE THEN PRESIDENTIAL HOPEFUL. MARINATE THEM AND YOU MARINATE THEM IN HEINZ 57 SAUCE. CAN’T YOU JUST SEE HIM IN THE WHITE HOUSE? NOW? THE CHEF WILL GO OUT TO LUNCH. HE WAS JUST A BREATH OF FRESH AIR. I MEAN, HE WASN’T LIKE ANY POLITICIAN WE HAD EVER KNOWN BEFORE. MONTHS OF MEETING IOWANS IN COFFEE SHOPS AND SMALL TOWN DINERS PAID OFF. JIMMY CARTER CAME IN SECOND. SECOND TO WHOM? SECOND TO UNCOMMITTED. BUT CARTER CAME IN FIRST. AMONG THE ACTUAL HUMAN CANDIDATES. AND AGAIN, THIS WAS HIGHLY UNEXPECTED. CARTER’S CAUCUS PERFORMANCE BROUGHT NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT. THAT SHOWING IN THE IOWA CAUCUSES WAS SOMETHING HE WAS ABLE TO SPIN TO GET POLITICAL FOLKS AND VOTERS, DEMOCRATS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY TO SAY, MAYBE WE’D BETTER TAKE A SECOND LOOK AT THIS GUY. AND THAT MOMENTUM PROPELLED HIM TO THE WHITE HOUSE. AND IOWA PROVED THERE WAS A PATH TO GO FROM UNKNOWN TO PRESIDENT. WHAT THE CAUCUSES DID IN THEIR HEYDAY WAS GIVE PEOPLE WITHOUT MUCH MONEY, WITHOUT MUCH NATIONAL EXPOSURE, A CHANCE TO MAKE AN UNEXPECTEDLY GOOD SHOWING, EVEN IF THEY DIDN’T COME OUT FIRST. AFTER CARTER, YOU PRETTY MUCH HAD TO SHOW UP IN IOWA AS A POTENTIAL CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT IN EITHER PARTY. WHEN WE COME BACK, WE SIT DOWN WITH ANOTHER IOWAN WHO’S REMEMBERING THE FORMER PRESIDENT. WE DISCUSS CARTER’S RELATIONSHIP WITH IOWA’S GOVERNOR AT THE TIME, AND THE OTHER MAKES MARKS THAT THE FORMER PRESIDENT LEFT ON OUR STATE RIGHT AFTER THE BREAK. WELCOME BACK TO CLOSE UP. WE’RE JOINED NOW BY DAVID ALLEMAN, FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF TO IOWA GOVERNOR ROBERT RAY. AND DAVID, YOU REMEMBER WHEN CARTER FIRST CAME TO IOWA AND MET WITH WITH GOVERNOR RAY? WELL, I DO THANK YOU. AND GOOD MORNING. GOOD TO BE WITH YOU. AND I REMEMBER PRETTY WELL WHEN JIMMY CARTER CAME HERE. HE HAD BEEN GOVERNOR FOR FOUR YEARS, LEAVING OFFICE. RAY WAS ELECTED IN 1968, SO THEY’D WORKED TOGETHER AS GOVERNORS FOR FOUR YEARS. AND THERE WERE A LOT ALIKE. INTELLIGENT. THEY WERE LIKABLE PEOPLE. THEY HAD HIGH ENERGY. THEY LIVED THEIR FAITH. THEIR WORD WAS GOOD. AND SO THEY LIKED EACH OTHER. AND CARTER HAD DECIDED AT THE END OF HIS TERM HE WAS GOING TO RUN FOR PRESIDENT. YOU JUST SAW THE PACKAGE THAT TALKED ABOUT HOW YOU DO IT. WHEN THE CAUCUSES WERE JUST PRETTY NEW, AND HE DECIDED TO COME TO IOWA. SO HE SHOWED UP. MEETING WAS SET UP, BUT HE TOOK A TAXI CAB FROM THE HOTEL SAVERY TO THE CAPITOL. NO PRESS, NO SECURITY, NO STAFF. HE WAS BY HIMSELF IN IOWA, AND HE WENT TO SEE HIS FORMER, WELL, HIS FRIEND AND FORMER GOVERNOR COLLEAGUE, GOVERNOR RAY, WHO WAS HAPPY TO SEE HIM. RAY WAS ALWAYS ONE WHO WAS WILLING TO WORK ACROSS PARTY LINES. WE’VE TALKED ABOUT THAT BEFORE, AND HE HE’D BEEN ELECTED THREE TIMES BY THEN. SO HE WAS BECOMING A PRETTY SENIOR GOVERNOR. THEY TALKED A LOT ABOUT AGRICULTURE. IOWA. WE KNOW OUR ROOTS IN AGRICULTURE AND IN GEORGIA. HE WAS A PEANUT FARMER. COTTON IS A BIG CROP DOWN THERE. SO THEY HAD THAT CONVERSATION. AND RAY, BY THE WAY, MENTIONED TO HIM THAT, LOOK, I’M A I AM A REPUBLICAN AND I’M GOING TO SUPPORT PRESIDENT FORD. NOW KEEP IN MIND THAT THIS WAS FIVE MONTHS AFTER PRESIDENT NIXON RESIGNED BECAUSE OF WATERGATE AND ALL OF THAT. THAT IS MAYBE NOT KNOWN TO A LOT OF YOUNG PEOPLE, BUT IT WAS A TERRIBLE TIME, A TERRIBLE TIME FOR THE NOT JUST THE PARTY, BUT THE COUNTRY. SO HERE’S THIS FRESH FACE SHOWING UP AS A PERSON OF INTEGRITY. AND HE ASKED THE GOVERNOR, YOU KNOW, WHAT SHOULD I DO? HOW DO I RUN AND MAYBE WIN IN IOWA? AND THE GOVERNOR WAS REAL SIMPLE. HE SAID, RUN LIKE YOU’RE RUNNING FOR GOVERNOR. YOU’VE RUN FOR GOVERNOR. YOU KNOW HOW TO DO THAT. JUST GO BE YOURSELF. AND THAT’S WHAT CARTER DID. I THINK HE GOT THE ADVICE FROM A LOT OF OTHER PEOPLE, TOO, INCLUDING SOME DEMOCRATS. BUT HE WENT AROUND THE STATE, NOT A BIG ENTOURAGE. MAYBE ONE PERSON WITH HIM. HE STAYED IN PEOPLE’S HOMES. THEY DIDN’T HAVE ANY MONEY. SO HE SLEPT ON THE COUCH OR IN A SPARE BEDROOM. AND WE’VE TALKED ABOUT THIS. IOWA IS A WORD OF MOUTH STATE. IT’S SMALL ENOUGH THAT IF YOU GO SOMEPLACE, GO EVERY PLACE, GO TO ALL THE COUNTIES AND MAKE A GOOD IMPRESSION. YOUR NEIGHBORS ARE GOING TO HEAR ABOUT IT. THE PEOPLE ON MAIN STREET ARE GOING TO HEAR ABOUT IT, AND YOU’RE DOING YOURSELF SOME GOOD. I KNOW TOM MILLER HAD MENTIONED TO ME THIS BECAME A CAUCUS PLAYBOOK THAT, YOU KNOW, CANDIDATES ACROSS THE AISLE WANTED TO REPEAT, BUT IT WAS A HARD ONE TO REPEAT, YOU KNOW, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU NOTICED AS EVEN REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES TRIED TO REPEAT THIS, YOU KNOW, CAUCUS PLAYBOOK THAT CARTER REALLY SET IN MOTION? WELL, AS DENNIS MENTIONED IN HIS HIS INTERVIEW, CARTER DIDN’T WIN THE CAUCUSES, BUT THERE WERE FIVE OTHERS WHO WERE RUNNING. AND HE CAME IN TOPS. AMONG THEM, HE ONLY GOT 27% UNDECIDED. THE OTHERS WERE IN SINGLE OR LOW DOUBLE DIGITS, AND PEOPLE WROTE, WELL, HOW DID HE DO IT? WHERE DID HE COME FROM? HE DIDN’T HAVE THAT MUCH MONEY. HE WAS THIS LITTLE KNOWN GUY. WELL, HE’D GONE EVERYWHERE. SO FAST FORWARD A FEW YEARS. HE’S PRESIDENT, 1979. WE’LL TALK PERHAPS ABOUT THE GRAIN EMBARGO. BUT THE REPUBLICANS WERE POURING IN HERE. THEY WERE GOING TO RUN. SO YOU HAD RONALD REAGAN AND GEORGE BUSH AND BOB DOLE AND FIVE OTHERS, AND THE BUSH FAMILY FIGURED OUT THIS IS HOW JIMMY CARTER WON LAST TIME. SO GEORGE H.W. BUSH AND BARBARA WENT TO ABOUT 93 OR 94 OF THE COUNTIES, DIDN’T QUITE GET TO ALL OF THEM. SO THEIR SONS, INCLUDING GEORGE W AND JEB AND THE OTHERS WENT TO THE OTHER COUNTIES. AND THAT REALLY WAS THE PLAYBOOK FOR A LONG TIME. IT’S STILL TRUE TODAY. IT KIND OF STARTED THE FULL GRASSLEY BEFORE THE FULL GRASSLEY. THAT’S EXACTLY RIGHT. I GIVE CHUCK GRASSLEY THE REAL CREDIT BECAUSE HE STARTED AND HE’S DONE IT FOR 40 YEARS, EVER SINCE. BUT THE PERSON WHO REALLY DID IT WELL THE FIRST TIME WAS JIMMY CARTER. NOW, YOU MENTIONED THAT GRAIN EMBARGO WE’VE TALKED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE THE START THAT IOWA GAVE TO JIMMY CARTER. BUT YOU REMEMBER IOWANS HAVING MAYBE A DIFFERENT OPINION OF HIM DURING THAT TIME THAT THE GRAIN EMBARGO WAS PUT IN PLACE DURING HIS PRESIDENCY? WELL, SADLY FOR HIM, THEY HAD A MUCH DIFFERENT OPINION BECAUSE THE SOVIET UNION IN EXISTENCE THEN INVADED AFGHANISTAN. PLACE WAS UP FOR GRABS. THEN. IT’S STILL A PLACE THAT’S UP FOR GRABS, AND IT’S A DANGEROUS PLACE. BUT THEY INVADED AND THE UNITED STATES WAS NOT GOING TO GO TO THE DEFENSE OF AFGHANISTAN, AND WE WEREN’T GOING TO DECLARE WORLD WAR II AGAINST THE SOVIET UNION. BUT CARTER FELT HE HAD TO DO SOMETHING. SO HIS IDEA WAS TO CUT OFF THE SALES OF FOOD TO THE SOVIET UNION. WELL, WHO DOES THAT HURT? IT DIDN’T. IT DIDN’T HELP AFGHANISTAN, BUT IT DIDN’T THAT MUCH HURT THE SOVIET UNION. IT HURT THE IOWA PRODUCERS AND THOSE IN THE MIDWEST. THE CORN AND SOYBEAN GROWERS IN OUR STATE, AND GOVERNOR RAY AND ALL THE GOVERNORS, DNR AROUND HERE WERE VERY UPSET BY THAT AND SAID SO. AND THAT BECAME AN ISSUE IN THE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN. IT DIDN’T HELP CARTER. THEN WHAT WAS THE IMPACT ON OUR STATE JUST IN TERMS OF DEALING WITH THAT? WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER? WELL, LOOK, THAT WAS AN IMPACT THAT ENDURED FOR 3 OR 4, ALMOST FIVE YEARS TO TO TRY TO TO TRY TO GET THOSE MARKETS BACK, TO ADJUST WHAT THE FARMERS WERE PLANTING. WE WERE INTO AN AG DEPRESSION ALMOST IN THE EARLY 80S. THERE WERE OTHER, MORE HOMEGROWN REASONS FOR SOME OF THAT. THERE WAS A BANKING CRISIS, BUT IT ALL OF THAT REALLY STARTED WITH THE GRAIN EMBARGO IN 1979. IT WAS NOT A GOOD IDEA. IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE FROM CARTER’S PRESIDENCY THAT YOU REMEMBERED THE IMPACT EITHER HIS THE BIPARTISANSHIP FROM, YOU KNOW, HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH RAY OR ANY OTHER POLICIES THAT HE, THAT HE HAD THAT HAD IMPACT ON OUR STATE? SURE. WELL, GOVERNOR RAY IS KNOWN BY MANY FOR HIS WORK WITH REFUGEES. AND IN A IN A NUTSHELL, WHAT THE WAY IOWA DID IT AND WHEN WE DID IT WAS VERY SUCCESSFUL. AND JIMMY CARTER SAW SOME OF THAT. AND IN 1979, PEOPLE WERE STILL BEING ATTACKED BY THE COMMUNISTS WHO HAD WON THE WAR. AND IOWA STOOD UP AND THE ADMINISTRATION TOOK A LOOK AT WHAT IOWA HAD DONE SUCCESSFULLY. LEGAL IMMIGRATION, AND DECIDED OUR COUNTRY COULD DO MORE. SO VICE PRESIDENT MONDALE, UNDER CARTER AND OUR GOVERNOR RAY, WENT TO A UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE IN GENEVA AND TOLD THE WORLD WHAT WE WERE DOING TO HELP HUMANITY, HELP SAVE PEOPLE. AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA GOT A STANDING OVATION FROM UN MEMBERS FROM ABOUT 160 COUNTRIES. I’M NOT SURE THAT’S HAPPENED SINCE. WOW, WOW. WELL, DAVID, I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU TAKING TIME TO TO TALK WITH US THIS MORNING. I’M REALLY STRUCK BY JUST WE’VE SEEN SO MUCH OF JIMMY CARTER’S, YOU KNOW, POST-PRESIDENCY COMMITMENT TO HUMAN RIGHTS, HIS FAITH. IT SEEMS LIKE THOSE ARE TWO THINGS THAT WERE REALLY IMPORTANT TO TO GOVERNOR RAY AS WELL. WELL, THEY WERE AND HIS OPENNESS AND CANDOR, AGAIN, POST-WATERGATE IOWANS AND AMERICANS PUT A PREMIUM ON PEOPLE IN PUBLIC LIFE JUST SAYING WHO THEY WERE, WHAT THEY WERE FOR. AND THAT BUILT A LEVEL OF BIPARTISANSHIP INTO GOVERNANCE THAT WE MISSED TODAY. WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US THIS MORNING. WE APPRECIATE IT. YOU’RE WELCOME. GOOD TO BE WITH YOU. STILL TO COME ON CLOSE UP JIMMY CARTER’S WORK AFTER LEAVING OFFICE. HOW IOWANS ARE REMEMBERING THE FORMER PRESIDENT’S EFFORTS TO HELP THOSE IN NEED. WELCOME BACK TO CLOSE UP. WE CONTINUE OUR COVERAGE OF THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF FORMER PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER, WHO DIED LAST SUNDAY AT THE AGE OF 100. MANY ARE REMEMBERING CARTER FOR HIS WORK AFTER LEAVING THE WHITE HOUSE AND THE IMPACT HIS LIFE OF SERVICE HAS HAD ON IOWANS HELPING THOSE IN NEED. I THINK FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE THAT HE REALLY HELPED PUT HABITAT FOR HUMANITY ON THE MAP. LANCE HENNING IS THE CEO OF GREATER DES MOINES HABITAT FOR HUMANITY. HE WAS THERE WORKING HARD. HE SAYS THE GLOBAL NONPROFIT WAS VIRTUALLY UNKNOWN UNTIL JIMMY CARTER GOT INVOLVED. PEOPLE ACROSS THE COUNTRY LOOKED AT A FORMER PRESIDENT VOLUNTEERING WITH HABITAT FOR HUMANITY AND SAID, OH, MAYBE THIS IS SOMETHING. AND THAT GOT OTHERS INTERESTED. AND AND IT’S ALLOWED HABITAT TO REALLY HAVE A HUGE IMPACT OVER TIME BECAUSE OF HIS INVOLVEMENT IN THE EARLY DAYS. FOR MORE THAN 30 YEARS, CARTER AND HIS WIFE, ROSALYNN, LED GROUPS OF VOLUNTEERS ACROSS THE GLOBE TO TAKE PART IN THE CARTER WORK PROJECT, A YEARLY WEEK LONG EVENT BUILDING HOMES FOR FAMILIES IN NEED. WE’VE HAD FOUR DIFFERENT TEAMS FROM DES MOINES GO TO THE CARTER PROJECTS, AND THAT I THINK YOU EXPECT. MAYBE HE’S JUST THERE TO BE A CELEBRITY AND HE’S THERE TO WORK. HENNING REMEMBERS WATCHING CARTER WITH A HAMMER IN HAND. THE FORMER PRESIDENT BUILDING HOMES WELL INTO HIS 90S. WHEN WE WERE AT SOUTH BEND, IT WAS REALLY HOT OUT, AND JIMMY CARTER AND ROSALYNN WERE RIGHT THERE WORKING JUST ACROSS THE STREET FROM US, AND YOU COULD SEE HIM OUT IN THE SUN, IN THE HEAT. AND I THINK THAT’S SOMETHING THAT YOU DIDN’T NECESSARILY EXPECT, HOW HARD HE WOULD BE WORKING ON THE SITE. CARTER AND HIS WIFE WORKED ALONGSIDE MORE THAN 108,000 VOLUNTEERS WHO BUILT OR REPAIRED MORE THAN 4000 HOMES IN 14 COUNTRIES. CARTER, DEEPLY COMMITTED TO THE ORGANIZATION’S CENTRAL GOAL, A HABITAT FOR HUMANITY, IS ABOUT PUTTING GOD’S LOVE INTO ACTION AND BRINGING PEOPLE TOGETHER TO BUILD HOMES, COMMUNITIES AND HOPE. HENNING SAYS CARTER LIVED THAT MISSION, HIS FAITH LEADING HIM TO A LIFE OF SERVICE. HE WAS ALWAYS ABOUT BRINGING PEOPLE TOGETHER, NO MATTER WHAT THEIR WALK OF LIFE WAS. SO IT DIDN’T MATTER ABOUT YOUR INCOME OR YOUR BACKGROUND THAT HE WAS ABOUT BRINGING PEOPLE TOGETHER AND LIFTING THEM UP IN DIGNITY. MANY IOWA LEADERS ARE ALSO COMMENTING ON THAT LIFE OF SERVICE, REMEMBERING CARTER AND HIS HUMANITARIAN EFFORTS. IOWA GOVERNOR KIM REYNOLDS RELEASED A STATEMENT WRITING IN PART, QUOTE, PRESIDENT CARTER NEVER STOPS LIVING HIS FAITH THROUGH SERVICE. HIS BELIEF IN PUTTING GOD’S LOVE INTO ACTION HAS INSPIRED GENERATIONS OF AMERICANS. IOWA SENATOR CHUCK GRASSLEY, ALSO REFLECTING ON CARTER’S LEGACY, SAYING THAT WHILE THEY SAT ON DIFFERENT SIDES OF THE AISLE, THEY SHARED A LOVE FOR THE LORD. AND THAT QUOTE, THE PEOPLE OF IOWA KNEW JIMMY CARTER WELL FROM HIS TIME LIVING IN THE STATE BEFORE THE IOWA CAUCUSES IN 75, AS HE WORKED HARD AND OPENED THE DOOR TO THE WHITE HOUSE THROUGH HIS RETAIL POLITICS. FORMER IOWA SENATOR TOM HARKIN AND HIS WIFE, RUTH, ARE ALSO PASSING ON CONDOLENCES TO THE CARTER FAMILY. HARKIN SAYS HE HAD THE PLEASURE OF CAMPAIGNING WITH CARTER IN 1975, DURING HIS FIRST TERM IN CONGRESS. HE SAYS HE WILL REMEMBER CARTER AS, QUOTE, AN INTELLIGENT, DECENT, COMPASSIONATE PERSON WHOSE POST-PRESIDENTIAL YEARS SHOWED AMERICA AT ITS BEST. PART OF PRESIDENT CARTER’S LEGACY THE IRANIAN HOSTAGE CRISIS THAT DOMINATED HIS FINAL YEAR IN THE WHITE HOUSE. NEXT, WHAT? AN IOWAN WHO WAS HELD HOSTAGE IN IRAN FOR MORE THAN A YEAR HAS TO SAY ABOUT THE FORMER PRESIDENT. AN IOWAN TAKEN CAPTIVE IN THE MIDDLE EAST DURING JIMMY CARTER’S TIME IN OFFICE, IS SHARING HOW SHE’S REMEMBERING THE FORMER PRESIDENT. CATHERINE KOLBE GREW UP IN EASTERN IOWA. SHE WAS HELD HOSTAGE IN IRAN FOR 444 DAYS, A CRISIS THAT DOMINATED THE FINAL YEAR OF CARTER’S PRESIDENCY. WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT GOOD PEOPLE THAT YOU’VE KNOWN IN YOUR LIFE. JIMMY CARTER WAS KIND OF THE EPITOME OF GOOD PEOPLE. FOR CATHERINE KOLBE, THE DEATH OF PRESIDENT CARTER BRINGS HER BACK TO 1979. JIMMY CARTER WAS IN THE WHITE HOUSE AND SHE WAS WORKING AS A DIPLOMAT IN IRAN. THAT NOVEMBER, COBURG AND 51 OTHER AMERICANS WERE TAKEN CAPTIVE BY MILITANT IRANIAN STUDENTS AND HELD HOSTAGE FOR 444 DAYS. WHILE SHE WAS CUT OFF FROM THE OUTSIDE WORLD, SHE SAYS CARTER WAS WORKING TO FREE HER. IT WAS IT WAS OUR JOB. WE WERE DOING OUR JOB AND AND THE PRESIDENT DID HIS HE NEGOTIATED AND GOT US RELEASED. KOLBE AND THE OTHER HOSTAGES WERE RELEASED JUST MOMENTS AFTER RONALD REAGAN WAS SWORN INTO OFFICE IN 1981. THE IRANIAN HOSTAGE CRISIS DOOMED CARTER POLITICALLY, DERAILING THE END OF HIS PRESIDENCY. BUT KOLBE CREDITS CARTER FOR BRINGING HER HOME. I THINK IT COULD HAVE GONE SO, SO BADLY THE OTHER WAY. BUT BECAUSE OF HIS PATIENCE AND HIS CONTINUED WORK, WE DID ALL COME HOME. SHE MET THE FORMER PRESIDENT SOON AFTER PRESIDENT CARTER CAME TO VISIT BARD, AND WHEN WE WERE RELEASED FROM IRAN, AND SO WE HAD A CHANCE TO MEET THERE AND SAY HELLO TO HIM. AND THEN AT ANOTHER TIME, AFTER THEY HAD RETIRED, I MADE A STOP IN PLAINS AND I WAS ABLE TO SAY HELLO TO TO MRS. CARTER TO BEYOND HIS TIME IN THE WHITE HOUSE. KOLBE SAYS SHE LONG ADMIRED CARTER’S LIFE OF SERVICE, DEFENDING HUMAN RIGHTS AND BUILDING HOMES FOR THOSE IN NEED. SHE’S ALSO REFLECTING ON THEIR SIMILARITIES, BOTH GROWING UP ON THE FARM AND BEING DRIVEN BY THEIR CHRISTIAN FAITH. IF IT HAPPENS AT ALL, WHAT THOSE OF US PEOPLE OF FAITH BELIEVE IT IS, I CAN BELIEVE HIM JUST LOOKING AROUND AND SAYING, OH, THIS IS AMAZING. WELL, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US FOR ����vlog EIGHT NEWS CLOSE UP. WE’LL SEE YOU BACK HERE NEXT SUNDAY. HAVE A GREAT DAY.