I’m Flying To Atlanta To Pay My Respects To President Carter

Continuing a tradition that stretches back to the death of President Ronald Reagan in 2004, I’m going to make a side trip to Atlanta this week as I fly east for business to pay my respects to President Jimmy Carter, who passed away at the age of 100 last week.

Next Stop: The Carter Center In Atlanta To Say Goodbye To Jimmy Carter

I stood overnight in line for nearly 12 hours in Simi Valley, California to file by the casket of Ronald Reagan after his passing in 2004. I did it again in Palm Desert, California when Gerald Ford passed away in 2006. Then in 2018 (and wow, I cannot believe that much time has flown by…) I did it again for George H.W. Bush and wrote about it here. 

I did this for other notable leaders like Queen Elizabeth II and Bob Dole and Supreme Court justices ranging from Antonin Scalia to RBG.

You may think you have me figured out politically, but I do not fit neatly into any box. However, I have made clear that I am an institutionalist and I honor the Office of the Presidency, regardless of who is the office (and that has been very hard in recent years).

Chillingly, I wrote in 2018 about the “joy of living in a nation, while not without many serious issues, that so remarkably boasts a peaceful transition of power between political parties.”

Re-reading that…on January 6th of all days…makes me realize that democracy may be ours to lose, but it must be safeguarded vigilantly.

I’m so thankful today’s certification went smoothly.

I’ll have some thoughts on Carter this week leading up to his state funeral on Thursday, January 9, 2025 but we’ve got this winter storm “Blair” passing through…which has already complicated my travel plans with flight cancellations via my original routing on United via Washington Dulles.

I need to get this done today since I have work obligations the rest of the week…sadly, I won’t be able to attend the funeral in-person on Friday.

One way or another, I’ll have an update on all of this tomorrow…stay tuned.

image: United Airlines