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When Joe Biden eulogized Jimmy Carter today in the majestic surroundings of Washington National Cathedral today, he said of his predecessor, “Many think he was from a bygone era, but he saw into the future.”
As other speakers noted, Carter was prescient on a host of issues including climate change and women’s rights, but inside the cathedral were reminders that when it comes to politics, the future looks much different that the late president probably could have ever envisioned it.
Carter’s adviser Stuart Eizenstat noted that much of his agenda passed with bipartisan support in the 1970s; at the cathedral today, in the area reserved for members of Congress, there were only a handful of Republicans. Many seats were empty.
Steve Ford read the eulogy that his father, President Gerald Ford, had written for his one-time rival, whom he called “old friend.” At the service, Donald Trump chatted a bit with Barack Obama, sitting next to him, but his three presidential political rivals, Kamala Harris, Biden and Hillary Clinton largely ignored him.
Biden’s remarks pointedly focused on “character,” as he asked, “What are the values that animate our spirit? To operate from fear or hope, ego or generosity?” Within hours, Trump’s transition team blasted out an Axios story headlined, “Behind the curtain: Trump’s ever expansive power.”
It was a reminder that soon not just the party in power will change, but the tone of the town will, too.
On TV, a lot of the coverage focused on the body language of the presidents and former presidents, vice presidents and former vice presidents, and there was plenty to analyze, particular in instances involving Trump.
As Biden talked of what his father saw as “the greatest sin of all,” the abuse of power, he looked in Trump’s direction, and cameras cut away to the ex-president sitting among his predecessors.
A lot of focus was out on the fact that he shook hands with his vice president Mike Pence, in the same room for the first time in four years, while Karen Pence sat and stared ahead. Protocol put Vice President-elect JD Vance behind the Senate leadership, but he and his wife Usha Vance were still close enough to greet figures like Chief Justice John Roberts.
Up in the press section of the cathedral, in the south balcony, photographers and reporters clustered around one end of the seating area that had a sliver of an unobstructed view. Some brought binoculars to try to spot figures in the crowd. Supreme Court justices Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett engaged in a long chat. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who announced his resignation this week, sat next to Britain’s Prince Edward.
Carter lived long enough that many of his contemporaries are gone, and only a handful of members of the media are left from those days. Bob Schieffer appeared on CBS News coverage. Andrea Mitchell, who got her start at NBC News during the Carter administration, was spotted in one of the cathedral chapels, which doubled as a warming room for reporters doing stand ups or waiting for the clear to enter the cathedral itself. Also there: Mika Brzezinski, along with Joe Scarborough. She penned a piece on growing up with Carter, as her father, Zbigniew, served as his national security adviser.
There were many moving parts of the service, including Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood doing a rendition of John Lennon’s Imagine, as well as Jason Carter’s description of his grandfather as “the first millennial,” his iPhone skills not withstanding. There were subtler moments as well, including the times when the thousand or so gathered went silent, the only sounds being the chilly wind outside and the clattering of cameras.
Ten days from now, all of the pomp and ceremony will be back for Trump’s inauguration. He’s complained about flags still flying at half mast on that day, one of many remarks that have signaled a return to the ever-chaotic news cycle and, as one reporter noted, a time when even a handshake is newsworthy.
