From the Grave, Mondale to Eulogize the Man Who Made Him Vice President

 From the Grave, Mondale to Eulogize the Man Who Made Him Vice President

Former Vice President Walter F. Mondale had expected to deliver a eulogy at the funeral of Jimmy Carter, who was slightly more than three years his senior.

But though Mr. Mondale passed away first in 2021, he left behind a prepared eulogy, which will be read at Mr. Carter’s memorial service at the Washington National Cathedral on January 9 by his son, Ted Mondale. Similarly, a eulogy from former President Gerald R. Ford, who died in 2006, will be read by his son, Steven Ford.

In his written tribute, Mr. Mondale praised Mr. Carter for making human rights the cornerstone of his foreign policy, advancing environmental measures long before climate change became a common term, and appointing more women to high office than any of his predecessors — including elevating an appeals court judge named Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Toward the end of their tenure, Mr. Mondale recounted, he and Mr. Carter reflected on how they hoped their administration would be remembered. “We came up with this sentence, which to me remains an important summary of what we were trying to do: ‘We told the truth, we obeyed the law, and we kept the peace,’” Mr. Mondale wrote. “That we did, Mr. President.”

Mr. Mondale’s selection as Mr. Carter’s running mate was surprising in many ways. A Northern liberal close to labor unions and part of Washington’s Democratic establishment, he was an unlikely match for a Southern moderate campaigning as an outsider. Yet, their partnership in 1976 unified the party and led to a close working relationship.

With Mr. Carter’s support, Mr. Mondale became one of the most empowered vice presidents in U.S. history, setting a precedent for future administrations. Unlike many of his predecessors, who were often sidelined, Mr. Mondale was given an office in the West Wing near the Oval Office. He was also the first vice president to live in the Naval Observatory’s official residence and had weekly lunches with the president.

Mr. Carter included him in every major policy discussion, creating a collaborative model of governance.

“I was surprised when then-candidate Governor Carter asked me to join him as his running mate in 1976,” Mr. Mondale wrote in the eulogy. He recalled setting two conditions for accepting the role: that he wanted to make a meaningful contribution and avoid embarrassment.

According to Mr. Mondale, Mr. Carter agreed wholeheartedly, welcoming his full participation and ensuring that he was treated with respect. “During our four years in the White House, he was very careful to protect me from the frustration and too often humiliation that had cursed the lives of many vice presidents,” he wrote.

Their partnership remained strong, rooted in shared values. “Unlike a lot of vice presidents and their presidents, our relationship did not blow up,” Mr. Mondale noted, attributing their bond to their shared small-town upbringings and Christian faith.

“With his leadership, we created the model vice presidency, a real partnership between the president and the vice president,” he wrote.

Reflecting on their time together, Mr. Mondale added, “We became very close friends. We often spent hours together throughout the day. We were working on real problems, not wasting time. That model vice presidency that Carter helped create has been followed in one way or another by later administrations of both parties.”