Known as the Steel Magnolia, a nickname she liked, Mrs. Carter sparked controversy when she sat in (silently) on cabinet meetings. In 1980, Mrs. Carter thought her husband was “seemingly pompous” in explaining why he wouldn’t make politically expedient decisions. When Mr. Carter rejected that idea out of hand, she helped him reinvent the post-presidency by establishing the Carter Center. When I was at work on my biography, Mrs. Carter shared with me her husband’s letters from sea. Rosalynn Carter kept those letters in a drawer close by until the day she died.

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Persons: Carter, ”, “ Rosalynn, Cy ”, Cyrus Vance, ” — Zbigniew Brzezinski, — “, Ham ” — Hamilton Jordan, Hugh Sidey, Carter White, Betty, Dale, “ I’ll, Reagan, Rosalynn Carter Organizations: Carter