ATLANTA -- President Reagan, a gracious victor at a monument to the vanquished, paid homage Wednesday to Jimmy Carter as a man of faith and integrity and said their political differences 'attest to the greatness of our nation.'
Reagan spoke at the dedication of the Jimmy Carter Presidential Center, four circular buildings on a hilltop outside Atlanta housing the 39th president's library, a museum and scholarly research facilities.
'For myself, I can pay you no higher honor than to say simply this: You gave of yourself to your country, gracing the White House with your passion and intellect and commitment,' Reagan told the man he drove from office with a 1980 landslide.
The library was dedicated on Carter's 62nd birthday, and before the speeches, he and his wife, Rosalynn, gave Reagan and his wife, Nancy, a private tour.
Carter, who acted as master of ceremonies, delivered no formal speech, but handed over the deed to the library building to the U.S. archivist.
'Now, as you look across the lake, you see what the future holds for me and Rosalynn and many of you,' Carter said.
'We appreciate the past, we are grateful for the present and we are looking forward to the future with great anticipation and commitment. I hope that our lives will never be a disappointment to you.'
Carter, appearing to enjoy the attention, told reporters hounding him and Reagan that 'your questions make me very glad to be a former president.'
In one of his few direct referrences to Carter's actions in the White House, Reagan reflected on the memories each president takes with him when he leaves office and said one of Carter's fondest must be the welcoming ceremony for 'the hostages you did so much to free.'
That praise contrasted sharply with Reagan's 1980 campaign rhetoric, when he blasted Carter's failure to win freedom for the Americans held captive 444 days in Iran. The hostages were freed moments after Reagan took the oath of office to succeed Carter.
It was the men's first meeting since Reagan asked Carter -- along with former presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford -- to attend the 1981 funeral of assassinated Egyptian President Anwar Sadat.
Neither Nixon or Ford attended Wednesday's ceremony in Atlanta, but Walter Mondale -- Carter's vice president and the man Reagan crushed in his 1984 re-election -- was present.
Reagan, at 75 the nation's oldest president, added birthday wishes to Carter at the end of his remarks and quipped, 'If I can give you one word of advice -- life begins as 70.' Carter responded with his trademark grin.
Carter called Reagan's remarks 'beautiful' and said, 'I don't think I ever heard (a speech) that was more gracious or more generous or more thoughtful.'
He said the speech made him understand 'more clearly than I ever have in my life why you won in November 1980 and I lost.'
It was the men's first meeting since Reagan asked Carter -- along with former presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford -- to attend the 1981 funeral of assassinated Egyptian President Anwar Sadat.
Neither Nixon or Ford attended Wednesday's ceremony in Atlanta, but Walter Mondale -- Carter's vice president and the man Reagan crushed in his 1984 re-election -- was present.
Reagan, at 75 the nation's oldest president, added birthday wishes to Carter at the end of his remarks and quipped, 'If I can give you one word of advice -- life begins as 70.' Carter responded with his trademark grin.
Carter called Reagan's remarks 'beautiful' and said, 'I don't think I ever heard (a speech) that was more gracious or more generous or more thoughtful.'
He said the speech made him understand 'more clearly than I ever have in my life why you won in November 1980 and I lost.'
In his speech, Reagan set a conciliatory tone, forsaking the harsh anti-Carter rhetoric he used as recently as last week when he said, 'You remember 1980. The worst economic mess since the Great Depression, foreign governments that routinely insulted our proud country and her citizens and leadership in Washington that blamed the American people instead of itself for all our problems.'
On Wednesday, Reagan declared, 'None of us today need feel any urge, in the name of good will, to downplay our differences.
'On the contrary. In a certain sense, we can be proud of our differences, proud because they arise from good will itself -- from love of country, from concern for the challenges of our times, from respect for, and yes, even outright enjoyment of, the democratic processes of disagreement and debate.'
'Today, our very differences attest to the greatness of our nation,' Reagan said, citing the battles between founding fathers Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton as a precedent.
The event, held under partly cloudy, humid skies with the skyline of Atlanta in the background and thousands of Carter's political and family friends.
Also present were demonstrators protesting Reagan's arms, South Africa and economic policies and Carter's plan to have the city build an expressway to the suburban library. There were scattered boos Reagan and Carter appeared together before the crowd, but they gave way to applause and cheers.
The genial tone of the event belied the frequently bitter relations between the two men and their fundamental disagreements over such issues as arms control.
For example, earlier Wednesday Carter spoke of the meeting early next month between Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, saying it might signal 'a turnaround' in Reagan's attitude.
'We've had 5 years of no progress, even retrogression for nuclear arms control,' Carter said on NBC's 'Today,' citing Reagan's failure to reach new agreements while 'we've abandoned the old agreements.'
