Jimmy Carter redefined his legacy after his presidency. Other presidents, especially Hoover and Nixon, tried but failed to outrun or outwork their unhappy presidential legacies. Like John Quincy Adams before him, Carter will mostly be remembered for what came after his time in the White House rather than those four years in it—as he should be.

As they filed into the front pews at the National Cathedral, wearing dark suits and mostly solemn faces, five current and former presidents came together for Jimmy Carter's funeral. For a service that stretched more than an hour,