As the 39th president is eulogized at Washington National Cathedral, Biden tells mourners his long-ago predecessor “taught me ... the strength of character.”

“Former First Lady Michelle Obama is not in attendance at President Carter’s National Funeral Service," according to the statement from spokesperson Crystal Carson. "Mrs. Obama sends her thoughts and prayers to the Carter family, and everyone who loved and learned from the remarkable former President.”

Jimmy Carter, the 39th president, will be honored Thursday with the pageantry of a state funeral in the nation's capital, followed by a second service and burial in his tiny Georgia hometown that launched a Depression-era farm boy to the world stage.