Jimmy Carter

Everyone in power says 'call me.' After you lose, nobody calls back

In the Carter White House, people kept flattering Rubenstein and promising him a job whenever he wanted to leave. After Carter lost, none of them returned his calls, and he struggled to find a law firm that would hire a junior Carter aide.

“And they always will say, and by the way, if you ever want to leave, call me because I will hire you someday. But I always said, well, I don't want to be hired, but I'm going to be here for 4 years. And we win, I'll be maybe the senior domestic advisor in the next 4 years. After we lost the election, I started calling these people saying, you remember me? I'm the bright young guy you said I was so great. I didn't get calls back because you're out of power.”