Why Not?

Published: Dec. 13, 2023, 5 p.m.

b'He was a young man fresh out of the Naval Academy and a stint in the submarine service. He was being interviewed by Admiral Hyman Rickover for a coveted spot in the nuclear program. Then he got the question that changed his life.\\u201cHow did you stand in your class at the academy?\\u201d Rickover asked. \\u201cSir, I stood 59th in a class of 820,\\u201d future president Jimmy Carter answered. \\u201cBut did you do your best?\\u201d Rickover asked. And when Carter could not honestly answer that he has always done his best, Ric...'