Former President Jimmy Carter said Wednesday that the campaign memorandum compiled for him in 1972 by Hamilton Jordan, which detailed in about 80 pages how a peanut farmer turned Southern governor could win the White House, remains a timeless user's guide for anyone with political aspirations.

"Possibly the most complex political question on earth is how can somebody go from unknown to president of the United States," said Carter from the Ivan Allen III Pavilion at the Carter Center. "Whether you have $200 million or you have nothing, the approach Hamilton described for my campaign is still a valuable lesson for anyone interested in a successful campaign in this country."

Jordan, who became Carter's White House chief of staff, died Tuesday at his Atlanta home after a long struggle with cancer. He was 63.

A memorial service for close family and friends of Jordan will be held at 2 p.m. Friday at the Carter Center

Carter's response to Jordan's death was one of many from a wide range of people in Georgia and across the country. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) called Jordan "a brilliant political strategist... [who] made a lasting contribution to national politics."

President Bush said he was "a man whose love for American politics and his country took him at a young age from the State Capitol in Georgia to the White House," adding he "was also a great community leader, using lessons learned during his personal struggle against cancer to encourage other cancer survivors."

Jordan, who battled cancer multiple times over more than two decades, was viewed in the cancer community of researchers and survivors much as he was in the political arena: as an inspiring and gifted strategist. His 2000 memoir, "No Such Thing as a Bad Day," was a national bestseller. He founded the Georgia Cancer Coalition, which CEO Bill Todd says still uses Jordan's blueprint for improving cancer care — much the same way Carter used his campaign memo.

"He worked on the strategic policy initiatives to improve cancer care, and he was also effective working with individual cancer patients," Todd said. "Especially those newly diagnosed, giving them encouragement and a sense of fight."

"He did the same thing he did when he was with the Carter campaign," added James Heath, director of the Nanosystems Biology Cancer Center, in California, which Jordan served as an external advisory board member. "He had a strategy that trumped everybody else. He was like a chess player, always thinking ahead. But he was self-effacing, had no ego. So you were playing with a chess master and you didn't realize it. You thought you were talking to someone from a farm in Georgia."