Nestled in the mountains of Maryland, Camp David was Jimmy Carter's refuge. It was the place where he and Rosalynn repaired to on weekends to get away from the pressures of Washington. In September 1978, Jimmy Carter would enshrine Camp David, and himself, in history.

Walter Mondale: He had spent a lot of time studying the Middle East. He felt very deeply that we should try to find peace over there. And boy, he really bet his presidency on that.

Betty Glad: He was already very low in the polls. He had practically nowhere to go but up. But he still, could possibly win a second term, and if he failed, that would- that would certainly write him off.

Narrator: Since the creation of the state of Israel, every attempt to bring peace to the Middle East had failed. Refugees, land disputes, terrorism plagued the region. Four wars, the last in 1973, had left a bitter legacy of hate and mistrust. Everyone urged Carter to stay away from what seemed an intractable situation, but he would not be deterred. "I slowly became hardened and as stubborn as at any other time I can remember," he wrote.

Jody Powell: The Middle East for years had been and was then the place where you thought if we're going to end up blowing up the world that's where it will start. If there's going to be a nuclear confrontation between the super-powers it's going to come out of the Middle East. So finding a way to tamp that down was to him extremely important.

Narrator: Egyptian President Anwar Sadat took the first step toward peace in November 1977 when he became the first Arab leader to set foot on Israeli soil. Carter seized the opportunity. The following September, He welcomed President Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin to Camp David to negotiate treaty that would lay the foundations for peace in the Middle East.

Betty Glad: He brought all of his skills and all the best sides of himself to the whole operation. And all of the potential in Jimmy Carter was out there at Camp David. It was really an extraordinary time.

Gaddis Smith: He had studied things so carefully. He knew the population of every village in the West Bank and Israel. Hard to think of a president in our history who had that much capacity to absorb and retain detail.

Betty Glad: He made a mistake at the very beginning. He thought and told his aides, "You know, we're just going to bring together Begin and Sadat, and they'll talk and they'll get to know each other and they'll understand each other." Well, he got them there, and it turned out after the first three meetings they were practically never talking to each other and things were going downhill very fast.

Narrator: "It was mean," Carter later recalled. "They were brutal with each other." Face-to-face discussions became an impossibility. On day three, the expected deadline for an agreement Carter had accomplished nothing. "There must be a way," he kept saying, "there must be a way."

That night at dinner, alone with Rosalynn, he arrived at a solution. If the two men could not talk to one another, they would have to talk through him.

Betty Glad: He decided that essentially the Americans would draft the proposal and put the proposal on the table. You wouldn't have an Egyptian and an Israeli proposal. You would have an American proposal.

Narrator: "I must admit that I capitalized on this situation," Carter later wrote. "It greatly magnified my own influence." Carter devoted himself to drafting an agreement. With more than 50 issues to be resolved, the work was painstaking.

Zbigniew Brzezinski: He was remarkably tenacious, persistent, persuasive, tough-minded, tough both with Sadat on some occasions, and with Begin on other occasions.

Douglas Brinkley: That people trusted him as an honest broker came to play in a very magical and important way. He is seen as somebody who is not a cheat or a liar. He is somebody who puts his money where his mouth is.

Narrator: "My world became the negotiating rooms, the study where I poured over my notes and maps of the Middle East." he recalled. "Between sessions I craved intense exercise and lonely places where I could think, and sometimes pray."

Rosalynn Carter: He had things scheduled after the first week, and I was going into Washington to do some of the things he was supposed to do. And when I would leave to go in, they would say, "Don't smile because everybody will think it will be all right. Don't look grim because they'll think it's failing." That was hard. It was from the depths to the heights all the time, at Camp David. One minute you would think it was going to pass and everything was so exciting, and then ... and another ... another time it would be just hopeless.

Jody Powell: It always seemed to me that the odds were against success; it always seemed like a long shot, so I spent a good bit of my time thinking about: How are we going to deal with this thing if it collapses?

Narrator: Shuttling back and forth between Sadat and Begin, Carter began to put together an agreement. A framework for negotiations in the Middle East, which would address the fate of the Palestinians and the future of Gaza and the West Bank. And a separate peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. Israel would return the Sinai territories occupied since the 1967 war. Egypt would recognize the right of Israel to live in peace. On September 14, day ten, Carter turned to the issue he knew could derail any progress made so far: the dismantling of Israeli settlements in the Sinai.

Peter Bourne, Biographer: Carter was unable to get Begin to make any concessions that would really have locked up an agreement, to the point where Sadat just got fed up and said, "Well, I'm going home." You know. "I'm just not going to wait and be here any longer," and literally sort of had his coat on and was out the door.

Narrator: Carter begged Sadat to stay, appealing to their friendship and mutual trust, and reminding him of Egypt's good relations with the United States. Sadat decided to remain at Camp David. Saturday, September 16, Brzezinki wrote in his diary: "The president is driving himself mercilessly. He has single-handedly written the proposed document for the settlements on the Sinai." Carter presented the formula to Begin. At first he called the demands on Israel "excessive," "political suicide." But in the end he relented, agreeing to submit the question of the Jewish settlements to the Israeli parliament.

Betty Glad: Jimmy Carter saw a picture of the three major participants on his desk. And he told his secretary to find out the names of Begin's grandchildren. And so then he wrote little notes, putting in the names of all the grandchildren. He went over to Begin and said, "You know, this is not just for us. This is for our grandchildren. And let me give this to you." And Begin was profoundly moved by this.

Narrator: The Camp David Accords were hailed as a monumental triumph of diplomacy, "With his brilliant success and inspired leadership, Carter has taken "a first, big step toward realizing the promise of his presidency," was the verdict of the press.

Carter: These negotiations provide that Israel may live in peace within secure and recognized borders. And this great aspiration of Israel has been certified, without constraint, with the greatest degree of enthusiasm, by President Sadat, the leader of one of the greatest nations on earth." [applause]

Douglas Brinkley: There will never be a history in, in the Middle East written, without Jimmy Carter's name in the index. A hundred years from now, two hundred years from now, people will be talking about the Camp David process that began in those Maryland mountains.

Peter Bourne: Camp David was the plum of his administration. This was the crowning glory, and it enshrined him in history.

Carter: ... to these two friends of mine, the words of Jesus: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be the children of God." [applause]

Narrator: Sadat and Begin were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their contribution to peace. Camp David became the touchstone for all future negotiations on the Middle East. Yet Carter's great success did nothing to improve his standing with the American people.

Walter Mondale: There was something about how we had slipped in the eyes of the American people that prevented us from getting what should have been an enormous lift out of this incredible diplomatic feat. We thought, "Boy, this shows we can get things done. It does bring peace in a crucial area." And there was no movement at all. It was very dispiriting.