Carl was educated at Harvard. He used to play football, but it's not clear if this was at Harvard or elsewhere. According to Phil Chadway, he was one of the youngest up-and-comers in the American political scene. Carl was a friend of President Jimmy Carter, and was his envoy to the United Nations. He was a world-class amateur skier, and competed when possible. He was stubborn, and claimed that he would rather die than run away scared. He insisted on continuing in a skiing competition even after learning that someone was there to threaten his life.