Jonathan Alter

And the book was called Presidential Power, and it said that the president only has one power. That's the power to persuade. And if the president can't persuade, he can't govern effectively.

And the book was called Presidential Power, and it said that the president only has one power. That's the power to persuade. And if the president can't persuade, he can't govern effectively.

And the book was called Presidential Power, and it said that the president only has one power. That's the power to persuade. And if the president can't persuade, he can't govern effectively.

Carter defied that in some ways because he had an overwhelmingly Democratic Congress, and he was good at winning Republican votes on important bills like the Panama Canal Treaties and a number of other important laws that he got approved. So he wasn't by any means a failure on Capitol Hill, but he was more broadly a political failure.

Carter defied that in some ways because he had an overwhelmingly Democratic Congress, and he was good at winning Republican votes on important bills like the Panama Canal Treaties and a number of other important laws that he got approved. So he wasn't by any means a failure on Capitol Hill, but he was more broadly a political failure.

Carter defied that in some ways because he had an overwhelmingly Democratic Congress, and he was good at winning Republican votes on important bills like the Panama Canal Treaties and a number of other important laws that he got approved. So he wasn't by any means a failure on Capitol Hill, but he was more broadly a political failure.

When he got at odds with the American people and his support started slipping away, even when there was a rally around the flag quality in his last year when the hostages were seized in Iran, he had lost his deeper connection to the American people pretty early in the presidency.

When he got at odds with the American people and his support started slipping away, even when there was a rally around the flag quality in his last year when the hostages were seized in Iran, he had lost his deeper connection to the American people pretty early in the presidency.

When he got at odds with the American people and his support started slipping away, even when there was a rally around the flag quality in his last year when the hostages were seized in Iran, he had lost his deeper connection to the American people pretty early in the presidency.

It was some combination. He had visited Israel when he was governor and he had always been interested in the issues there. And then when he was running for president, he went on something called the Trilateral Commission and really educated himself on foreign policy and became deeply steeped in it.

It was some combination. He had visited Israel when he was governor and he had always been interested in the issues there. And then when he was running for president, he went on something called the Trilateral Commission and really educated himself on foreign policy and became deeply steeped in it.

It was some combination. He had visited Israel when he was governor and he had always been interested in the issues there. And then when he was running for president, he went on something called the Trilateral Commission and really educated himself on foreign policy and became deeply steeped in it.

But then there were these opportunities that really came out of Anwar Sadat's decision to visit Jerusalem, which was historic and transformed things, but by itself was not enough to bring peace between those two countries. And that took Jimmy Carter as both Sadat, who became a very close friend of Carter, and Menachem Begin, the prime minister of Israel.

But then there were these opportunities that really came out of Anwar Sadat's decision to visit Jerusalem, which was historic and transformed things, but by itself was not enough to bring peace between those two countries. And that took Jimmy Carter as both Sadat, who became a very close friend of Carter, and Menachem Begin, the prime minister of Israel.

But then there were these opportunities that really came out of Anwar Sadat's decision to visit Jerusalem, which was historic and transformed things, but by itself was not enough to bring peace between those two countries. And that took Jimmy Carter as both Sadat, who became a very close friend of Carter, and Menachem Begin, the prime minister of Israel.

They both readily attested that deal would never have happened without Jimmy Carter's just almost obsessive interest and his attention to detail, which he was much criticized for. But

They both readily attested that deal would never have happened without Jimmy Carter's just almost obsessive interest and his attention to detail, which he was much criticized for. But

They both readily attested that deal would never have happened without Jimmy Carter's just almost obsessive interest and his attention to detail, which he was much criticized for. But

In this case, and in the Alaska lands bill, which doubled the size of the national park system in the United States, and the Panama Canal treaties that prevented a long war in Central America, and on other issues, normalization with China, which became the foundation of the global economy, these huge foreign policy wins were partly the product of Carter's obsession with

In this case, and in the Alaska lands bill, which doubled the size of the national park system in the United States, and the Panama Canal treaties that prevented a long war in Central America, and on other issues, normalization with China, which became the foundation of the global economy, these huge foreign policy wins were partly the product of Carter's obsession with