Quotes from Jonathan Alter

Hayakawa asked Carter questions about his book and the nuances of semantics, his specialty. Could any other American president have stayed awake to read the book, much less answer the questions to the senator's satisfaction? Carter did.

and if he had been a different kind of president—he might have sent troops somewhere (as six of his predecessors had) or bombed some country (as all of his successors have). That would have ultimately been more popular than canceling US participation in the Olympics and slamming the farm belt and nascent tech sector with embargoes. In the end, Carter managed to show resolve without imperiling American lives—just as he intended.

the address, delivered in passable Spanish with David McCullough and a few senators at his side, was wildly popular in Panama. It was the first time in American history that a full presidential address was delivered in a foreign language, much less given in another language overseas.

But that wasn't how Carter rolled.

The radical shift in the role of the vice president would be one of Carter's enduring legacies—and the most significant strengthening of the American constitutional system in the second half of the twentieth century.

We told the truth. We obeyed the law. We kept the peace.

Unless the digital divide is narrowed soon, the United States may be headed to the class warfare of a century ago, the last time the economy changed so fundamentally. It won't be pleasant.

The basic problem is with the business model of journalism. That business model is premised on the idea that talk is cheap and reporting is expensive.

The key to fixing education is better teaching, and the key to better teaching is figuring out who can teach and who can't.

With his ABC News experience, perhaps Pierre Salinger's next job could be cohosting-with Oliver Stone-a 24-hour Conspiracy Network.