The NYT has an article with a subtitle "President Jimmy Carter worked to change minds and build a bipartisan coalition that put aside short-term political considerations" on the Panama Canal treaty. The details are far more illuminating than the article's subtitle:
A key vote belonged to Senator S.I. Hayakawa, Republican of California.
A colorful character, Mr. Hayakawa gave Mr. Carter a copy of a book on semantics that he had written. Mr. Carter, ever the dutiful student, read it that night, then called the senator the next day and demonstrated enough knowledge to prove that he really had.
That still was not enough, so finally, playing to senatorial vanity, Mr. Baker arranged to call Mr. Carter with Mr. Hayakawa listening to ask if the president needed to meet occasionally with the California senator to get his advice on foreign affairs. “I gulped, thought for a few seconds, and replied, ‘Yes, I really do!’ hoping God would forgive me,” Mr. Carter later wrote.
Jonathan Alter, author of “His Very Best,” a 2020 biography of Mr. Carter, wrote that Mr. Hayakawa wanted Mr. Carter to commit to meeting every two weeks. “Sam, I couldn’t possibly limit our visits to every two weeks,” Mr. Carter replied cleverly. “I might want to hear your advice more often!” Mr. Hayakawa signed onto the treaty and, as Mr. Alter wrote, “that was the last time S.I. Hayakawa ever spoke to Jimmy Carter.”
Thanks for providing a little history of which I was previously unaware. Against type. Need this current GOP troika to pressure states out of regulations protecting car dealerships, alcohol distributors and the many industry specific schools that exist only due to a professional licensing requirement (like cosmetology).
The NYT has an article with a subtitle "President Jimmy Carter worked to change minds and build a bipartisan coalition that put aside short-term political considerations" on the Panama Canal treaty. The details are far more illuminating than the article's subtitle:
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/02/us/politics/carter-panama-canal.html
A key vote belonged to Senator S.I. Hayakawa, Republican of California.
A colorful character, Mr. Hayakawa gave Mr. Carter a copy of a book on semantics that he had written. Mr. Carter, ever the dutiful student, read it that night, then called the senator the next day and demonstrated enough knowledge to prove that he really had.
That still was not enough, so finally, playing to senatorial vanity, Mr. Baker arranged to call Mr. Carter with Mr. Hayakawa listening to ask if the president needed to meet occasionally with the California senator to get his advice on foreign affairs. “I gulped, thought for a few seconds, and replied, ‘Yes, I really do!’ hoping God would forgive me,” Mr. Carter later wrote.
Jonathan Alter, author of “His Very Best,” a 2020 biography of Mr. Carter, wrote that Mr. Hayakawa wanted Mr. Carter to commit to meeting every two weeks. “Sam, I couldn’t possibly limit our visits to every two weeks,” Mr. Carter replied cleverly. “I might want to hear your advice more often!” Mr. Hayakawa signed onto the treaty and, as Mr. Alter wrote, “that was the last time S.I. Hayakawa ever spoke to Jimmy Carter.”
Michael Oren has an excellent op-ed about Carter's attitude towards Israel: https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-835379
The major successes of both Presidents Carter and Clinton were to bring along support of Democrats for free market centrist policies.
Thanks for providing a little history of which I was previously unaware. Against type. Need this current GOP troika to pressure states out of regulations protecting car dealerships, alcohol distributors and the many industry specific schools that exist only due to a professional licensing requirement (like cosmetology).