At 100 years old, former President of the United States Jimmy Carter passed away on December 29, leaving a legacy of untold contributions to humanity. His tenure as Governor of Georgia was marked by denouncing the vestiges of racial segregation, strengthening the state's educational systems, and conducting governmental reform, which foreshadowed his combination of liberal social policies and fiscal conservatism as the 39th U.S. President.
Pat Merloe, contributor of many writings to the Fulcrum, shared this moving tribute:
"Upon founding The Carter Center, he and his wife and lifelong partner Rosalynn Carter championed causes for public health (including the eradication of the Guinea worm disease), promoted peaceful means for preventing and ending violent conflicts, and aided efforts to secure democracy through observing elections in numerous countries. I had the privilege of working closely with President Carter in elections on four continents, witnessing firsthand his ability to help opposing sides reconcile and peacefully accept credible electoral outcomes. That ability was based on his steadfast reputation for seeking truth through facts and pursuing the common good rather than seeking political favor or popularity. His strength was combined with warmth, and I always felt honored when he would greet me by saying, "There is my friend."
President and Rosalynn Carter's contributions will endure through The Carter Center, Habitat for Humanity, and the incalculable number of people whose lives they touched. We can benefit from reflecting on these words from his 1981 farewell presidential address: "[W]e know that democracy is always an unfinished creation. Each generation must renew its foundations. Each generation must rediscover the meaning of this hallowed vision in the light of its own modern challenges." And from his 1977 inaugural address: "Because we are free, we can never be indifferent to the fate of freedom elsewhere." It is up to each of us to meet those injunctions."
As we pay tribute to President Jimmy Carter, let us capture the profound impact and humanity of this great man by sharing some quotes from those who knew him best:
Former President Bill Clinton: "Jimmy Carter has always been a beacon of hope and a champion for peace and human rights. His dedication to improving the lives of others, even after leaving office, is truly inspiring."
Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter: "Jimmy and I have shared a remarkable journey together. His unwavering faith and commitment to service have made a lasting impact on the world."
Nobel Peace Prize Committee: "Jimmy Carter's tireless efforts in promoting peace, democracy, and human rights have earned him a place among the world's most respected leaders."
Habitat for Humanity Co-Founder Millard Fuller: "Working alongside Jimmy Carter on Habitat builds has been one of the greatest honors of my life. His humility and dedication to helping others are unmatched."
Former U.N. Ambassador Andrew Young: "Jimmy Carter's legacy is one of compassion, integrity, and a relentless pursuit of justice. He has set a high bar for all of us to follow."
Those words from those who admired and loved him indeed speak to the man President Jimmy Carter was. But some quotes from the man himself perhaps best convey the heart and soul of the 39th President of the United States.
"I say to you quite frankly that the time for racial discrimination is over. The test of a government is not how popular it is with the powerful and privileged few, but how honestly and fairly it deals with the many who must depend upon it."
— Inaugural address as Governor of Georgia. ( Carter Presidential Library)
"Our great nation now teeters on the brink of a widening abyss. Without immediate action, we are at genuine risk of civil conflict and losing our precious democracy. Americans must set aside differences and work together before it is too late."
— Carter in a New York Times op-ed, January 5, 2022.
"We must adjust to changing times and still hold to unchanging principles."
— This one's actually from Carter's grade-school teacher, Julia Coleman. Carter quoted it during his Nobel Peace Prize addressin 2002.
"The bond of our common humanity is stronger than the divisiveness of our fears and prejudices."
— Carter's closing remarksduring that same Nobel Peace Prize address.
"I have one life and one chance to make it count for something. I'm free to choose that something … my faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I can, whenever I can, for as long as I can."
— Undated quote, cited by Carter's niece at Maranatha Baptist Church on February 19, 2023. ( AP)
David Nevins is co-publisher of The Fulcrum and co-founder and board chairman of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund.
Pat Merloe is a member of the Election Reformers Network Advisory Council and provides strategic advice on democracy and elections in the U.S. and internationally..
image of U.S. President Donald Trump is displayed on a digital billboard in Times Square in New York on April 8, 2026.
Trump is stuck between two realities. Neither serves the American people
Normally, I worry that events may overtake a column. But not so with the Iran war.
I don’t worry about running afoul of a headline or Truth Social post from the president because what is said about the situation is no longer very relevant to the reality.
On April 8, Nick Catoggio, my Dispatch colleague, dubbed an earlier stoppage with Iran “Schrödinger’s ceasefire.” This was a reference to the famous thought experiment by the physicist Erwin Schrödinger, who was trying to explain the weirdness of “superpositionality” in quantum physics. A cat in a box is both dead and alive at the same time until you open the box. Schrödinger meant to illustrate the absurdity of the idea that particles aren’t any one thing, but a “cloud of probabilities.”
The Trump administration is stuck in a word cloud of probabilities of his own making. The war is over. The war is on. The war isn’t a war. We have a deal, but we don’t have a deal, but we’re about to have a deal. We destroyed Iran’s military. No, we left it intact. We want regime change. No we don’t. We already accomplished it. We “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear program a year ago. We had to go to war in February to prevent nuclear war. The Strait of Hormuz is open, closed, or something in-between. No deal without “unconditional surrender.” Let’s make a deal!
This everything-all-at-once vibe can be disorienting, particularly since most Americans didn’t have a war with Iran on their bingo cards until the shooting had already started. President Trump didn’t prepare the country or consult with Congress beforehand because he thought it would all be a smashing success in a matter of weeks.
The miscalculation that started it all: killing Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and much of Iran’s senior leadership, on the first day of the war. To “the great proud people of Iran, I say tonight that the hour of your freedom is at hand,” Trump announced on Feb. 28. “When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations.”
I support regime change in Iran and shed no tears for Khamenei or his goons. But when you start a war by killing the regime’s top leaders, it’s not unreasonable for the remaining ones to conclude that you really intend regime change.
Khamenei was a murderous fanatic, but he was a fairly cautious one. He liked to threaten closing the Strait of Hormuz or attacking our regional allies, but he was reluctant to actually do it, fearing it would invite a regime change war. The mullahs and IRGC goons believed, not unreasonably, that if they lost their grip on power, they’d be lynched by the Iranian people they’ve brutalized for decades.
By starting with a regime change war, Trump removed any reason for the regime not to go for broke. When you have nothing to lose — particularly when you are a millenarian religious fanatic — a Persian Alamo strategy makes a lot of sense.
So Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz and attacked its neighbors.
But it turns out this wasn’t the Alamo. In the contest of wills, Trump blinked. The Iranian regime’s tolerance for punishment proved — so far — to be greater than Trump’s and that of our gulf allies. Militarily we could finish the job, but that would require ground troops and much greater economic turmoil. In a conflict Trump launched unilaterally without the prior support of Congress, NATO or the American people, Trump doesn’t have the political capital for that.
But that’s only half the problem. Trump wants the war over, but he doesn’t want to pay — militarily, economically, politically — what that would cost. So he wants to make a deal that ends it. But there is no deal available that wouldn’t come at an equally undesirable cost. Any deal that looks like what President Obama struck with the Iranians would be too embarrassing to bear. But the Iranians are convinced that they can get just such a deal, and they’re willing to drag things out as long as it takes.
The result: Trump’s in a box of his own making. He thinks he can talk his way out by simply asserting a reality that doesn’t exist. When the financial markets get nervous, he announces a breakthrough that is, at best, a possibility. When the Iranians agree to a deal that looks similar to one Obama might negotiate, Trump goes back to his threats.
It can’t go on forever. But I’m sure it’ll last until long after this column is forgotten.
Jonah Goldberg is editor-in-chief of The Dispatch and the host of The Remnant podcast. His Twitter handle is @JonahDispatch.