November 20, 2008
And now, a message from President Jimmy Carter on the "crisis of confidence" affecting America.
Ah, it's nice to see how far we've come in 30 years.
Oh, wait, crap, we're here again. Trying to recover from one of the worst presidential administrations of all time. Stuck in an economic tailspin. Suffering from a nationwide crisis of confidence.
Say what you will about Carter, these addresses to the nation remind me of when presidents spoke intelligently to the American people, like adults and not children, about the serious issues that confront them. I hope to see Obama do these types of addresses. I miss them. Bush sucked at pretty much everything he did. And he really, really sucked at having a dialogue with the American people.
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16 comments:
I hate to trivialize this speech because of its timeliness, but this was probably the worst move of this man's failed Presidency.
How the hell can you inspire confidence in your citizens when you make it so obvious that you have no idea what you're doing as the Executive?
He keeps saying, "We're in trouble." That's not leadership. Reagan succeeded Carter because he was an optimist. It was "Morning in America."(1984 Campaign) Brilliant. I am not saying either man had better ideology, but the effect of their speech was radically different.
Reagan made people in leadership roles want to jump back on the horse and get riding again.
Carter's downer speeches had everyone reaching for the Billy Beer.
Very good point Ross. A president, even in the worst of times, needs to be like a good football coach
The nation needed a Gipper speech in '78. Instead, the got Droopy Dog. Then Reagan came along selling hope and optimism (and some tax cuts) and BAM, things changed.
Obama needs to do the "all we have to fear is fear itself" kind of speech, with a bit of "morning in America", "shining city on a hill". And toss in the Money Bomb stimulus and tax cuts.
But above all, what I want is a dialogue. We've had not just bad policy for eight years, but bad dialogue.
Bush truly was the worst ever. When you look back on it, it's actually quite amazing. It's hard to be that bad. You really have to work at it.
George W. Bushco, 43 = WORST EVER.
The most HATED man in the World.
Nice Legacy. I wonder what Daddy thinks now?
all the confidence in the world won't stop the massive deleveraging that needs to continue to happen. it was excess confidence that got us here in the first place.
Disagree. Just because Carter thought perhaps Americans were grown ups and didn't always need to be told everything was going to be fine and dandy, doesn't mean it wasn't a good speech. I heard that speech live, recognized the considerable truth in it, made many changes. His mistake was not realizing that 1) the powerful forces who were invested in oil and energy would sabotage him for his audacity and 2) that the perpetual-teen mentality of a large segment of our population really wanted 'Morning in America', Billy Beer, Win One for the Gipper, Shock and Awe, Desert Thunder, Operation Hope, etc etc--all of which have, as surely as Carter told us,got us to where we are today.
What happened during Carters reign was not his fault. He had nothing to do with it, just like Bush had nothing to do with this orchestrated crash. Ol' Carter told the American people who was responsible though, according to him...............It was the jews.
We've had not just bad policy for eight years, but bad dialogue.
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bad dialogue? you are being kind. how about little to no dialogue.
The guy was telling the truth and the truth was rejected by a bunch of polyannas and now we are finnally completely screwed.
All this tells me is that history repeats itself...
Wow that was one of the most depressing uninspiring speeches ever. Glad he was only one term even if I think Reagan was a joker.
Well, well, well. I love it when things come full circle. It might of been a painful and income bloated last 30 years, but times are a changin'. Will Barky enter the white-house eco-savvy? For starters, he needs to install Jimmy Carters Solar Panels. I am sure they are gathering dust in the basement somewhere. Hell, why not cover the front lawn with prairie grass and solar cells? Just a thought.
All we did post-Carter was borrow money to paper over our wounds and delay the day of reckoning.
Times up.
I recently saw an old clip of Eisenhower talking about fiscal responsibilty and how he planned on balancing the budget (which he did).
You'd think we would be smarter today than we were over 50 years ago. Nope.
"I hope to see Obama do these types of addresses."
Yeah, he'll talk, talk, and talk.. and yet get NOTHING done.
Same shit, different day.
snicker.
Reagan did everything that Carter did, but he had better PR.
And Bush did everything that Reagan did -- a torrent of federal deficit sprayed upon a moribund economy, in order to win an election. The result is the same in 2008 as it was in 1987.
Keith,
Jimmy carter is the biggest turd of a president we've ever had. He is anti-american and a slave muslim money. He gave the north koreans nukes when he brokered the light wa(er reactor for them and has completely been a thorn in the side of our foreign policy while.other presidents have governed.
Honestly, sometimes I just don't get you! Like now! It's like one moment you're making some cool and profound insight, and then you shoot straight off into bizarro land!
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