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Carter's “Malaise” Speech cannot be underestimated in his loss. I was young, but I remember it's affect on my parents, both Democrats at the time. It was just

Carter's “Malaise” Speech cannot be underestimated in his loss. I was young, but I remember it's affect on my parents, both Democrats at the time. It was just depressing, and you didn't exactly have 500 channels to avoid it or pundits doing 24x7 spin. The only good thing I can say about President Carter was that the peanuts they added to the commodities we were getting were really good. The canned meat not so much.

rsj_hn 5y ago
This is exactly right. It was the malaise speech that doomed his campaign. The difference between Reagan's hopeful, patriotic campaign and Carter's "Malaise" cannot be underestimated. To try to blame Carter's loss on some October surprise conspiracy theory is to miss the larger issue as to what the two campaigns were about. By the way, I think Carter's malaise speech was spot on. But it's also why he lost.
- WalterBright 5y ago
  Carter presenting himself in a sweater did him no favors. He looked like a nice but doddering grampa. Reagan wore a sharp suit and always looked like a President.
  - rsj_hn 5y ago
    Yes, Carter was frumpy, gloomy compared to the optimistic Reagan always standing in front of a huge flag with perfect hair and a glint in his eyes.
    - WalterBright 5y ago
      I've often thought that Sanders' biggest PR problem was his poor posture. Other candidates in the last round wore frumpy suits. Except for Biden. Biden stood up straight, and had a sharp suit. Ditto for Trump. It was fun watching the debates by turning off the sound, and just watching body language and mannerisms. Obama always looked sharp, too. It matters.
UncleOxidant 5y ago
And yet, his Malaise speech was mostly spot on - he said that consumerism was causing all kinds of trouble for us which is even more true now than it was then. He basically told us we needed to suck it up. Carter would've had a pretty good memory of living through the Great Depression and I think a lot of folks who did live through it felt that the nation had gone soft - I think some of that came through in that speech. Interesting that the speech was initially well received: "The reception to Carter's speech was overwhelmingly positive: Approving phone calls poured into the White House — more calls than when President Richard Nixon had announced the invasion of Cambodia — along with many letters of support." [1] [1] https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106508243 https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106508...
- protomyth 5y ago
  The reception to Carter's speech was overwhelmingly positive I notice NPR didn't report the negative mail or calls arriving at the Whitehouse. I just remember the "we're screwed" attitude of family and friends along with election of 1980. It wasn't what the country needed. You can watch the speech today and feel the lack of hope.
DubiousPusher 5y ago
I think the malaise speech is one of the best in the last 60 years of presidential speeches.

rsj_hn 5y ago

This is exactly right. It was the malaise speech that doomed his campaign. The difference between Reagan's hopeful, patriotic campaign and Carter's "Malaise" cannot be underestimated. To try to blame Carter's loss on some October surprise conspiracy theory is to miss the larger issue as to what the two campaigns were about. By the way, I think Carter's malaise speech was spot on. But it's also why he lost.

WalterBright 5y ago
Carter presenting himself in a sweater did him no favors. He looked like a nice but doddering grampa. Reagan wore a sharp suit and always looked like a President.
- rsj_hn 5y ago
  Yes, Carter was frumpy, gloomy compared to the optimistic Reagan always standing in front of a huge flag with perfect hair and a glint in his eyes.
  - WalterBright 5y ago
    I've often thought that Sanders' biggest PR problem was his poor posture. Other candidates in the last round wore frumpy suits. Except for Biden. Biden stood up straight, and had a sharp suit. Ditto for Trump. It was fun watching the debates by turning off the sound, and just watching body language and mannerisms. Obama always looked sharp, too. It matters.

UncleOxidant 5y ago

And yet, his Malaise speech was mostly spot on - he said that consumerism was causing all kinds of trouble for us which is even more true now than it was then. He basically told us we needed to suck it up. Carter would've had a pretty good memory of living through the Great Depression and I think a lot of folks who did live through it felt that the nation had gone soft - I think some of that came through in that speech. Interesting that the speech was initially well received: "The reception to Carter's speech was overwhelmingly positive: Approving phone calls poured into the White House — more calls than when President Richard Nixon had announced the invasion of Cambodia — along with many letters of support." [1] [1] https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106508243 https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106508...

protomyth 5y ago
The reception to Carter's speech was overwhelmingly positive I notice NPR didn't report the negative mail or calls arriving at the Whitehouse. I just remember the "we're screwed" attitude of family and friends along with election of 1980. It wasn't what the country needed. You can watch the speech today and feel the lack of hope.

DubiousPusher 5y ago

I think the malaise speech is one of the best in the last 60 years of presidential speeches.