Is it Safe Now to Admit Jimmy Carter Was Right?

[malaise]

http://hnn.us/articles/52030.html

<snip>
Americans, who hate to be told they must change, roundly condemned Jimmy Carter’s memorable “Crisis of Confidence” speech of July 15, 1979. In it, Carter outlined a program for achieving energy independence: “On the battlefield of energy we can win for our nation a new confidence, and we can seize control again of our common destiny.”

We admirers have long endured ridicule whenever we dared to defend Carter’s prescient plan for reducing U.S. dependence on oil.

But today, after all the abuse and scorn heaped on Jimmy Carter and his supporters, we find ourselves paying more than $4 a gallon at the pump to fill our hulking gas guzzlers.

It turns out that Carter was right after all.

He was right in seeking to raise the fleet auto mileage standard to 48 miles per gallon by 1995. (Even U.S. automakers admitted at the time that they could easily achieve 30 mph by 1985.)

Jimmy Carter was right in exhorting Americans to turn down their thermostats, even if he did look nerdy in a cardigan while urging us to do so.

In his July 1979 speech, he was right when he said, “I am tonight setting a clear goal for the energy policy of the United States. Beginning this moment, this nation will never use more foreign oil than we did in 1977 — never.” That worthy goal quickly went by the board.
--------------------
Jimmy Carter Was Right
http://news.aol.com/political-machine/2008/07/16/jimmy-carter-was-right/

The Crisis of Confidence Speech
http://millercenter.org/scripps/archive/speeches/detail/3402

Jimmy Carter has been vindicated after all the big oil,Rethug led anti-Carter bashing.

These days you can find excerpts of that famous speech all over Utube.

[patricia92243]

1. I didn't know anything about politics then, He was ahead of his time. A leader with vision!!

[malaise]

2. Here's a nice short rant

Here's Jimmy Carter (hold your laughter) in 1979 on the need for a national
2008-06-10 07:01:00
It's amazing (and sad) to watch Carter talk about solar and renewables, the permanent energy shortage, and the need for conservation, THIRTY F*CKING YEARS AGO.And yet we did nothing. NOTHING.Why? Why did the US waste thirty years under Reagan/Bush/Clinton/Bush?Becaus-e that's what the lobbyists and the Energy and Auto Industrial Complex wanted.And now for America (and the world), it's too late. Now, we all pay the price of inaction.

http://www.blogtoplist.com/rss/jimmy-carter.html

Time for Moyers, KO and Amy to interview Carter again about his ideas way back in 1979.

add.

[Sadie4629]

4. He was right about that

but he was wrong about a LOT of stuff--boycotting the Olympics, and reinstating draft registration, just to name a couple.

Personally, I think that he was wrong in his response to the overthrow of the Shah of Iran. Maybe if he had done more, there wouldn't be so many problems with terrorism right now.

(And, yes, I know the Shah was brutal, and not a good guy. But what took his place was far worse.)

[malaise]

6. This thread is about Carter's vision for energy reform

Spare me the rest this morning

[Clovis Sangrail]

3. carter was seriously sabotaged by the rw

so he *was an ineffectual president... but his ideas on energy were on the mark.
Unfortunately nobody paid any attention to him.

Did you know Carter put solar panels on the roof of the whitehouse?
and that Reagan took them down and put them in storage?

http://www.ecorazzi.com/2008/06/23/jimmy-carters-white-house-solar-panels-to-star-in-new-film/

[malaise]

5. Yes

Dems need to pound this one over and over

[MiniMe]

7. I said that to a RW aquaintance a few days ago

He said "We should have done something 30 year ago, the last time this happened". I piped up with Jimmy Carter tried, but he was shot down. I then asked him if he was ready to admit Jimmy Carter was right? The response was "I'll never admit Jimmy Carter was right".

At least he hates GWB now, so we have made progress.

[malaise]

8. We need to have Jimmy on KO to remind them n/t

[cobalt1999]

9. Carter was ahead of his time.

Carter had many great ideas and is one of my favorite presidents. Alas, he was also a HORRIBLE salesman. Everything about that speech doomed it to failure, from listing peoples complaints about him and the government, to the entire "crisis of confidence" message.

If Reagan were selling that to the public, he'd build up the audience about how great this country is, how strong and independent we all are, and, damn it, we are not going to be dependent on ANYONE for our energy.

Carter had the ideas but was a bad salesman. Reagan had bad ideas but knew how to motivate and sell them

[ForeignSpectator]

22. You say horrible salesman and while that is probably true, I say he spoke to the people

as if they were adults. One of the worst mistakes that seems to be, Obama somehow got away with his "more perfect union" speech on that one...

[cobalt1999]

23. He did.

However, I contend he could have still spoken intelligently AND motivated people at the same time.

Reagan, in spite of all his faults, could get on the air and get people to call their congressman, he could get people excited, and people viewed him as a leader.

Carter never had the knack of swaying the public. I try to imagine how FDR or JFK would have rallied the country to that cause.

[ForeignSpectator]

24. I agree with you

but isn't it unfortunate that most adults are not grown-ups at all? ;)

[riverdeep]

10. Yes, he was right about that.

But it's like a sports team. If the team isn't winning, people look to the coach first. They don't look at other factors like unmotivated players or a General Manager who won't pay for top players, or that other teams have figured out how to defend against a strategy that worked last year, etc. They go for the coach. And sometimes, it IS partly the coach.

During the 1970's, the phrase 'the misery index' (unemployment rate + inflation rate) became popular. In fact Carter used it to his advantage to get elected (against Ford) by saying that no one should be re-elected when the misery index is so high (14% at the time). Unfortunately, by his own re-election it was even higher- at 22%. Carter also wasn't particularly good at playing the game with Congress.

By the time Reagan came around, you had on one hand someone telling you to turn down your thermostat and think about the future and another one saying everything Americans wanted to hear and sha-la-la-la live for today- who do you think Americans are going to listen to? Out went the solar panels and in came blind greed and a head-in-the-sand approach to energy that has only been amplified in the last eight years.

[malaise]

14. Good post n/t

[fla nocount]

11. It's always been safe to defend Carter.

He was just far too decent a human being to represent this country. He was our first tri-lateral president and was selected, like Ford, because he was decent and innocuous. Just my opinion.

It's easy to manipulate a man of duty.

[cobalt1999]

12. Probably the only completely honest president in our history.

How he managed to get into office is amazing.

[malaise]

13. I have always defended his energy policy

but apparently others now feel it is safe. Carter has been vindicated and needs to be more visible in the middle of this 'so-called' energy debate.

[malaise]

26. Today's talking point

Obama is Carter Version 2. Where are the Dems? They should be screaming that Carter was right re energy policy.

[zbdent]

15. Republicans would rather gouge out their eyes with a rusted spoon

than to admit that Carter was right about anything ...

[malaise]

17. I might accept that

:rofl:

[zbdent]

18. and then, when they go to vote ...

explain to them that they can't have an ADA ballot, because they were so against making voting easier for the handicapped ...

[malaise]

20. Brilliant n/t

[nevergiveup]

16. Carter is beginning to get some good press

for the first time in 30 years. I love the guy and am glad he is still alive and well and can share in the vindication of his presidency.

[Lugnut]

19. He was right.

Too bad the wingers succeeded in their efforts to vilify him for it.

[malaise]

21. As if on cue, Brad Blakeman is attacking Carter

on GEM$NBC right now. Carter put on his sweater ..yeh those were his policies you fuckwit!! :puke:

[tjwash]

25. I loved JC as our President.

The only real beef I had with him, is he didn't listen to Archbishop Oscar Romero, who pleaded with him to end the arms shipments into El Salvador. A lot of El Salvadorans died as a result.

[tokenlib]

27. As unpopular as the 55 mph speed limit was--it worked as well...

Honestly, I think we should bring back the speed limit and compromise... There is no excuse for 70mph in traffic congested urban areas. In the open spaces, 60-65 would still reduce consumption..


Carter was ahead of his time. The next president should bring back solar panels with a vengeance on federal buildings and rub the republicans noses in it.