Jimmy Carter and the Crisis of Confidence Speech

Jimmy Carter’s Crisis of Confidence

July 15, 1979 marked one of the most bizarre days in the history of the American Presidency. On that day, Jimmy Carter addressed the nation and rambled what had to be the most rambling, nonsensical speech in US history. Facing the explosion of the 1979 energy crisis, the public was furious at the escalation of gas prices and shortages (wow, sound familiar?) and demanded the embattled president, Jimmy Carter, to provide a solution.

What he did was address the public and prattle a very unfocused speech blaming the problems in America on self indulgence and materialism were the fault of the nation’s ills and then rattled off tons of problems that, of course, was the public’s fault. Definitely not FDR like. Why was the public like this? Carter felt that the last few years of riots, tragedies, Vietnam and assassinations caused psychological harm to the public.

Ouch. If Carter’s odds of re-election were slim before this, then this speech definitely sunk him forever. Possibly the worst political speech ever and definitely the biggest backfire.