That's what many like to say. But consider what is the biggest drain on our economy and also a threat to our national security - our dependence on foreign oil. Take a look at Carter's famous "malaise speech" of 1979. While you are doing that, count how many times the word malaise appears in the speech. It's easy. It doesn't appear at all.

Then skip down to where he talks about the energy crisis. Here's a couple of excerpts:

"This intolerable dependence on foreign oil threatens our economic independence and the very security of our Nation. "

"The energy crisis is real. It is worldwide. It is a clear and present danger to our Nation. These are facts and we simply must face them. "

"Energy will be the immediate test of our ability to unite this Nation, and it can also be the standard around which we rally. On the battlefield of energy we can win for our Nation a new confidence, and we can seize control again of our common destiny."

"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. From now on, every new addition to our demand for energy will be met from our own production and our own conservation. The generation-long growth in our dependence on foreign oil will be stopped dead in its tracks right now and then reversed as we move through the 1980's, for I am tonight setting the further goal of cutting our dependence on foreign oil by one-half by the end of the next decade -- a saving of over 4 1/2 million barrels of imported oil per day."

He goes on to give further details of the energy policy he planned to implement. It's all in the speech. Whatever your opinion of Carter, it is clear that if we had followed his lead, we would be well down the path to energy independence. Instead, nearly 30 years later, we have sky high gas prices and the OPEC countries have us still, almost literally, over a barrel. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could tell every OPEC country what they can do with their overpriced oil? If we had just listened to "the worst president ever" back in 1979, we might just have already done that.

That's very true, but we, as a country are either too greedy or too spoiled! The sooner we all wake up to that the sooner things can really start changing. I don't think enough people are listening yet.
It started a few years earlier than the Carter Administration and I truly believe no one noticed. The general public for the most part did not even listen to the State of the Union speechs. At least now there is a dialog. Maybe, with the options we have today, people will tell their friends, and they will tell their friends, and so on and so on. We can no longer trust the media. And a Jimmy Carter can not get elected in this day and time of masive political machines. Evidence...Ron Paul's campaign. It will be up to grass roots efforts to make any real change in this country!
Evidence...previous post!
Nan

truth be told, EVERY president of the last thirty years has been a stye on the collective ass of the american people. they've all managed to screw the pooch in one way or another in some way.

take the farce that was the Clinton I administration- he claimed to be an "environmentally" friendly president, but he raised the federal maximum speed limit to 65 (from 55, which was enacted by ex-prez Reagan to... guess what... conserve our oil reserves), which (among other things) increased overall pollution, increased our dependence on oil, and lowered our oil reserves over time.

too bad you won't see al gore talking about THAT in his environment movie...

Here's a link to both the text and the video of the speech:

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/jimmycartercrisisofconfidence.htm

Oil closed at over $100.00/ barrel for the first time today. Did Mr. Carter have a point?