Source: Bruce J. Schulman. The Seventies - The Great Shift
in American Culture, Society, and Politics (2001)
in American Culture, Society, and Politics (2001)
From Election Day 1976 to Inauguration Day 1977, the Midwest/Northeast experienced the coldest temperatures in at least 50 years. In some areas (e.g. Buffalo), tremendous snowfall came with the frigid temps. The miserably cold/snowy winter continued for many weeks after Jimmy Carter was inaugurated 39th President. Snow even fell on Miami Beach, and parts of the Mississippi River froze solid, stalling river traffic. Oil and gas shortages forced factories and schools to shut down. For a nation that truly believed there were no limits to resources, it a shock to discover otherwise; such was the US landscape when Carter took the Oath of Office and gave his Inaugural Address. Even as President-Elect, Carter had plans and strategies that he believed would rescue a struggling nation. Carter’s narrow victory over President Gerald Ford signified cautious hope in the nation for the incoming President.
Carter emerged from the ascendant Sunbelt, a one term governor of GA. Despite the year being 1976, millions suspected that Carter, a Southerner, was a closet racist. However, Carter was a product of the emerging Sunbelt, not the “Old South”. Carter tapped into the increased level of religiosity in the nation, with Gallup in 1970 saying results of their polls indicated a “religious revival” in the US. Gallup’s polls indicated that the number of Americans that labeled themselves as religious tripled from 1970 to 1976. During the soon-to-be-called “Malaise Days”, millions looked to religion for comfort and/or explanation.
Carter emerged from the ascendant Sunbelt, a one term governor of GA. Despite the year being 1976, millions suspected that Carter, a Southerner, was a closet racist. However, Carter was a product of the emerging Sunbelt, not the “Old South”. Carter tapped into the increased level of religiosity in the nation, with Gallup in 1970 saying results of their polls indicated a “religious revival” in the US. Gallup’s polls indicated that the number of Americans that labeled themselves as religious tripled from 1970 to 1976. During the soon-to-be-called “Malaise Days”, millions looked to religion for comfort and/or explanation.
Some media pundits were convinced that Carter would try and impose his personal religious beliefs onto the nation as President. The most famous example occurred when Carter was interviewed by Playboy Magazine. During that interview, Carter kept his aggressive interviewer at bay, demanding respect for his religious beliefs while also demanding religious tolerance. The Playboy interviewer admitted that Carter would not go down the path of combining Church and State.
Carter’s religious beliefs helped him during the post-Watergate years, as well as his promise to dismantle the machinery that led to Nixon’s “Imperial Presidency”. Carter refused to have a Chief of Staff, which turned out to be a colossal mistake, since that post is beyond-crucial in the modern age of the US Presidency. Carter in effect went too far the other way, compared to Nixon, at least during his first 18 months in office. And yet, Carter did what every other President did in terms of having a “Circle of Trust”, bringing with him to the White House people with which he had worked in GA. The national media referred to Carter’s advisors as the “Georgia Mafia".
Carter “de-pomped” the White House, not only for the sake of appearance, but also because Carter was a fiscally-conservative Democrat. Carter even ended the practice of playing “Hail to the Chief” when he appeared at official Presidential functions. For the short term, at least, Carter’s actions resonated with the increasing number of Americans that were suspicious of the federal government.
Carter’s brain had a way of working that may have been a boon during boom times, but during “Stagflation”, his over-analyzing and micromanaging style would come across to the nation as negative. Carter simply didn’t have the political gift of FDR (or first term Reagan) in being able to scold a nation into action without the nation taking it as scolding. Where Reagan offered simple answers to complicated questions (which also created problems during “Stagflation”), Carter’s habit was to offer complicated answers to complicated questions, which did little to endear him to a nation that wanted better times, and fast.
Carter’s religious beliefs helped him during the post-Watergate years, as well as his promise to dismantle the machinery that led to Nixon’s “Imperial Presidency”. Carter refused to have a Chief of Staff, which turned out to be a colossal mistake, since that post is beyond-crucial in the modern age of the US Presidency. Carter in effect went too far the other way, compared to Nixon, at least during his first 18 months in office. And yet, Carter did what every other President did in terms of having a “Circle of Trust”, bringing with him to the White House people with which he had worked in GA. The national media referred to Carter’s advisors as the “Georgia Mafia".
Carter “de-pomped” the White House, not only for the sake of appearance, but also because Carter was a fiscally-conservative Democrat. Carter even ended the practice of playing “Hail to the Chief” when he appeared at official Presidential functions. For the short term, at least, Carter’s actions resonated with the increasing number of Americans that were suspicious of the federal government.
Carter’s brain had a way of working that may have been a boon during boom times, but during “Stagflation”, his over-analyzing and micromanaging style would come across to the nation as negative. Carter simply didn’t have the political gift of FDR (or first term Reagan) in being able to scold a nation into action without the nation taking it as scolding. Where Reagan offered simple answers to complicated questions (which also created problems during “Stagflation”), Carter’s habit was to offer complicated answers to complicated questions, which did little to endear him to a nation that wanted better times, and fast.
Carter’s engineering mindset initially appealed to the nation when he took office, hoping that his problem-solving approach/skills would be the cure for the nation’s ills. By 1979, Carter’s approach, combined with the ever-increasing series of bad news, setbacks, and worsening “Stagflation”, convinced the nation that he was no longer in control of things, which is political disaster for a President (e.g. Hoover in 1931). Carter believed in speeches that focused on facts, despising rhetoric or soaring oratory, which frustrated his speechwriters to no end. Carter’s favorite word in his speeches as President was “comprehensive”, e.g. Carter’s comprehensive energy policy. Carter’s comprehensive urban policy featured a 178 page memorandum with 43 policy initiatives.
Micromanaging worked well for Carter as a successful peanut farmer and as an officer in the Navy, but as President during the “Malaise Days” (a phrase coined by the media), micromanaging would lead to political disaster for the President. Initially, “comprehensive” appealed to the nation, in that it looked like at long last a smart person occupied the White House (for many, JFK was the last such President). Carter’s comprehensive approach to solve problems, he argued, was the best way to solve problems, in that small/incremental changes would be blocked by vested interests. To Carter, it was necessary to wipe the slate clean in order to serve the Common Good. Make no mistake, Carter truly wanted to serve his nation by solving the myriad of problems the nations faced as soon as possible, whereas Nixon’s goal was to amass power for his own gains.
Micromanaging worked well for Carter as a successful peanut farmer and as an officer in the Navy, but as President during the “Malaise Days” (a phrase coined by the media), micromanaging would lead to political disaster for the President. Initially, “comprehensive” appealed to the nation, in that it looked like at long last a smart person occupied the White House (for many, JFK was the last such President). Carter’s comprehensive approach to solve problems, he argued, was the best way to solve problems, in that small/incremental changes would be blocked by vested interests. To Carter, it was necessary to wipe the slate clean in order to serve the Common Good. Make no mistake, Carter truly wanted to serve his nation by solving the myriad of problems the nations faced as soon as possible, whereas Nixon’s goal was to amass power for his own gains.
Carter wanted to rekindle national unity (which never really existed in the first place) by enacting comprehensive legislation, but he wasn’t in any way-or-form a liberal Democrat like LBH, Humphrey, or Ted Kennedy. Carter believed that balancing the federal budget was paramount, which meant cutting government spending. That development was so shocking at the time by a Democratic President, it became the catalyst for the immense opposition to Carter from the liberal wing of the Democratic Party. To liberal Democrats, calling for a balanced budget, something that not even Nixon had called for, amounted to political heresy. It was Carter, not Reagan, that was the President that started the process of fiscal conservatism that would dominate the upcoming years, stating in his Inaugural Address that the government “cannot afford to do everything”.
As well-meaning as Carter was, he would not be able to pull the US out of its deepening spiral, in that forces beyond his control, combined with very preventable mistakes on his part (e.g. allowing the former Shah of Iran into the US) meant that he was doomed to serve a single term. Even though Carter started the nation down the road on many positive fronts, such as energy security from the Middle East, or being the greatest Environmental President since TR, he would forever (and mostly unfairly) be associated with the “Malaise Days” of the late-1970s / early-1980s.
As well-meaning as Carter was, he would not be able to pull the US out of its deepening spiral, in that forces beyond his control, combined with very preventable mistakes on his part (e.g. allowing the former Shah of Iran into the US) meant that he was doomed to serve a single term. Even though Carter started the nation down the road on many positive fronts, such as energy security from the Middle East, or being the greatest Environmental President since TR, he would forever (and mostly unfairly) be associated with the “Malaise Days” of the late-1970s / early-1980s.
One of Carter’s goals as President was to reduce the burden of government regulations on regular Americans. But Carter went further, pursuing deregulation, particularly in the airline, trucking, banking, and communications industries. Carter signed into law the Airline Deregulation Act in 1978, which opened up competition within the airline industry. Carter focused on the “3 E’s”: the Economy, the Environment, and Energy, but those “E’s” would prove to be daunting, if not impossible, to solve.
Two weeks after his inauguration, in the midst of the horrible winter and heating oil/ natural gas shortages, Carter gave his first nationally televised address. Carter stated that he would soon have a comprehensive energy plan going by 20 April 1977. Carter’s first speech was labeled the “Cardigan Speech”, in that Carter addressed the nation wearing a cardigan sweater, sitting in an very comfortable chair by a fireplace. Nixon and Ford tried to solve the energy crisis, but consensus on how to do so was never reached, since neither President wanted to do what was necessary to begin to solve the problem. Speaker Tip O’Neill stated that energy was the most parochial of all the pending issues in Congress.
Carter soon discovered that Americans didn’t (and wouldn’t) willingly adjust to imposed/actual limits on their lives. Carter was determined to attach the energy crisis head-on. Carter wanted the US to achieve “energy security” in order to have a stable source and price for oil. Carter’s comprehensive energy plan was spearheaded by James R. Schlesinger, a former SecDef for Nixon and Ford, which signaled Carter’s desire for bipartisan support. Carter wanted a comprehensive all-or-nothing plan that couldn’t be sabotaged by vested rival interests, and he also wanted the plan devised-and-completed in secret, which proved to be a political mistake.
Two weeks after his inauguration, in the midst of the horrible winter and heating oil/ natural gas shortages, Carter gave his first nationally televised address. Carter stated that he would soon have a comprehensive energy plan going by 20 April 1977. Carter’s first speech was labeled the “Cardigan Speech”, in that Carter addressed the nation wearing a cardigan sweater, sitting in an very comfortable chair by a fireplace. Nixon and Ford tried to solve the energy crisis, but consensus on how to do so was never reached, since neither President wanted to do what was necessary to begin to solve the problem. Speaker Tip O’Neill stated that energy was the most parochial of all the pending issues in Congress.
Carter soon discovered that Americans didn’t (and wouldn’t) willingly adjust to imposed/actual limits on their lives. Carter was determined to attach the energy crisis head-on. Carter wanted the US to achieve “energy security” in order to have a stable source and price for oil. Carter’s comprehensive energy plan was spearheaded by James R. Schlesinger, a former SecDef for Nixon and Ford, which signaled Carter’s desire for bipartisan support. Carter wanted a comprehensive all-or-nothing plan that couldn’t be sabotaged by vested rival interests, and he also wanted the plan devised-and-completed in secret, which proved to be a political mistake.
When the energy plan was unveiled, it contained a bewildering array of proposals, such as a “gas guzzler” tax, tax credits for solar power, and complicated steps to eliminate price controls in the energy sector. In total, the energy plan contained 113 separate proposals. When Carter addressed the nation on television to inform citizens of his energy plan, he equated his proposal to be the “Moral Equivalent of War”. The initial response to the speech was positive, but when the plan was sent to Capitol Hill, it was dead on arrival, and very soon critics in the government and media referred to Carter’s plan as “M.E.O.W.”. The Senate split the comprehensive bill into six separate bills, with each reporting to a separate committee, and the energy bill was buried. Carter’s strategy of devising a comprehensive plan in secret, and then unveiling it as a fait accompli to Congress was a politically tone deaf move, which alienated his allies and energized his opponents. Schlesinger even kept Carter’s close advisors in the dark before the plan was unveiled. In his memoirs, Carter compared the energy plan to chewing on a rock for four years.
Carter committed another political misstep with the environment. Carter wanted to solve the nation’s water policy, but instead what occurred were the “Water Wars". Carter wanted to drastically scale back the number of approved federal government dams, locks, and canals that altered/interrupted the natural flow of rivers (which was conducted by the Army Corps of Engineers). Again, Carter was politically tone deaf to the concerns and power of the heavily invested interests in regional water projects. Carter wanted to drastically reduce the number of federal water projects, but he insisted on keeping a project authorized in GA. That decision led to a great deal of howling in both parties and both houses; even though Carter was beyond-environmentally friendly as President, the environmental movement viewed Carter as an enemy, in particular due to the
Tellico Dam Project (TN). Environmentalists were worked up because, via loopholes, an endangered species would not block the construction of the dam.
Carter committed another political misstep with the environment. Carter wanted to solve the nation’s water policy, but instead what occurred were the “Water Wars". Carter wanted to drastically scale back the number of approved federal government dams, locks, and canals that altered/interrupted the natural flow of rivers (which was conducted by the Army Corps of Engineers). Again, Carter was politically tone deaf to the concerns and power of the heavily invested interests in regional water projects. Carter wanted to drastically reduce the number of federal water projects, but he insisted on keeping a project authorized in GA. That decision led to a great deal of howling in both parties and both houses; even though Carter was beyond-environmentally friendly as President, the environmental movement viewed Carter as an enemy, in particular due to the
Tellico Dam Project (TN). Environmentalists were worked up because, via loopholes, an endangered species would not block the construction of the dam.
What proved the most vexing and frustrating for Carter and his administration was the economy. The long post-WW II economic boom was over when Carter entered the White House, and by the late-1970s, it seemed that the US was no longer in control of its economic future. Complicating matters further was that some of Carter’s goals as President would make inflation worse, such as deregulation, or make inflation and unemployment worse by involving the government in the automobile industry . . . and there was the 2nd Arab Oil Embargo. A pattern emerged, where Carter would propose an expanded budget in January 1978, but in March it was revised in far more austere fashion, which just exacerbated the confusion and frustration.
Ironically, the economy grew too fast, which pushed inflation to higher levels, decreased the value of the dollar, and caused a recession that took hold in 1980, an election year. During the 1976 campaign, unemployment was Carter’s main focus, and in trying to reduce unemployment, inflation worsened. Carter was nearly as effective with the”3 E’s” as he had hoped, and in terms of the economy, he accidentally made things worse. Carter was forced to back off on much of what he had initially proposed, and as a result he appeared to be increasingly weak and ineffective. Carter was slowly coming to understand that DC wouldn’t bend to his will as President, and that he needed to learn the “political scene” in DC, as such Democrats as Hubert Humphrey had long since figured out.
Ironically, the economy grew too fast, which pushed inflation to higher levels, decreased the value of the dollar, and caused a recession that took hold in 1980, an election year. During the 1976 campaign, unemployment was Carter’s main focus, and in trying to reduce unemployment, inflation worsened. Carter was nearly as effective with the”3 E’s” as he had hoped, and in terms of the economy, he accidentally made things worse. Carter was forced to back off on much of what he had initially proposed, and as a result he appeared to be increasingly weak and ineffective. Carter was slowly coming to understand that DC wouldn’t bend to his will as President, and that he needed to learn the “political scene” in DC, as such Democrats as Hubert Humphrey had long since figured out.