NYT OPINION: The Wisdom and Prophecy of Jimmy Carter’s ‘Malaise’ Speech
By David French
Section: Opinion
Source: New York Times
Published Date: February 23, 2023 at 02:00AM
Carter, however, discerned a deeper problem. America had a wounded heart. The president believed it suffered from a “crisis of the spirit.” The speech was among the most unusual in presidential history. The word that has clung to it, “malaise,” was a word that didn’t even appear in the text. It was offered by his critics and has since become something close to official history. Everyone above a certain age knows immediately and precisely the meaning of the phrase “the malaise speech.”
By David French
Section: Opinion
Source: New York Times
Published Date: February 23, 2023 at 02:00AM
The irony is that it is better attuned to our time than to its own.
On July 15, 1979, President Jimmy Carter emerged from days of isolation to deliver the most important and memorable address of his life. Carter had canceled vacation plans and spent more than a week cloistered at Camp David, where he met with a “steady stream of visitors” who shared their hopes and fears about a nation in distress, most immediately thanks to another in a series of energy crises.Carter, however, discerned a deeper problem. America had a wounded heart. The president believed it suffered from a “crisis of the spirit.” The speech was among the most unusual in presidential history. The word that has clung to it, “malaise,” was a word that didn’t even appear in the text. It was offered by his critics and has since become something close to official history. Everyone above a certain age knows immediately and precisely the meaning of the phrase “the malaise speech.”
Read more at: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/23/opinion/jimmy-carter-malaise-speech.html
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