Carter sat in front of a fire wearing
Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2025 7:22 am
In his first speech to the nation as president, in February 1977, a cardigan sweater and warned the nation that the energy crisis was permanent, but that it would be tolerable “if we all cooperate and make modest sacrifices.” It was the first time as president he had invoked “sacrifice” but hardly the last; by one count, he used the word 479 times in his presidency, nowhere more notably than in his 1979 speech bemoaning “a crisis of the American spirit” (the “malaise” speech in which that word was never used). Calling on Americans to carpool, turn down the thermostat and use public transportation, Carter declared that “the times demand whatsapp number list sacrifice, a little sacrifice from everyone.”
It was a call repeatedly rejected by his 1980 presidential opponent. Ronald Reagan, the avatar of optimism, found in Carter’s call a bleak — and politically vulnerable — vision.
In his acceptance speech for the Republican nomination, Reagan criticized Democrats who “say that the United States has had its day in the sun; that our nation has passed its zenith. They expect you to tell your children that the American people no longer have the will to cope with their problems; that the future will be one of sacrifice and few opportunities. My fellow citizens, I utterly reject that view.”
It was a call repeatedly rejected by his 1980 presidential opponent. Ronald Reagan, the avatar of optimism, found in Carter’s call a bleak — and politically vulnerable — vision.
In his acceptance speech for the Republican nomination, Reagan criticized Democrats who “say that the United States has had its day in the sun; that our nation has passed its zenith. They expect you to tell your children that the American people no longer have the will to cope with their problems; that the future will be one of sacrifice and few opportunities. My fellow citizens, I utterly reject that view.”