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1976 all over again
self | 11-05-2008 | jweaks

Posted on 11/05/2008 11:56:58 AM PST by JWinNC

1976 was a great year for a 13 year old boy living in central Georgia. It was hot. The creek out back was cool. Girls were getting less weird and more pretty. My friends and I were within walking distance of the 7-11. “Now-Laters” and a Cherry Coke Icee were the treats of choice if we could get enough change together or beg a dollar from someone’s mom.

That Bicentennial Year had both optimism looking backward and trepidation looking forward. Where were we going as a country? Fresh wounds from Vietnam, the Cold War, Watergate, Agnew’s resignation, Nixon’s resignation, inflation and recession, everything had a feel of uncertainty.

I was a little young to grasp it all, but I knew one thing: the peanut farmer had the answer. James Earl "Jimmy" Carter Jr. had a toothy grin, a down-home southern drawl, and an infectious optimism. The thrust of Carter’s campaign for President was the reorganization of government (i.e. change). He attacked the status quo and offered a quasi-religious healing for the nation's wounds. Carter was very decisive about his run. He got into areas ahead of other candidates and grabbed some early recognition by winning the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary. He traveled thousands of miles and delivered hundreds of speeches.

The media supported Carter. In his book “The Carter Presidency and Beyond,” Lawrence Shoup wrote: "What Carter had that his opponents did not was the acceptance and support of elite sectors of the mass communications media. It was their favorable coverage of Carter and his campaign that gave him an edge, propelling him rocket-like to the top of the opinion polls. This helped Carter win key primary election victories, enabling him to rise from an obscure public figure to President-elect in the short space of 9 months."

Unfortunately for our nation, the change and optimism of the man from Plains did not translate into Presidential success. Energy crises were responded to by calls for conservation, lowering thermostats and wearing sweaters. Government borrowing and spending increased. The federal budget deficit ballooned. The economy suffered from massive inflation, high interest rates, oil shortages, high unemployment, slow economic growth and sharp declines in productivity.

Fortunately this story had a happy ending that can be described in three words: Ronald Wilson Reagan.

That 13 year old boy has learned a lot through the years. I pray for Barak Obama and I pray for this great nation, may God bless. I won’t judge President-Elect Obama before his term even begins, but I can’t help but feel that I‘ve seen this show before. It’s 1976 all over again.

jw


TOPICS: History; Society
KEYWORDS: 1976; carter; obama
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To: RushIsMyTeddyBear

Except this time, the South will win.


21 posted on 11/05/2008 12:13:16 PM PST by RockinRight (I pledge to give Obama the same respect that the Democrats gave Bush.)
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To: JWinNC

Iran had a nice time toying with Jimmy. Now they have another great chance.


22 posted on 11/05/2008 12:15:18 PM PST by MtnClimber (http://www.jeffhead.com/obama/nobamanation-sticker.jpg)
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To: RockinRight
...and hair metal, ripped jeans and big hair all make a comeback?

Did you eat a lot of paint chips when you were a kid?

23 posted on 11/05/2008 12:15:40 PM PST by Tatze (I'm in a state of taglinelessness!)
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To: RockinRight

i’m already seeing alot of old school punk haircuts, supertight ripped jeans, girls with the long sweaters over bright stretch pants with a belt and gogo boots.. the 80s are coming again.


24 posted on 11/05/2008 12:19:02 PM PST by absolootezer0 ( Detroit: we're so bad, even our mayor is a criminal)
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To: tallyhoe
Look if they push the fairness doctrine through, you might not know what is going on. The MSM will not report bad things on Obama and The democratic congress. They are in the tank for them!

Believe it. We'll probably be forced to get our news from soon-too-be-illegal satellite feeds of Al Jazerra or some other horrible-but-not-as-bad-as-our-MSM source

25 posted on 11/05/2008 12:21:58 PM PST by kittycatonline.com
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To: Tatze

No, but I listened to a lot of Ratt.


26 posted on 11/05/2008 12:22:35 PM PST by RockinRight (I pledge to give Obama the same respect that the Democrats gave Bush.)
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To: JWinNC

More like 1917 in Russia. Keep the powder dry ... this time the White Army will defeat the Reds ...


27 posted on 11/05/2008 12:26:32 PM PST by bassmaner (Hey commies: I am a white male, and I am guilty of NOTHING! Sell your 'white guilt' elsewhere.)
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To: JWinNC
I'm the same age as you, and I have the same diagnosis. Kids may not have learned about stagflation in school, but they're about too. Gold should go to about $1500 before this is all over.

You know, when I was thinking about the Carter administration, it dawned on me how often the Left nominates dark horses for president, while the Right tends to nominate war horses.

It reflects the Left's detachment from reality. They're always looking for the next messiah, while the Right is looking for someone with common sense. Experience is a plus for conservatives, but a minus for Leftists, since experience demonstrates that there are no political messiahs.

28 posted on 11/05/2008 12:30:39 PM PST by Aquinasfan (When you find "Sola Scriptura" in the Bible, let me know)
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To: I still care
What are the best casual defences that one can take against inflation on a daily basis?

Gold. Gold was something like $600-700 an ounce back in '78-9.

29 posted on 11/05/2008 12:32:42 PM PST by Aquinasfan (When you find "Sola Scriptura" in the Bible, let me know)
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To: MtnClimber

“Iran had a nice time toying with Jimmy. Now they have another great chance.”

And they have the bomb.

The world has become too dangerous for the “social experiment” of electing an ACORN activist.


30 posted on 11/05/2008 12:33:49 PM PST by Let's Roll (Stop paying ACORN to destroy America! Cut off their government funding!)
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To: tallyhoe
And I'm trying to do my share of helping the MSM tank by not watching their channels and by not re-newing my Time magazine subscription. I've read Time magazine since I was about 13 years old but I'll survive it.

I also find any movie that has people like Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon, etc. abhorent and sickening so I usually don't go to see, rent, or watch those either. Even if the movie sounds good I know I can't enjoy it with those type of characters in the movie.

I also try to avoid their websites.

31 posted on 11/05/2008 12:35:54 PM PST by Freedom Dignity n Honor (There are permanent moral truths.)
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To: Finalapproach29er

“Two years from now will be a good Republican year.”

I had the same thought. It’s also Bill Clinton all over again. Gets in and carries a majority then loses it.


32 posted on 11/05/2008 12:36:21 PM PST by Taichi (Certe, toto, sentio nos in kansate non iam adesse)
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To: JWinNC

1976 and 2008 are worlds apart in similarity.

For one, innocents died long ago. We’re involved in multiple conflicts, the world economy is coming apart at the seams and the President elect is Black.


33 posted on 11/05/2008 12:37:09 PM PST by wolfcreek (I see miles and miles of Texas....let's keep it that way.)
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To: RushIsMyTeddyBear

Uup!


34 posted on 11/05/2008 12:46:30 PM PST by meandog (Wasilla warrior in 2012! But repeal 19th Amendment, women are resonsible for Barry O!)
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To: JWinNC

I hope there will be no Supreme Court justices retiring in the next 2 -4 years.


35 posted on 11/05/2008 1:37:24 PM PST by Infidel Heather (I AM JOE THE PLUMBER!)
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To: Infidel Heather

Oh goodness, I think you can count on that happening. :(

jw


36 posted on 11/05/2008 2:00:56 PM PST by JWinNC (www.anailinhisplace.net)
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To: JWinNC

Nicely expressed.


37 posted on 11/05/2008 2:06:27 PM PST by Weirdad (A Free Republic, not a "democracy" (mob rule))
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To: southlake_hoosier

The other day, before the election, one of my professors and an older, ‘non-traditional’ student in my class said they hadn’t seen an election with so much momentum behind it since 1968, and they were fondly reminiscing about being as young and excited about politics as we were back then.

Although, considering the one post-election celebration I observed contained Beatles music and students talking about civil rights, I think the 60’s just might be making a comeback.


38 posted on 11/05/2008 3:40:05 PM PST by Hyzenthlay (Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?)
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To: AdmSmith; Berosus; Convert from ECUSA; dervish; Ernest_at_the_Beach; Fred Nerks; george76; ...
Unfortunately for our nation, the change and optimism of the man from Plains did not translate into Presidential success. Energy crises were responded to by calls for conservation, lowering thermostats and wearing sweaters. Government borrowing and spending increased. The federal budget deficit ballooned. The economy suffered from massive inflation, high interest rates, oil shortages, high unemployment, slow economic growth and sharp declines in productivity.

39 posted on 11/05/2008 4:46:32 PM PST by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/_______Profile finally updated Saturday, October 11, 2008 !!!)
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To: Hyzenthlay

The boomers out protesting in the 60’s are now grandparents. Many of them have grandkids that voted this week. They share a common enemy and that is why grandparents have a lot of influence on the their grandkids. Not only that, but they are raising most of them.

The 60’s are back.


40 posted on 11/06/2008 5:10:36 AM PST by southlake_hoosier (.... One Nation, Under God.......)
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