Secretary Evans Compares Kerry to Jimmy 'Malaise' Carter

NewsMax.com ^ | 4/7/04 | h Carl Limbacher and NewsMax.com Staff

[Jean S]

Recall that Senate bloviator Teddy Kennedy got loads of media coverage for comparing President Bush to Richard Nixon. We guarantee this next little item will get far less press.

Commerce Secretary Don Evans today compared John Kerry to the presidential disaster Jimmy Carter.

Evans said Carter enacted a corporate tax credit nearly identical to the one Kerry proposed recently and contended it could harm industries and thus employment.

"The last time America experimented with the policies like the ones Senator Kerry advocates were in the 1970s, and most of us remember that those weren't the best of times," Evans told National Federation of Independent Businesses.

"When I hear Senator Kerry and the economic naysayers, the image that comes to mind is of President Carter sitting in the White House blaming the state of the economy on 'malaise.' What they fail to realize is that this is a growing economy in which we must foster job growth and opportunity, not close it off," Evans said.

[dep]

you should have seen kerry on cavuto's show this afternoon. made carter seem lively and articulate by comparison. the only way the democrats have any hope of winning is by cheating and by spreading fear, uncertainty, and doubt the way their pals (and financial contributors) over at microsoft do.

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[zarf]

Carter never used the word malaise in his "malaise" speech.

The press works in mysterious ways.

[dep]

true. but the boston globe's editorial on the subject got cracked in the composing room such that instead of the headline that was ordered -- "we all must pull together" -- a different headline was printed and distributed: "more mush from the wimp."

[CyberAnt]

Fox has mentioned that some dems have now made a stink about the statement from Evans regarding Carter - saying the information was not publically known [or some similarly stupid statement] and now the dems want an investigation over releasing the info.

Sheeeeeeeeesh! November 2 cannot come soon enough!

[jennyp]

Carter never used the word malaise in his "malaise" speech.

Sure he did. I remember watching the speech on TV.

Didn't he?

[jennyp]

Huh, I guess he didn't.

That one speech defined the Carter presidency for me - more so than even the hostage crisis.

[Henchster]

Zarf is right, Carter NEVER used the word in his speech:

From Wikipedia: In 1979, Carter gave a nationally televised address in which he identified what he believed to be a crisis of confidence among the American people. This has come to be known as his "malaise" speech, even though he never actually used the word "malaise" anywhere in the text. Rather than inspiring Americans to action as he had hoped, the speech was perceived by many to express a pessimistic outlook which may have further damaged his re-election hopes. At the time the country was in the worst recession since World War II, with both inflation and unemployment at record levels.

Interesting tidbit that might have saved us from Gore being President:

Among Presidents who served at least one full term, Carter is the only one who never made an appointment to the Supreme Court.

[dalebert]

I saw Kerry on Cavuto and got a big laugh when Cavuto pressed him about how he and his wive spent the money from their Bush tax cut. The look on Kerry's face was priceless.

[wideminded]

the image that comes to mind is of President Carter sitting in the White House blaming the state of the economy on 'malaise.'

One hears occasional claims that Jimmy Carter didn't actually say the word 'malaise'. I just checked. He didn't.

Jimmy Carter's Malaise Speech, 1979

He did however speak of a "crisis of confidence" in the country.

[rogue yam]

Carter never used the word malaise in his "malaise" speech.

Well, he never said "I got my butt whipped by a bunny" either but that doesn't make him a good President!

[KC_Conspirator]

I thought that Carter said there was a "malaise in America" in one of his sweater speeches to the country. What Americans heard was "you are the malaise".