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摘要
摘要
In 1979, in an effort to right our national malaise, Jimmy Carter delivered a speech that risked his reputation and the future of the Democratic Party, changing the course of American politics for the next twenty-five years.
At a critical moment in Jimmy Carter's presidency, he gave a speech that should have changed the country. Instead it led to his downfall and ushered in the rise of the conservative movement in America. In "What the Heck Are You Up To, Mr. President?" Kevin Mattson gives us a behind-the-scenes look at the weeks leading up to Carter's "malaise" speech, a period of great upheaval in the United States: the energy crisis had resulted in mile-long gas lines, inciting suburban riots and violence; the country's morale was low and Carter's ratings were even lower. The administration, wracked by its own crises, was in constant turmoil and conflict. What came of their great internal struggle, which Mattson conveys with the excitement of a political thriller, was a speech that deserves a place alongside L incoln's Gettysburg Address or FDR's First Inaugural. Prominent politicians on both sides of the aisle play important roles, including Carter, Vice President Walter Mondale, speechwriter Hendrik Hertzberg, Ronald Reagan, and Ted Kennedy. Like the best of narrative political writing, Mattson provides great insight into the workings of the Carter White House and the moral crisis that ushered in a new, conservative America.
评论 (5)
出版社周刊评论
The 1979 "national malaise" speech that defined Jimmy Carter's presidency-though he never used the word "malaise"-gets its due in this contrarian homage. Ohio University historian Mattson (When America Was Great) considers the speech-which expressed Carter's own crisis of confidence, bemoaned Americans' loss of faith in government and deplored the country's selfishness and consumerism-to be a thoughtful response to the problems of the day that initially won public acclaim, before political opponents caricatured it as a gloomy scolding. Following the speech from its bizarre provenance in an apocalyptic memo by pollster Pat Cadell through its honing during a messianic "domestic summit," the author sets his colorful study against a recap of the gasoline shortages, inflation and Me Decade angst that provoked it. He interprets it as a tantalizing road not taken: with its prescient focus on energy, limits and sacrifice, its "humility and honesty," it was, the author says, the antithesis of the Reagan era's sunny optimism. Mattson makes Carter's maligned speech a touchstone for a rich retrospective and backhanded appreciation of the soul-searching '70s. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
《书目》(Booklist)书评
In 1979, the energy crisis had the U.S. in its ever-tightening grip. The country's dependence on foreign oil and Iran's decision to turn off the spigot led to long lines at the gas pumps, displays of public anger, and panic. The country's turmoil was reflected in President Carter's cabinet, as its members wrangled fiercely over what to do. Mattson, a professor of contemporary history, reveals the behind-the-scenes machinations at the White House that led to the unprecedented summit Carter held at Camp David with ordinary citizens and leaders. This summit would culminate in Carter's remarkable speech on America's crisis of confidence (dubbed the malaise speech by reporters), which Mattson feels has been unfairly dismissed as a failure. Mattson reveals how Carter's initial poll numbers actually rose directly after the speech. However, Mattson concludes that it was Carter's purging of certain cabinet members just days later that scuttled whatever goodwill the speech had achieved. Still, Mattson makes a cogent argument that the speech's words represented some of the best that Carter offered the nation. --Eberle, Jerry Copyright 2009 Booklist
Choice 评论
Mattson's engaging tome explores President Carter's infamous 1979 "Malaise" speech, locating it within the anxious political, economic, and cultural currents that defined the US in the late 1970s. Mattson (contemporary history, Ohio Univ.) argues that the speech, which was initially well received, was a frank assessment of American life that nevertheless was far less despondent in both substance and form than was subsequently portrayed. The ridicule of Carter that the speech would soon inspire thus had less to do with the speech itself, which never employed the word "malaise," and more to do with nontextual factors. Prominent among these were Carter's ham-fisted purge of administration officials two days after the speech was delivered, which led to a portrayal of the president as unsteady; Carter's failure to decisively respond to the hostage crisis in Iran in the fall of 1979; and especially the growing strength of the New Right coalition in national politics. Refracted through these events, the "Malaise" speech came to stand for presidential and authorial weakness, rather than for the national frailty that it sought to diagnose. Mattson's book is a learned, accessible rendering of a critical junction in US political history. Summing Up: Recommended. General readers, upper-division undergraduate students, graduate students, and research faculty. J. R. Dudas University of Connecticut
Kirkus评论
Mattson (Contemporary History/Ohio Univ.; Rebels All!: A Short History of the Conservative Mind in Postwar America, 2008, etc.) presents a bright snapshot of a nation in flux. The election of squeaky-clean Jimmy Carter in 1976 was in part a reflection of America's desire to shed the overwhelming feelings of distrust and negativity that surrounded Watergate and Vietnam. In his inaugural address, the president humbly asserted that even if we couldn't solve all of the country's problems, at least, "in a spirit of individual sacrifice for the common good, we must simply do our best." But by the summer of 1979, the country seemed to be imploding in the face of a gas crisis, resulting in long lines at the pump, trucker strikes and violence. The nation's confidence plummeted and calls for "inspirational and innovative leadership" remained unheeded. Starting on July 4, Carter holed up at Camp David for ten days, emerging with a legendary addressdelivered on national television on the evening of July 15that would both galvanize and deeply cleave the country. Mattson, who takes his title from a July 5 headline in the New York Post, sifts through the varied media coverage of the event to isolate this crucial moment in America's recognition of itself. In Carter's speechlargely engineered by speechwriter Hendrik Hertzbergthe president warned about a moral crisis affecting the United States, acknowledging the "wounds" of the past and the loss of faith in public institutions. He also enumerated action for the energy crisis and how the country could work together to pull out of it. Yet despite the outpouring of support for the speech, the forces of the GOP's Moral Majorityespecially Ronald Reaganwere gathering strength against Carter. Mattson fully renders the motley array of Carter's "Georgia Mafia," along with countless details of this turbulent era in American history. A galloping history full of interesting characters and significant moments. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
《图书馆杂志》(Library Journal )书评
Mattson (contemporary history, Ohio Univ.; Rebels All!) revisits the 1970s, the Carter presidency, and the major television address that has come to symbolize Carter's term in office-the "malaise" speech of July 15, 1979. In terms of content and delivery, it was an effective performance. The author reminds us that Carter never uttered the word malaise in his address and that his popularity actually rose after delivering it. Moreover, Mattson argues that the content of the speech still resonates with ongoing concerns over consumer wants, the nation's dependence on oil, and a loss of trust in government. Unfortunately, after delivering this key speech, Carter undermined it by an unexpected mass purge of his cabinet. Carter's image became that of the amateur blunderer, allowing Ronald Reagan, a smiling and friendly grandfather on a horse, to ride into Washington to lead the nation. Verdict With background to the speech that is itself fascinating to read, this book becomes a page-turner for those interested in the decadent disco decade, Jimmy Carter himself, and the modern presidency.-William D. Pederson, Louisiana State Univ., Shreveport (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
目录
| Introduction: "What the Heck Are You Up To, Mr. President?" | p. 1 |
| 1 Diagnosing a Nation's Heart of Glass (April 1979) | p. 13 |
| 2 Making Friends and Enemies in a Time of Crisis (May 1979) | p. 56 |
| 3 "The Worst of Times" (June 1979) | p. 97 |
| 4 "One of My Best" (July 1979) | p. 129 |
| 5 The Speech Becomes a "Turning Point" (July 1979 January 1981) | p. 167 |
| Epilogue: In Dreams There Begin No Responsibilities | p. 196 |
| Appendix: The Speech "A Crisis of Confidence" (July 15, 1979) | p. 207 |
| Acknowledgments | p. 219 |
| Notes | p. 221 |
| Bibliographic Note | p. 247 |
| Index | p. 253 |