Mitt Romney is going retro with his latest attack on President Obama, comparing the current White House occupant to the modern patron saint of the struggling presidency, Jimmy Carter.
The latest line jumps off an Obama interview with Scott MacFarlane WSB-TV on Thursday, in which the president answered a question that directly referenced Carter’s famous 1979 “malaise” speech, which warned of a “crisis of confidence” in America.
“People can’t sell their houses, can’t refinance. They’re in a constant state of panic about losing their jobs,” MacFarlane asked the president. “Even the fun stuff, the sports leagues are locked out. Is America stressed out and in a state of malaise?”
Replied Obama: “There’s no doubt America is stressed out. We just went through the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. That’s why it’s so important for us to get this thing settled now.”
Romney, noticing that today is the 32nd anniversary of Carter’s speech, took the interviewer’s bait and offered up Obama’s answer as a historical echo in an e-mail to reporters.
“Yes, Mr. Obama, Americans are stressed – stressed about rising unemployment, falling home prices, and an economy that isn’t working for them,” he said in a statement. “Not since Jimmy Carter have we seen such failed economic policies. Who would have guessed we’d look upon the Carter administration as the good old days?”
A few fun facts about the famed Carter speech. He never actually said “malaise,” the word that become inextricably associated with the speech for all time. The presidential address also was a big hit in the short term, giving Carter an immediate bump in the polls. It only became a liability later as opponents used it to portray Carter as overwhelmed by the nation’s myriad problems.
