Living through Jimmy Carter’s malaise was formidable. Today, however, may be worse. The national mood is dark and ugly. People who are normally polite to each other are downright rude. Even in an unseasonably warm summer, people seem cold to one another. An April poll from the Wall Street Journal found that 69 percent of Americans think the country is on the wrong track.
On the road, drivers take their lives in their hands, fighting for any tiny advantage, cutting people off in parking lots, racing to red lights, and making hand gestures at the slightest provocation. Road rage is the norm, not the exception.
Church attendance is way down. We are losing our faith in God and instead worshiping the false idols of transgenderism and DEI. Liberals have always been angry and power-crazed, to be sure, but now their megalomania has spread to much of the general population.
It wasn’t always so. I have studied the era of the 1930’s, 40’s, and 50’s and have written frequently about those decades. In conversations with my 92-year-old mother about this current mood swing into the depths, she agrees. She grew up during the Great Depression, her mother cooking on a hot plate in a one-room apartment. One Thanksgiving, they had peanut butter sandwiches.
Her two older brothers went off to war, and her mother was a Rosie the Riveter, and they made many sacrifices. They had Victory Gardens, rationed goods, and went without. Yet, they were happy and optimistic like all Americans.
The difference was leadership and faith. FDR projected religious optimism, as did Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan.
Jimmy Carter, on the other hand, was a downer. He eschewed earthly pleasures. This, combined with emerging dour economic news, left the country in a state of unease in the 1970s. By 1980, the demoralization complete, America was ready for Reagan’s sunny optimism. It was part of his new, growth-oriented ideology.
Both Presidents Bush never understood the Bully Pulpit, and Barack Obama was too busy preening for the cameras to ever comprehend. The Egotist in Chief left no footprints, an unblemished field of snow. He was skilled in the study of himself, writing not one, but two autobiographies by the age of forty; our first Facebook president.
These presidents left no positive mark on the country.
And now, Joe Biden. A good case can be made that he is the nation’s worst president ever. His legacy? His presidential library will remain unbuilt. He’ll have a presidential bookmobile instead. Nobody will ever quote him, and a planned book about him was canceled due to a lack of interest.
We are living and suffering through the disaster of Biden and Kamala Harris. We have to suffer under their radicalism. Their anti-Americanism. Their dissolution of hope.
Some have called Biden evil. I am not a theologian; I will have to take their word for it.
But the point can easily be taken. We are stuck in the Harris/Biden malaise. By their design, demoralized people are easier to control.
We need the sunny optimism and hope for the future as we had with Reagan, Kennedy, and FDR. God help us if Kamala wins. She will continue the malaise, doing to the national morale what Dr. Kevorkian did to the patients in his waiting room.
Craig Shirley is a biographer of President Ronald Reagan and a presidential historian.
Sunny optimism??? . . . NOT if ANOTHER COMMUNIST DEMOCRAT is “Elected” President! After the last election was SUCCESSFULLY “STOLEN” by the DEMOCRATS, they now have a proven gameplan to do it again because I don’t see where Republicans have addressed this issue. Bah, humbug!
Not an accident, planned the whole time. We are losing our faith in God and instead worshiping the false idols of transgenderism and DEI. The democrats want to replace God with their liberal socialist indoctrination of the minds of the people. Since 2008 when the government was attacked from with-in by marxist communist trained democrats it has worsened. VOTE them ALL away, please SAVE our children and the Republic.
I’ll be happy just to break Biden and Harris. And the space case Walz.
Will be interesting to see how the election goes. People need to get out and exercise their right of voting. The Demos will not make it easy and will fight unto 6 Jan 2025 and then we will see possible consequences of rioting and possibly a civil war. The Adversary would be very happy for this nation to be in turmoil so their agenda could be achieved.
What about President Trump??? We HAD the ULTIMATE sunny Optimist in Trump!!! And we will have it AGAIN!!! when he’s re-elected in Nov! Two more things. BO, Bushes, LBJ and and Clinton LEFT THEIR MARKS: War, War, War, Left, Left, Left, INFLATION!!, New World Order, and Dem DEEP State!!! O-biden is Evil because he is trying hard to UNDO our very Constitution (while pretending to be delirious) and turn America into a Soviet Russia, Venezuela – and selling us out to China! You don’t have to be a theologian to see it! In less than 4 yrs, Obiden has turned ‘the Land of the Free’ into an antisemitic hell-hole! run by thugs and taken over by Terrorists! who HATE us! That’s EVIL! I don’t know HOW you could leave President Trump OFF that list you gave us there! He has done MORE of all the things you SAY you WANT, than ANY other President! He was and is a ‘get down to business’ President, NOT full of ‘fluff’ and ‘pomp’. He was handed a Mess to clean up! And he DID IT in less than a YEAR!!! And we were enjoying the greatest Economy Ever in the U.S.! when Covid hit and Deep State Fed ‘Health Officials’ literally SHUT DOWN every business and everyONE in the U.S. in the World Pandemic that then was prolonged beyond what it really WAS by those same ‘figureheads’. And NOW we know that Pandemic was PLANNED ahead of time – just to affect and influence the 2020 Elections!!! pro-Dem!!! which it FAILED AT, but Dems ALSO PLANNED (and carried out) a MASSIVE ELECTION INTERFERENCE campaign to defraud the Public of its Vote (which could ONLY have been carried out with a Public that can’t go outside!, and replaced it with a ‘computer program’ that, in the wrong hands (ahem! Dems!), had the innate capability to be corrupt by ‘changing the vote tabulations’ manually, and OTHER similar ‘irregularities’ that aren’t NEEDED just to COUNT VOTES!!! but it did it anyway. There’s SO MUCH WRONG with this article. I can’t believe AMAC put it out! But what we LEARNED in 2020 about Elections is that we NEED Voter ID Laws, and the Voting Rolls cleaned up, and we should NEVER AGAIN do ‘mail-in ballots’, but ONLY IN-PERSON, SAME DAY elections that provide real-time voting results, that are all completed by the end of Election Day – like we USED to have! EVERY YEAR until Al Gore’s failed election he contested 5 times! And NOW the U.S. is WORSE than every other 3rd world country!!! as far as elections go, thanks to Dems and all their many corrupt strategies that have RUINED our blessed Land!
At least with the Carter Malaise, there was a light at the end of the tunnel that doesn’t exist today. The deck is stacked against Trump before AND after the election, win or lose. Does anyone believe another Trump term won’t be more impeachments, indictments, false conspiracies, and press lies?
The tragedy of our time. However, in the past the “vote” could change the tide of destruction created by the progressives (communist one and all).
Today election fraud is front and center. May the Good Lord have Mercy on us, one and all.
If the election isn’t stolen, Trump should win. Yes, we will see the same BS tactics that the liberals pulled during Trump‘s first presidency; leaked lies, impeachment proceedings, and federal judges blocking Trump’s agenda. However, Trump is the only one who has a pair of kahunas to withstand the attacks and he will not back down with his efforts to MAGA. He STILL succeeded in making our country feared and respected by our adversaries, as well as bringing financial strength to America. I will happily relive the Trump presidency turmoil instead of living through another liberal administration that hates America and wants to destroy it. Vote Trump, and may God have mercy on our nation.
If the malaise is so bad why are half the people polled still vote for kameltoe? The dems don’t care about America. They just want the power. When America finally realized or was it orchestrated by the dems that ole Joe was going to lose to Trump they got rid of him. Not because it was good for the country. No it was bad for the dems losing their power. He resigned for the good of the party not because it was good for the country which he has destroyed with Kameltoe at his side. And now they are trying to push Harris/WALZ TICKET down our throats. They have no platform, no plan except flip flopping and plagiarizing Trump. Playing to their base and destroying America. They are flip flopping now who is to know they won’t turn back after the election to their old communist ways. Ole Joe was bad for America but the MSM propaganda machine has been busy installing their puppet with money from the elites. With all the money they raised they are buying votes and creating more millionaire judges, DA’s and politicians to keep the power forever. If Trump loses, america loses and we will be living in a communist country where freedom of speech, assembly and the right to bear arms will be forever banned. Our constitution will be abolished and they will rule with absolute power. Depopulation will go on. Kameltoe even said so years ago. This election is not about dems or reps but survival of America our freedoms and rights. This might be censored again like my comment was yesterday. This is the America we live in. Where one side rules over the other side. Free exchange of thoughts and opinions is seen as misinformation or disinformation. No what is going on is tyranny by intimidation. And the democrats are the destroyers of America that we know.
You summed it up well Craig!
And, I still believe that Obama’s pledge to “Fundamentally Change” this country has hit the mark as well…
This article quotes The Wall Street Journal,as stating the 69 percent of Americans polled, believe America IS “on the wrong track”. That is probably a factual polling result. The facts,always never align with the Marxist ( today’s named Democrats) and the Marxist controlled Fake News Media,in all of its forms.A Soverign Nation does not exist without CLOSED borders. FACT. On November 5th, there are simply two choices to vote on. Regaining America as a Nation,or to become another full fledged Marxist Communist Facist Country,without boarders. People who do not actually CAST a vote automatically vote FOR the Marxist.
69% of people think America is on the wrong track..probably higher than that. BUT, somehow, the Democrat marxist liars keep “winning.” It is all the MSM’s lack of factual reporting? Hard to believe its only that. There are enough conservative news outlets hanging in out there to HOPEFULLY make a difference this election. I am normally an optimistic person, but not these days. I hate that. Not funny, but true.
This article does seem to capture the current sentiment of many who feel betrayed, and low on both morale AND expectations.
As abysmal as the Biden experience has been, we now see an even more disturbing picture in his would-be successor, who is at least as dishonest, and even more detached from the needs of Americans, than Biden himself…
We need President Trump to recapture his previous mood and rythm, minus all of the rambling, and focus on how we, as a nation, will stop circling the bathtub drain… and PREVAIL over this socialist phony who barely knows what day it is, and chooses to laugh her way down the road to our ruin.
Excellent article and to quote the sixties, “Right On!” As a former guide at the Reagan Home in Dixon I saw first hand the incredible impression this great leader made on people. Their faces lit up as they recalled how much better America and life was under his leadership. Yes, there are folks who disagree with Reagan and what he stood for, but those are the folks who mourned the fact that the free ride Democrats offered was done away with and personal responsibility was, once again, regarded as essential to a successful, prosperous life. God help us if the foolishness of the “Demoncrats” continues another four years. We might as well surrender and close up shop now!
biden was the worse bad news to ever occupy the WH. The news is promoting the Kackling Fool that is VP! Every where you turn democrats are promoting the stance that “orange man is bad” The Republicans are not helping matters any by not standing up for their party. They have allowed the democrats to taint this country with outrageous policies Promising things that have already bankrupted this country. We are over 35 Trillion dollars in dept. Illegals have been give a free pass to almost everything. Time to close the bank. Time to say NO!
Proverbs 29:2
“When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn”.
This scripture says it all. When wicked people are in control, there is no joy. When you see wicked rulers lying, cheating, abusing power, misusing tax dollars and embarrassing our nation on the world stage, again, there is no joy, and no reason for celebration. Under the rule of wicked rulers there is a common distrust with disappointment and disillusionment towards those destroying what others worked very hard to build.
Heaven help us if enough voters think they are seeing sunny optimism when they see Kamala’s wide smile everywhere she goes.
With half the population probably voting for the socialists Harris/Walz because the press and democrats constant pounding of Trump. Most people are not paying attention to the danger of electing anti-american people to positions of power. If anyone thinks these clowns that are running things gives a crap about anybody but themselves you are dreaming. SAD!
The appointed pair as well as Joe Biden are are all Marxist/communist and that is the cause of the malaise.
We have to change it but it will take a new administration and the end of lawfare against conservatives! People are tired of it!
Cheerleader Harris isn’t the answer to ending the Biden disaster regarding the economy, the need to restore the middle class, liberty and rule of law. We need vast improvement on the field of play. We need effective strategy and execution, not louder cheers.
What Malaise its Pure Comedy
Some honest info from a Democrat who lived through the Obama, Trump, and failed Biden presidencies! truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/112991068512008750
Sunny hope and optimism of FDR? You need to do your homework Lady! Don’t have that much time for it here.
Here in Wisconsin the Mega Packs are hot with all the lies for Harris like she has done so much since being in office Biden should just leave now since this country is so screwed up from him now is VP she has people telling every one she will save this country but it will be heading for communist rule with the help from these super packs putting in millions into ads for her. It could happen here the US could become a communist country with Dems heading the program.
We have allowed our government, educational and corporate leaders to be occupied by socialists and globalists who wish to gut the core American values from this country. No longer can civil discourse be pursued because those differences are labeled and branded with names like Hitler, homophobe and other derogatory names.
Thank you. Craig Shirley, for a truthful statement!???????? May God bless us with a new hope with rays of light for our good and our wonderful USA as a we strive again to honor you as The Eternal Giver of All that is Good and for Your Glory????????????????
Biden is the ultimate anti-American ever to occupy the White House. No one can name one thing he has done for the American people – prove me wrong? He literally said there is nothing special about Americans and that he could not devine what an American is – how did anyone vote for him after he said that!
Beat the drum for Trump
Just another opinion piece, this nostalgia for the 1940’s. And honoring Ronald Reagan like no other. Biden was elected for one big reason..keeping Trump out of office. However his administrations performance in adverse conditions have been pretty solid. “Biden Malaise” isn’t the problem as much as the consistent efforts to divide and to instill fear and unrest. Like this article.
Just another opinion piece, this nostalgia for 1945.
I see that AMAC has gone from “AARP For Dummies” to “AARP For Looneys”…
Tremendous article, speaking the TRUTH!
Every President was mentioned except Donald Trump. And she calls herself an Historian.
Get yourselves off social media, cable news, etc. All these people want is clicks, viewers, subscribers, book sales. etc etc, getting you stirred up in a frenzy is exactly how it’s accomplished
I think we would agree that the malaise is SO much worse now because we are finally seeing just how evil our own government has been since WWII and Americans were deceived and lied to for decades. We have been naive to think that our government cared about us and had our best interest at heart. Now their evil deeds are being exposed everyday.
We now have a Communist Democrat party that is so bold as to openly be trying to destroy everything good about our country and promote everything evil. This party openly tries to destroy any and all opponents of their communist ideology, tries to assassinate their political opponent, and allows invasion of our country. So yes, we are suffering from a malaise much worse than anything Carter brought on us.
We have had decades of a string of bad leaders since Reagan, only broken by President Trump. This is the first time in my life I actually believe we could have a civil war, and I do believe it would be necessary to save America.
This is the first time we are living with insane leaders who live in a clown world. The first administration to have trannies in charge. The first time we have a justice system and law enforcement that arrests and imprisons law-abiding citizens for peacefully protesting or speaking out at meetings or on social media. The first time in my life we are being censored and accused of hate speech or misinformation.
I love President Trump but only God can save us now!
I have watched Kamala for twelve years as a resident of California. She has never accomplished anything that favors the citizens of California. She is a Flake and a Deadbeat without any redeeming character traits. None.
She is totally self centered without consideration for other people-a genuine bigot with aspirations of authoritarianism once in power,
Prove me wrong
Kamala sounds cheerful and “joyful”, but her actions while vice president have been anything but. She will smile and laugh while bringing disaster to our country. I hope voters aren’t fooled, but they may be because she is a relief from Biden.