Jimmy Carter couldn't keep his hands still. As he began to speak to the nation on the evening of July 15, 1979, one hand lay on top of another on the Resolute Desk. But soon he was pumping his fist, chopping the air in front of his chest. He had a confession of sorts to make: He had been planning something else, yet another speech about the energy crisis, his fifth, when he realized that he just couldn't do it. He changed his plans, he ripped the script up, and he would now speak to a 'deeper' problem, 'deeper than gasoline lines or energy shortages, deeper even than inflation or recession.' The news of Carter's death today at the age of 100 will no doubt resurrect the memory of this infamous address, the 'malaise' speech, as it came to be known'though Carter himself never used the word. America was down. Its people were losing the ability to connect with one another and commit to causes bigger than themselves, such as overcoming their dependence on foreign oil. This moment, in...
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