he was at worst, a little 'tone deaf' with the 'great malaise' speech (he didn't actually use that word), but in a second term, he could have made the largest improvement in the Mideast of all time

"Tone Deaf" depiction is interesting because he did miscalculate that in talking to the American public like adults was not something the American people in general were ready for, they wanted a fairy tale image and that is what we got, but I do remember my mom aghast, she could not believe the country elected somebody like Reagan

no, he talked down to them like children

but, I consider that his low point in an otherwise excellent executive character - and I attribute most of the negative things people remember to things beyond his control - NO president looks good, if the Fed jacks rates that high to deal with a past war's inflation, and Iran was a time bomb from 1953,(although in hind sight, he should have slipped a crack team of US doctors to meet the Shaw in a neutral location, rather than bringing him here

so if you tell the nation what you believe to accurate that is talking down to someone like children

he was being honest, now I was only 10 years old, so maybe if I heard it real time I would of seen it like you did, I have only read the speech

link to entire speech
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/primary-resources/carter-crisis/

"It's clear that the true problems of our Nation are much deeper -- deeper than gasoline lines or energy shortages, deeper even than inflation or recession. And I realize more than ever that as president I need your help. So I decided to reach out and listen to the voices of America."


"Our people are losing that faith, not only in government itself but in the ability as citizens to serve as the ultimate rulers and shapers of our democracy. As a people we know our past and we are proud of it. Our progress has been part of the living history of America, even the world. We always believed that we were part of a great movement of humanity itself called democracy, involved in the search for freedom, and that belief has always strengthened us in our purpose. But just as we are losing our confidence in the future, we are also beginning to close the door on our past.

In a nation that was proud of hard work, strong families, close-knit communities, and our faith in God, too many of us now tend to worship self-indulgence and consumption. Human identity is no longer defined by what one does, but by what one owns. But we've discovered that owning things and consuming things does not satisfy our longing for meaning. We've learned that piling up material goods cannot fill the emptiness of lives which have no confidence or purpose.

The symptoms of this crisis of the American spirit are all around us. For the first time in the history of our country a majority of our people believe that the next five years will be worse than the past five years. Two-thirds of our people do not even vote. The productivity of American workers is actually dropping, and the willingness of Americans to save for the future has fallen below that of all other people in the Western world.

As you know, there is a growing disrespect for government and for churches and for schools, the news media, and other institutions. This is not a message of happiness or reassurance, but it is the truth and it is a warning.

These changes did not happen overnight. They've come upon us gradually over the last generation, years that were filled with shocks and tragedy.

We were sure that ours was a nation of the ballot, not the bullet, until the murders of John Kennedy and Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. We were taught that our armies were always invincible and our causes were always just, only to suffer the agony of Vietnam. We respected the presidency as a place of honor until the shock of Watergate."

What specifically leads you allege Pres. Carter talked down as if to children to the population.

as the two greatest world figures of the second half of the 20th century (1951-2000).

Well said.

Though the Soviet system was so sclerotic it was destined to fall sooner rather than later. After the old guys all died (Brezhnev, Andropov, Chernenko) the USSR couldn't remain in denial any longer and toppled over as soon as Gorbachev gave it a push.

I have little doubt that Brezhnev despised Carter for his emphasis on human rights, however.

That will make them sad.

He did not just support human rights for tactical or strategic reasons. He believed in them.