"To what purpose are powers limited, and to what purpose is that limitation committed to writing,
if these limits may, at any time, be passed by those intended to be restrained?"
-- Chief Justice John Marshall, Marbury v. Madison, 1803

We’re All Disco Dancers Now

by Hal_10000

Does Bush’s speech today remind anyone of Carter’s malaise speech?  Tell me which quote is from which speech without peeking.

Quote 1:

I want to talk to you right now about a fundamental threat to American democracy.

I do not mean our political and civil liberties. They will endure. And I do not refer to the outward strength of America, a nation that is at peace tonight everywhere in the world, with unmatched economic power and military might.

The threat is nearly invisible in ordinary ways. It is a crisis of confidence. It is a crisis that strikes at the very heart and soul and spirit of our national will. We can see this crisis in the growing doubt about the meaning of our own lives and in the loss of a unity of purpose for our Nation.

The erosion of our confidence in the future is threatening to destroy the social and the political fabric of America.

Quote 2:

Here’s what the American people need to know: that the United States government is acting; we will continue to act to resolve this crisis and restore stability to our markets. We are a prosperous nation with immense resources and a wide range of tools at our disposal. We’re using these tools aggressively.

...

This uncertainty has led to anxiety among our people. And that is understandable—that anxiety can feed anxiety, and that can make it hard to see all that is being done to solve the problem. The federal government has a comprehensive strategy and the tools necessary to address the challenges in our economy. Fellow citizens: We can solve this crisis—and we will.

Now read the Carter speech and notice the eerie similarities to what is being proposed today—by both parties.

One of these days, I’ll have to write up a list of 100 reasons why Jimmy Carter was a better President than George W. Bush.  #100 I’ll steal from O’Rourke’s 100 comparisons of Carter to Clinton:  “Jimmy Carter gave us Ronald Reagan; George Bush gave us ... Barack Obama.”

Comments

Posted by dwex on 10/10/08 at 12:41 PM from

I do not mean our political and civil liberties.

“despite everything I’ve done in the last seven years to try to eliminate those for you”.

As I said earlier - you are voting for either the tree-hugging socialists or the bible-thumping socialists. On economic policy, the parties are indistinguishable.

Posted by on 10/10/08 at 05:44 PM from

I didn’t peek, but I think “a nation that is at peace tonight everywhere in the world” kind of gives it away.

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