The truth about Jimmy Carter's 1979 'Crisis of Confidence' speech

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  FILE: Former President Jimmy CarterAP

When a big historical event occurs, it’s only natural that people want to be able to say, “I was part of it,” or even, “I made it happen.” Yet such claims must be truthful, because otherwise, the opportunity to truly learn from history is lost. And so that’s why it’s important for me to set the record straight on one Gordon Stewart; for years, now, he has been claiming that he did something that he did not, in fact, do.   Nor, in fact, did Stewart have anything meaningful to do with it.  

To put it bluntly, Stewart is either misremembering or fantasizing about what happened. But either way, I can’t let his incorrect narrative become part of the historical record.

The big historical event in question is what happened in 1979, one of the pivotal years in US history.   That year is significant because of events in the Soviet Union, China, at the Vatican and even in the United States. One of the major events from 1979 is the speech that never dies. I am referring to President Carter’s “crisis of confidence” speech, from July 15, 1979, which is often wrongly mischaracterized as his “malaise” speech – a term never used.

I will, in the future, be writing in-depth about the untold story of how that speech and the effort behind it came about. But for now, I want to correct the record about one aspect of the speech that frankly I should have done four years ago when Kevin Mattson’s was published. It a quite positive revisionist history but, sadly, due to the fact that I never spoke to the author, it lacks the fascinating historical background that led to the speech and its aftermath.

Recently, Zev Chafets’ book, “Roger Ailes: Off Camera” which reveals the story of the man who, in my opinion, is the greatest political strategist of my lifetime, has been the subject of a lot controversy.

One of the most persistent complainers in the book is Gordon Stewart, a former member of the Carter White House speech writing staff and now a local news competitor in Putnam County, New York of Beth and Roger Ailes.

Four years ago, in both print and in interviews, Stewart claimed to be the author of the “crisis of confidence” speech. Indeed, even today, on Wikipedia, that self-sourcing reference site, the writing of the speech is attributed to him and to Rick Hertzberg, President Carter’s chief speechwriter.

The truth is, to anyone who was familiar with it, is that the idea of the speech originated from a series of long memoranda from me to President Carter and meetings in the spring of 1979 which culminated in the speech.

The initial draft of the speech, which would remain as the heart of the speech in final form, was written by myself and Wayne Grandquist of the Office of Management and Budget who assisted me.  Later, my good friend, Rick Hertzberg, the chief White House speechwriter was involved with us in shaping the final text.  

At the Camp David summit, which preceded the speech, it was decided to add on a last section to the speech referring to the energy crisis then facing the country. That “add on,” which was a late addition and quite secondary to the thrust of the speech, was essentially the work of Rick Hertzberg and others.

Four years ago, at the time of the Kevin Mattson book and the many articles commemorating the speech, I was puzzled by Stewart’s incredible claim but not as agitated as I should have been. I am fully willing to take the slings and arrows for that effort. Whatever anyone thinks of it, it was primarily the president’s and my initiative. And it is less pride of authorship than it is my obsession with historical accuracy which compels me to speak out now and set the record straight.

Stewart offers a cautionary tale about the truth. For anyone following his carping attacks on or about Roger Ailes they should view his complaints through the skeptical prism of knowing that on something of great and important historical record he was willing to engage in fantasy and even prevarication for the purpose of self-aggrandizement.

It is with some sadness I feel the need to make this statement. But it does remind me that there is an important and fascinating story that would complete the historical record of the “Crisis of Confidence” speech.

One silver lining to this unfortunate incident is that it is a prod to me to get about the business of fully completing the historical record that only I – and President and Rosalynn Carter -- know in full and some others in part. It is an obligation imposed for no other purpose than to serve history itself.

Patrick Caddell is a Democratic pollster and Fox News contributor. He served as pollster for  President Jimmy Carter, Gary Hart, Joe Biden and others. He is a Fox News political analyst and co-host of "Political Insiders" Sundays on Fox News Channel and Mondays at 10:30 am ET on "FoxNews.com Live."

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Read an excerpt from 'Roger Ailes: Off Camera'

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Boehner: No US debt crisis right now, but it's on the horizon

Published March 17, 2013

FoxNews.com

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  FILE: Dec. 13, 2012: House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, accuses President Obama of not being serious about cutting government spending during a news conference on Capitol Hill, in Washington, D.C.AP

House Speaker John Boehner broke from most Republicans on Sunday when he agreed with President Obama and other Democrats who say the country does not have an immediate debt crisis.

“We do not have an immediate debt crisis,” the Ohio Republican said on ABC’s “This Week.”

However, Boehner said such a crisis is on the horizon and disagreed with Obama about the need to fix the problem now.

“We have one looming because we have entitlement programs that are not sustainable in their current form. They’re going to go bankrupt,” he said. “I would argue that we do need to do something.”

His comments were backed up by fellow House Republican Paul Ryan, chairman of the House Budget Committee.

“We do not have a debt issue right now, but we see it coming. So let’s get ahead of this crisis,” the Wisconsin congressman told CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

Ryan also said he thinks the president is ignoring the fact that the country has a looming problem.

“He knows we have a debt crisis coming,” Ryan said.

Tennessee Republican Sen. Bob Corker told “Fox News Sunday” earlier in the morning that he was “disappointed” and “disheartened” that Democrats are “acting as if the deficit issue is not that important.”

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Obama meets with House Republicans, downplays 'immediate' debt crisis

President Obama met Wednesday with House Republicans in an apparent bid to find consensus on fiscal policy, even as he seemed to antagonize the other side by claiming there's no "immediate crisis in terms of debt." 

His statement would be sharply at odds with a core Republican principle that the debt must be addressed soon -- and which underpinned the cost-cutting GOP budget released Tuesday. The president also acknowledged, in an interview aired earlier in the day, that differences with the GOP might be "too wide" to bridge. 

Still, the president made the rare visit with House Republicans on Capitol Hill as part of what some are calling his charm offensive. The president is making a renewed effort to meet with Republican leaders and rank-and-file lawmakers amid overlapping budget battles and a series of deadlines on the horizon. 

The president is trying to find common ground with Congress in order to halt the sequester spending cuts, which have already taken effect -- as well as pass a stopgap budget bill in order to avert an end-of-the-month government shutdown, pass a bona fide budget for next year and once again raise the debt ceiling. 

A source in the room during the meeting with Republicans told Fox News that Obama told them he's looking for bipartisanship on a range of issues, including fiscal matters, immigration, gun regulation and foreign policy.

One skeptical source told Fox News, "we shall see." Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., though, later emerged saying the president "did himself some good."

Obama went into the meeting with his aides and allies ripping House Republicans for their newly introduced budget, which aims to balance the country's finances in 10 years. In an interview with ABC News, the president declared that there is no "immediate" debt crisis and that "for the next 10 years, it's going to be in a sustainable place." 

That message is likely to rile Republicans, who cite widespread economic warnings in saying the debt -- which is nearing $17 trillion -- must be addressed. 

"We are addressing the most predictable debt crisis in this country's history," Ryan, chairman of the House Budget Committee, said Tuesday while introducing his budget plan. 

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Wednesday that "everybody" recognizes there is a "long-term debt challenge." 

And he said the president "believes that bipartisan cooperation is possible." 

Senate Democrats were unveiling their budget proposal Wednesday afternoon, in response to the House Republican plan introduced Tuesday. 

The Republican plan touts longstanding party proposals to cut funding for domestic programs, repeal Obama's health care reform law and overhaul the Medicare health care program for the elderly. It would balance the federal budget in 10 years with steep spending cuts alone -- a nonstarter with Democrats. 

"Ultimately, it may be that the differences are just too wide," Obama said in the interview broadcast Wednesday. 

If Republicans insist that their only solution is to avoid tax hikes and "gut" entitlement programs, "then we're probably not going to be able to get a deal," he said. 

Obama has continued reaching out to lawmakers in hopes that he can somehow reach a "grand bargain" that reins in deficit spending without hurting the economy and stops Washington from lurching from one self-induced fiscal crisis to another. 

The fence-mending campaign started with an unusual dinner Obama hosted last week at a hotel near the White House for a dozen Senate Republicans and continues Wednesday with his meeting with House Republicans. 

Obama, who also will meet with Senate Republicans and House Democrats on Thursday, has shown a willingness to reduce spending on big entitlement programs but has not agreed to the kinds of changes Ryan and other Republicans have sought. 

Republicans, however, object to any more tax increases, insisting that Obama got his way with tax hikes on top earners in the New Year's Day deal that averted the "fiscal cliff." That last-minute deal prevented automatic tax hikes for all federal income tax payers, but merely delayed $85 billion in across-the-board spending cuts. 

The parties were unable to reach a compromise on a deficit-cutting plan, so the automatic spending cuts began taking effect March 1 and are set to continue through the decade. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Boehner to Obama: You created spending cut crisis, you fix it

House Speaker John Boehner had a simple message Wednesday for President Obama after he used the bully pulpit to blame Republicans for the "meat cleaver" of looming spending cuts: You created it, you fix it. 

"Having first proposed and demanded the sequester, it would make sense that the president lead the effort to replace it," Boehner wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed. 

The "sequester" is the Washington word for the $85 billion in 2013 spending cuts set to hit starting March 1, with more than $1 trillion in cuts on tap over the next decade. Boehner and Obama both agree that the federal budget needs that level of deficit reduction and more, but sharply disagree over how to achieve it. In the absence of any compromise, the set of indiscriminate cuts which would hit the military hardest are set to take hold in less than two weeks. 

The president on Tuesday, surrounded by first responders who are among those who would see cutbacks, called on House Republicans to drop their resistance to tax increases and steer the country away from the budget "meat cleaver." 

But Boehner reminded Obama that the automatic cut idea was originally proffered by the White House during the debt-ceiling talks of 2011. He said Congress "reluctantly accepted the president's demand" and claimed it's now up to Obama to find the escape hatch. 

"So, as the president's outrage about the sequester grows in coming days, Republicans have a simple response: Mr. President, we agree that your sequester is bad policy. What spending are you willing to cut to replace it?" Boehner asked. 

White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer rejected what he described as "revisionist history." The White House acknowledges the "sequester" came from their office, but argues that Congress was on board at the time. The original plan was to tee up cuts so Draconian that Congress would be compelled to strike a deal to replace them -- Congress, though, failed to do so. 

While Boehner blames Democratic resistance to spending and entitlement cuts, Obama blames GOP resistance to closing tax loopholes. 

"(Obama) is willing to make tough choices. Now it's time for the speaker to do the same. The speaker has yet to name one tax loophole he's willing to close. Not one," Pfeiffer said. 

The back-and-forth was further evidence that the two sides are drifting further apart as the deadline nears, and that chances of a deal in the near-term are fading. 

The president spoke Tuesday at the White House, urging Congress to come up with a short-term fix to cancel sweeping cuts to defense and other programs set to hit March 1. 

"These cuts are not smart. They are not fair. They will hurt our economy. They will add hundreds of thousands of Americans to the unemployment rolls," Obama said. "This is not an abstraction -- people will lose their jobs." 

The president ticked off a host of expected repercussions should the $85 billion in cuts for this year take effect. He said Border Patrol, emergency responders, FBI agents, airport controllers and others would all face cutbacks. He said teachers would be laid off by the thousands and America's military would be degraded. 

But Congress is out for the week, effectively leaving one more workweek to reach a deal, or a stopgap, before the deadline. 

Shortly before he spoke, Obama was also dealt a blunt warning by former Republican Sen. Alan Simpson, who co-chaired the president's deficit-reduction commission. 

Simpson warned that Obama "will have a failed presidency" unless he deals "honestly" with entitlements, saying programs like Medicare and Social Security must be dealt with in order to get the country on a sustainable path.   

"If he wants to leave it alone and not deal with those two biggies, forget the rest of the stuff -- he'll have a failed presidency," Simpson told Fox News. 

While Obama says opposition to tax hikes is holding up a deal, Republicans say Democrats' resistance to major changes to entitlements are a big part of the problem. 

Simpson and Erskine Bowles, the former co-chairmen of the president's deficit-reduction commission who for years have been urging Washington to stop kicking the can, got in front of the president early Tuesday morning to push a plan of their own. 

The two fiscal hawks pitched a plan to avert the looming spending cuts -- heavy cuts to defense and other programs that they describe as "abrupt" and "mindless" -- and instead enact a $2.4 trillion deficit reduction plan over 10 years. 

A quarter would come from changes to health care spending, a quarter would come from closing tax loopholes and the rest would come from spending reductions including a stingier adjustment of Social Security's cost of living increases. 

On tax reform, the plan presents a middle ground -- by using the savings from closing loopholes to both lower rates and bring down the deficit. By contrast, Obama has pushed to use that savings mostly to reduce the deficit, while Republicans have pushed to use it to bring down rates. 

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