Guest columnist Sarah Vowell thinks that George Bush should own up to the terrible state that America is in and that like Jimmy Carter, he should just tell us the terrible truth.
The Speech the President Should Give
Of course, Ms. Vowell thinks that times are bad. Let's compare shall we?
Inflation - Carter era: 11-14% Bush era: 2-3%
Unemployment - Carter era: 6-8% (and going up) Bush era: 5-6% (and going down)
Interest Rates - Carter era: 18% Bush era: 3% (and that's high)
Budget Deficit - Carter era: 2.5-3.0% Bush era: 3.5% of GDP (could be better, but not terrible in comparison and already closer to 3%)
Foreign Affairs - Carter era: Radical Muslims hold Americans hostage. Bush era: Americans hold Radical Muslims in prisons in their own countries (and Cuba)
Nuclear threat - Carter era: America threatened by agressive Soviet Union with thousands of nuclear warheaeds, constant worry about Mutual Assured Destruction. Bush era: No other superpowers, worry that someone muight have the capability to deliver a dirty bomb, maybe.
Cost of Oil per Barrel - Carter era: $94 in 2005 dollars Bush era: $60 dollars
I think the author is this Sarah Vowell who if the age is reported correctly would be 5 years younger than me. That would mean that she would have no real political recollection of what life was like in the Carter era. Which mean that her reminiscing of life in the Carter era as a 7 year old is just a bunch of B.S.
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2 comments:
Howard ... quite an analysis! I'm impressed. Thanks for the education!
Erik Klein
Maybe I remember being miserable during the Carter era because that's when I moved to Rockland which was a major strees for me at 11-12 years old.
Remember when everyone had those "Khomeini Sucks" stickers. Well, OK, I remember seeing one once. :-)
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