The Carter Comparison

Inflation, high gas prices, foreign policy failures, and the deep mistrust of leadership by American citizens -- these problems and more dogged President Jimmy Carter throughout his one term in the White House. Although faced with difficulties not entirely within his control, Carter committed plenty of unforced errors, none more defining than his address on live TV on June 15, 1979 -- the "malaise" speech. A half century later, President Biden's first two years in office are evoking memories of Carter's struggles. Democrats are said to be whispering that they would prefer someone else run for president in 2024 because Biden's approval ratings are so poor. Is the comparison fair? In this episode, historian and Carter biographer Scott Kaufman takes us back to the late 1970s to see if Biden might be following in Carter's footsteps as a one-term president.