Even more enlightening is the story of a single word associated with a single speech that would dog and eventually destroy the president who came to office as a response to the corruption of Watergate. I am of course referring to Jimmy Carter and his infamous “Crisis of Confidence” speech in the summer of 1979 that most of you will know as “The Malaise Speech.” Delivered almost thirty years ago, no political speech in my lifetime offers more language lessons for what not to do.
