Carter’s popularity and his presidency were essentially destroyed. He apparently didn’t understand rule seven of effective communication: speak aspirationally. He never realized that it is better to smile through the downpour secure in the knowledge that a rainbow is on the way than to frown and complain about the weather. And the public realized, malaise or no malaise, that he was not the man who was capable of leading them out of the storm. Playing to weakness rather than strength, Carter revealed his own crippling weakness. And the American electorate rewarded the optimism of Ronald Reagan
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