The threat is nearly invisible in ordinary ways. It is a crisis of confidence. It is a crisis that strikes at the very heart and soul and spirit of our national will. We can see this crisis in the growing doubt about the meaning of our own lives and in the loss of a unity of purpose for our Nation.

The erosion of our confidence in the future is threatening to destroy the social and the political fabric of America.

Address to the Nation on Energy and National Goals: “The Malaise Speech” | The American Presidency Project

  1. That erosion of confidence has been disastrous in the years since.