Carter framed the 1979 crisis as invisible, a crisis of confidence

Evidence

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 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. — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 761

Categorization

• XREF: Carter’s ‘malaise’ speech connects to the book’s larger theme of perceived threat driving ideological shifts, and to Any’s broader interest in how leaders narrate collective anxiety.