What the Heck Are You Up To, Mr. President?: Jimmy Carter, America's "Malaise," and the Speech That Should Have Changed the Country

""What the Heck Are You Up To, Mr. President?"" is on the ROROTOKO list of cutting-edge intellectual nonfiction. Professor Mattson's book interview ran here as the cover feature on February 8, 2010.

I randomly picked up this book a while ago. It took me some time to get to it, but once I did I couldn't put it down. I did not know much about Carter's malaise speech (I was only nine at the time), but after reading this book I am convinced it is one of the most prophetic (if politically disastrous) Presidential speeches in American history. The book is very well written and full of fun anecdotes about he 1970s (being a child at the time, it made clearer some of my memories about the time). More importantly, it provides an insightful analysis of the economic, political, and cultural environment of the era, and shows how this period ushered in the Reagan years (and everything he stood for). It also has an ominously subliminal message to it. Without directly making the case, Mattson (whom I'd never heard of before) makes it clear that, with 30 years of retrospect (and one massive economic crisis later), Carter's message about what was (is) wrong with America was bang on. The only problem was that the American people didn't like the message, so they shot the messenger. I know that history is beginning to look more favourably on the Carter administration, and judge him as a President who was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Certainly, my impression of him has improved enormously after reading this book (even though it is not written as a vindication of Carter). I would argue that Carter was too honest, too moral, too perspicacious--perhaps simply too good--for America.

I could not have enjoyed this book more. I am no fan of Jimmy Carter, and I was wary in approaching the book. But I am glad I did. Like or loathe Carter, this book is balanced and impartial. If you like Carter, there are things to like, and if you dislike Carter, there are things to confirm your opinion. What a remarkable thing a balanced book really is. This book is fun reading on many levels. What appealed to me the most was the review of the popular culture of the 70s-----from movies, to books, to disco. I had forgotten a great deal of what happened, including the incredible gas riot in Pennsylvania, and the disco riot. Both riots are described well, and make fascinating reading. You find yourself wondering how in the world it happened. I had forgotten just how serious the gas shortage was, and how long it went on. Some of the things that went on in the gas lines were truly bizarre----like the woman who put pillows in dress to make people think she was pregnant . There are other strange tales of gas lines---including the liquor store which gave free beer to those who were waiting to gas their cars. All of it is fascinating reading. I recall the famous "malaise speech," even though Carter did not use the word "malaise." I recall the backlash as well, and the story of the rabid rabbit attacking Jimmy in his boat. How it all came together to harm his image and chances for re-election is amazing. Like or loathe Carter, this book is a must. What a wonderful reading experience it was. Many thanks to the author for his balanced and fascinating book.

This is a fantastic book, reporting events of 30 years hence which resonate to the present day, e.g.: energy, Iran, Afghanistan, even gay marriage. I was in my late twenties at the time, and present at least at one of the reported events - "the disco riot" at Comiskey Park - but the author evokes far more detail than I am able to recall myself, and it rings true. He also does good work in publishing the transcript of the Carter speech as an appendix. This is well worth reading, whether one agrees with it or not. It shows how many of our present concerns are linked to the past, and also how many things in this country have changed. While it is clear that the author is broadly sympathetic to the Carter administration, this book seems to me to be a balanced and insightful account of the late 1970s - and also engaging and entertaining.

This is a fine exemplar of political and cultural analysis. In 1979, the United States was suffering an energy crisis and about to engage in full scale political realignment. Both were probably unavoidable, but nonetheless the product of decisions and realities long in the making. Mattson's focal point of the so-called "Malaise" speech by Jimmy Carter allows him to recreate the pressures of the time in an expert and compelling tale. And pressure is what this book is about. Pressure from inside and outside of the White House, both real and imagined. The strongest aspect of this very strong book is how Mattson writes about emerging New Right and the Kennedy championed liberal left clamped onto the Carter Administration and squeezed from both sides -- only to show how the internal decision-making within the White House finished off the Administration. Mattson builds out from there to show how the trends of the day (Studio 54) and expressions of political reality at the street level (energy crisis riots and gas line violence) required a political response. But that response, in large part, was a speech that departed from traditional American political norms and instead mined another distinctly American vernacular. In another excellent moment, Mattson traces the evolution of the Moral Majority, Mattson demonstrates how the "New Right," often credited with conservative political accountability, is really the partisan creature its opponents (rightly) believe it to be. There is another tradition, less radical, partisan or strident, that the malaise speech embodies. And this is where the author is most expert by bringing together the "culture of narcissism" debate and the "new covenants," amongst other manners to describe what American life is, isn't and ought to be. And these beliefs and attitudes resist easy reduction to media talking points, policy platforms or plans of action, but is no less powerful for its resistance. The malaise speech was that accountability moment, where the political system took responsibility for its limits and the citizenry was called out for its complicity in our problems. The proof of how difficult this approach is to employ, Carter himself blew away the momentary credibility he earned through self-inflicted political wounds. Right now, I would tell you that this book is very good. If I had to guess, if you ask in five years, I'd say it is excellent. If you prefer your non-fiction clearly written, expertly argued and possessing that knack for keeping your attention, this book is highly recommended.