Though he is not the first to tell people they will need to make sacrifices he was one of the first who demonstrated his own limitations and the limits of the actions of the government without the full investment and wise actions of American consumers. This thesis did not win him any favors, he was not elected for a second term, as to the credit of most consumers even today it is easier to look toward the government for failures of change than to look to themselves and see how their own actions have supported and furthered problems in the economy or elsewhere. To his credit he was honest to a fault, rather than making campaign promises during his term of office as many others do. His wisdom has been a model for later officials and the public has responded to them in the same manner, by continuing to believe that others are responsible and voting them out of office. Personal accountability is only now becoming something that individuals are willing to consider, though it remains to be seen if such accountability will help resolve the serious problems we face as a nation, energy being only one of many.

The speech demonstrates significant risk taking on the part of any prominent public official as it clearly demonstrates that...

Carter asks individuals to set aside fundamental every day concerns and to make better choices about what they use and demand and how these decisions affect the big picture. Carter seems to some degree fearless when he assures the public that the government can only do so much even though the public clearly would like to believe that the government has ultimate responsibility and can ultimately alter the economy, with regard to energy, to change the climate of the situation.
The success of messages should never be judged by outcomes of those messages. The truth and timeliness as well as the considerable personal and professional risk associated with Carter's speech should be the points of analysis of judgment of success or failure of the message itself. This communication with the public a clear success on all three points and should be read, absorbed and relived by politicians today.

Works Cited

Carter, Jimmy Address to the Nation on Energy (November 8, 1977) http://millercenter.org/scripps/archive/speeches/detail/3400