There are many similarities between the Carter administration and the Obama administration. A souring economy, a majority in both houses of Congress, the worship of diplomacy as the answer to all conflicts, and promotion of government programs for every imaginable purpose, to name a few.

 

What follows here is a comparison of the inaugural speeches. At times it is hard to distinguish Carter's 1977 entry from Obama's 2009 prose. See if you can correctly guess who is speaking in these excerpts:

 

Excerpt 1: "This inauguration ceremony marks a new beginning, a new dedication within our Government, and a new spirit among us all."

 

Excerpt 2: "What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility, a recognition on the part of every American that we have duties to ourselves, our Nation, and the world."

 

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Excerpt 3: "To be true to ourselves, we must be true to others. We will not behave in foreign places so as to violate our rules and standards here at home, for we know that the trust which our Nation earns is essential to our strength."

 

Excerpt 4: "Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort, even greater cooperation and understanding between nations."

 

 

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Excerpt #5: "Time and again, these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked ‘til their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions, greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction."

 

Excerpt #6: "We cannot afford to do everything, nor can we afford to lack boldness as we meet the future. So, together, in a spirit of individual sacrifice for the common good, we must simply do our best."

 

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 And now, the envelope please, ... the answers are #1,3,6 belong to the peanut farmer turned president; #2,4,5 are statements made by the man with the "funny name" as he put it. The nation and the world have changed much since the 1970s. Isn't it strange that liberals have not changed? America is selfish, rogue nations can be tamed if we only sit down and talk with them, it's time for the rich to share with everyone else, and the citizens of the United States aren't smart enough to know what they really need or want.

 

Four years of incompetence by Jimmy Carter led to an inflationary monster consuming everything in its path, a former ally becoming a radical, sworn enemy of the West, and the roots of this current financial crisis by enacting the Community Reinvestment Act.  The question then is what friendly nation will turn venomous as a result of Obama's diplomacy? Also, what behemoth similar to the infamous Departments of Education and Energy will Obama saddle our nation with? Finally, who is it that is waiting in the wings to lead us, in 2012, to that shining city on a hill where, as Reagan believed and proved, citizens are seen as more capable than bureaucrats in spending their money?