Reality 60-Carter, Jimmy (James Earl)-[Democratic], 1976

The Republicans in their TV commercials are saying that the economy is healthy, employment is high, our place in the world is honored, our leadership is great. I've always felt that if something told to me went against my own experience, there was something wrong, and there is. Because when I look around, this is what I see. Eight million people, every one of them out of work. Every trip to the supermarket, a shock. Cities collapsing, suburbs scared, hospitals closing, teachers fired, crime growing, police departments cut, fire departments cut, daycare centers shut. Welfare skyrocketing, energy in foreign hands. That's our reality. It won't disappear because the Republicans say it's not there. But that doesn't mean we can't face it and work together and change it. Americans have had to do it before, and we'll do it again. It's a long, tough job. It's time we got started.