Source:ABC News- One of the American hostages in Iran. |
From ABC News
What a year and what a way to close out 1979 with a group of Americans being taken hostage in a third-world country in the Middle East.
If I had to guess the worst year in Jimmy Carter's life whether it was in politics, or out of politics. With the economy basically crashing and stagnating with a high combination of high interest rates and inflation. With high unemployment, with those things basically wiping out whatever the economy did as far as economic growth. And then you throw in an energy crisis with a high cost of living. The economic problems that America were facing in the late 1970s actually started in 1978 rather than 1979.
But it's 1979 when they came into full force even leading into a recession. It was just one huge problem after another for the Carter Administration and perhaps too much for any President or administration to deal with especially all at once.
But 1979 and the Iranian Hostage Crisis was great for ABC News. It is where they truly became a national news division that could compete with both CBS News and NBC News.
You can also see this post at The Daily Press, on Blogger.