The limits of the bully pulpit

In the summer of 1971, the nation was in the doldrums. Inflation was rising, and unemployment was uncomfortably high. The stock market was sinking. President Richard Nixon, fearing he could lose his 1972 re-election bid, went on TV to announce new economic policies — the most drastic being a freeze on all wages, prices and rents. He assured his worried audience, “Our best days lie ahead.”

The speech was a triumph. The stock market soared. Newspaper editorials hailed his courage. One poll found that 75 percent of Americans supported the plan. “In all the years I’ve been doing this,” said the pollster, “I’ve never seen anything this unanimous.” Nixon’s economic strategy was a stroke of political genius.