Others pointed to 106 Democrats voting against his proposal and the bipartisan criticism potentially coming back to haunt him.[166] At the start of a news conference on July 25, 1979, Carter called on believers in the future of the U.S. and his proposed energy program to speak with Congress as it bore the responsibility to impose his proposals.[167] Amid the energy proposal opposition, The New York Times commented that "as the comments flying up and down Pennsylvania Avenue illustrate, there is also a crisis of confidence between Congress and the President, sense of doubt and distrust that threatens to undermine the President's legislative program and become an important issue in next year's campaign."[168]

Economy
Newly elected governor of Arkansas and future president Bill Clinton meets with President Carter in 1978.
Carter's presidency had a troubled economic history of two roughly equal periods. The first two years were a time of continuing recovery from the severe 1973–75 recession, which had left fixed investment at its lowest level since the 1970 recession and unemployment at 9%.[169] His last two years were marked by double-digit inflation, coupled with very high interest rates,[170] oil shortages, and slow economic growth.