(2) Sea Level

In the speech "A Crisis of Confidence,"Jimmy Carter is speaking to all Americans, from the Ivy League to the ivy growing in your backyard. He speaks clearly and simply. Even the logic of his speech is straightforward; he outlines a problem (dependence on foreign oil), discusses the reasons for that problem, and outlines specific proposals to solve that problem.

What makes the speech a "two" on the Tough-o-Meter instead of a "one" is that some of his ideas and proposals require some background in economic policy and a knowledge of what OPEC is, but a part from that, it's smooth sailing (for the reader, that is. We can't say the same thing for America in 1979...)