1979 was not a watershed year for the Jimmy Carter Presidency. A lot was going wrong and a lot that had gone right just the year prior was in danger of sliding off the rails.

Iran was proving to be a bigger problem than originally thought with signals the Soviet Union were contemplating an overture or two towards Tehran. Our presence in the world was not on the best of terms. Embassy's in Iran and Afghanistan were attacked. Our Middle East policy, pointed with such optimism and accomplishment via the Camp David Peace Accords only a year earlier, was in danger of being derailed. The SALT II Treaty with the Soviet Union was on shaky ground if the Senate had anything to say about it and our agreement with The People's Republic Of China at the cost of our relationship with Taiwan had many in and out of government wondering if damage control would do any good.

And so Walter Cronkite, the Most Trusted Man In America, weighed in on the issue of our Foreign Policy and where we stood in the midst of all this. Here is his commentary for February 20, 1979 as broadcast by CBS Radio.

Looking back at how we get ourselves into things, it's always interesting to see where things go wrong, who misinterpreted what and just what happened in the long run as the result.

In 1955 the center of attention was Taiwan and the thorny relationship that had been going on between mainland China and the Nationalist government. The whole region was taken into consideration as a sort of flash-point in the domino theory of Communist takeovers, but Vietnam wasn't really looked at as a trouble area for the U.S. - no, they had the Diem regime and Diem was friendly toward us and we were pouring aid into that country.

However, we may have looked the other way or read it wrong when concern developed that the Diem regime was a corrupt one and the people of South Vietnam didn't want him in power. But, as is always the case, we never seem to get the messages right and we just propped up the wrong guy anyway.

General J. Lawton Collins was asked about Vietnam during the panel interview on Meet The Press from February 2, 1955. The occasion being his return from a visit to Vietnam as well as the Southeast Asia region and his assessment of the situation from a U.S. point of view.

Gen. J. Lawton Collins: “I don’t want to appear overly optimistic, Mister Spivak, but I think that in the past four weeks that President Ze-em, as he pronounces it, has made genuine progress toward establishing a progressive program in his country. And if this program is fully implemented, then I think there’s a least a 50-50 chance that South Vietnam can remain free.”

Lawrence Spivak: “ Well General, just how important is that area to our security and our safety?”

Collins: “Well, it’s not of immediate importance to the security of the United States. It is of tremendous importance to the security of all of Southeast Asia. And therefore, since we are interested in maintaining peace throughout the Pacific area, then South Vietnam is of great importance to us.”

And the rest, as they always say, is history.

May 14, 1978 saw the world in a state of threatened discontent. There were grumblings of a war developing between Ethiopia and Somalia. Border clashes between China and Russia brought a call from Beijing for intense training of its armed forces, citing a war between the two Communist powers was inevitable. Three Cambodian soldiers were killed in a clash with Thai Border police. And Yassar Arafat let everyone know Cuba offered to send troops to Lebanon if the PLO asked.

Meanwhile, a group of military experts was slated to accompany National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski on his upcoming trip to China. It was viewed as a slap in the face to Taiwan and further evidence the Taipei government was losing favor with the White House.

Speaking of Capitol Hill; the big push was on to win over votes in the Senate for Jimmy Carter's F-15 Fighter jet sales package to Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The bill was in threat of being vetoed and Carter pledged to override the veto if push came to shove.

A Russian language newspaper published in Manhattan was bombed by a Pro-Israeli group calling themselves The Jewish Resistance. No injuries, but a lot of damage, and phone calls claiming credit also demanded Russian Jews be allowed to emigrate to Israel.

In Zimbabwe Rhodesia. Abel Muzorewa threatened to pull out of the bi-racial transitional government of Ian Smith over the recent dismissal of a Black judge.

And American companies operating in Iran were told to restrict the movements of their employees because of intensified anti-government violence against the Shah.

Supposedly a quiet news day, since May 14th in 1978 was a Sunday.

All that, as reported by Neil Strawser on the 7:00 am (PDT) CBS Hourly News.

With the Chinese invasion of Vietnam into its sixth day, February 22nd 1979 was greeted with more than its fair share of skepticism. Rumors were rife from Japanese news sources that the Soviet Union was massing troops on the China/Mongolia border and reserve officers were being called up. Meanwhile, we were taking a back seat to the goings on, even though there was a movement afoot on Capitol Hill, via Jesse Helms to open an investigation regarding "certain wording" in our recognition of Red China that had something to do with Taiwan. Although Taiwan was probably the furthest thing on Beijing's mind, since the War with Vietnam was escalating at a fevered clip. On our own Foreign Policy front, a wounded Marine, held hostage by Iranian militants was freed after six days - no doubt a harbinger of things to come by the end of 1979, but we didn't know it at the time.

And on the domestic front, New Orleans Police were going into their sixth day on strike, with Sanitation workers vowing not to cross picket lines in support.

A good day to stay in bed, if this newscast of the CBS World News Roundup for February 22, 1979 is any indication.

This day in 1999 was busy. Clashes between rebels and government troops in East Timor, peacekeepers stuck in the middle. Rioting in Jakarta and the death toll rising in Taiwan from a major earthquake. A funeral service for Raisa Gorbachev, wife of Mikhail Gorbachev and Russian airstrikes heating up in Chechnya. It was probably a day most people would rather have stayed in bed over.

But it was just a typical day - like thousands of others and it was eleven years ago, on September 23rd in 1999 when it all happened.

Reported by the BBC World Service on their World News Update, there was some good news. Surgical breakthroughs and figuring out what water was doing on Mars were optimistic. No chaos without some happiness, it always seems.

Life's just like that. And what will we be saying about your day ten years from now?