IMO Jimmy Carter is still one of the best men to ever sit in the Oval Office, although I won't argue that he wasn't a good president. First off he had to deal with the aftermath of Vietnam, and the poor economy that was a result of that war, especially the horrible inflation which reached 20% in 1978 (IIRC.)
Second as an outsider to Washington, he had to deal with an uncooperative legislature, so not much was accomplished during those 4 years.
Just as the economy was starting to pick up, the Shah was ousted and the Iran crisis held center stage for the last year+ of his presidency. He could never find a way to deal with the hostage crisis without going to war.
I do believe that had he beat Reagan, the hostages still would have been released, the economy would have improved, there would have been a defense buildup without butchering the rest of the budget, and the AIDS crisis would have been addressed in 1981, not 5 years later when it was too late.
The UNITED States of America. July 4, 1776-June 26, 2015.
RIP.
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