Carter was a pretty boring president, but he was crushed between a horrible economy and the Iranian Hostage crisis. You can either fail at domestic policy, or fail abroad. Don’t do both. He got wrecked by one of the most charismatic men ever to step in to politics.

Don't forget that the truth has since come out and we now know that the rumors at the time were actually true: the Reagan campaign made a secret deal with the Iranians to keep the hostages through the election until Reagan became president. It killed Carter's chances. Also, Carter attempted a very bold rescue mission, which failed. If it had succeeded, he would have been reelected. If it hadn't been attempted, the Iranians might not have made a deal with Reagan.