In early 1976, Democrats sensed a better-than-even chance of recapturing the White House in the November elections. With the un-elected Gerald R. Ford in the Oval Office, there was no shortage of Democratic hopefuls… fourteen, in all.

The list included Senator Birch Bayh, of Indiana; Senator Lloyd Bentsen, of Texas; Governor Jerry Brown, of California; Senator Robert Byrd, of West Virginia (favorite son); Governor Jimmy Carter, of Georgia; Senator Frank Church, of Idaho; former Senator Fred Harris, of Oklahoma; Senator Henry "Scoop" Jackson, of Washington; former Governor Terry Sanford, of North Carolina; Governor Milton Shapp, of Pennsylvania; Kennedy brother-in-law Sargent Shriver; Senator Adlai Stevenson III, of Illinois (favorite son); Congressman Morris "Mo" Udall, of Arizona; and Governor George Wallace, of Alabama.

When the crowded field appeared together on NBC’s Meet the Press, they were seated at a long two-tiered table, giving viewers the impression of a flock of vultures perched on electric power lines. But what was most surprising was that, of the twelve who appeared, the peanut farmer from Georgia, Jimmy Carter, was by far the brightest, the most thoughtful, and the most sincere… the "cream of the crop."

But then, after winning his party’s nomination and after winning a close victory over Gerald R. Ford, 51% to 49%, things went from bad to worse.

After four decades of unrestrained union-induced wage inflation, along with the impact of high energy prices following the 1973 Arab oil embargo, the economy was spiraling downward. Early in the Carter presidency, productivity growth declined to an average annual rate of 1 percent, compared to 3.2 percent in the 1960s, while the federal budget deficit grew to an unprecedented $66 billion.

To describe the phenomenon, economists coined the term "stagflation," a combination of economic stagnation, price inflation, and high interest rates. By the late 70s, the overall inflation rate had risen to double digits and home mortgage rates exceeded 17%.

Looking for ways to explain their misery to the American people, Carter consulted his pollster, Pat Caddell (along with Senator Joe Lieberman, one of only two respectable Democrats now in captivity), who convinced him that the people were suffering a "crisis of confidence" related to the Kennedy assassination, Vietnam, Watergate, and a declining economy. In response, Carter went on national television on the evening of July 15, 1979 to explain to the people that they, in fact, were responsible for their own misery. It came to be known as Carter’s "malaise" speech, a low-point of his presidency:

Then, on November 4, 1979, a group of militant Iranian students, supported by the post-revolutionary regime of the Ayatollah Khomeni, stormed the American embassy

in Tehran, taking some 63 U.S. diplomats and three civilians hostage. The students objected to American influence in the Middle East and to our support of the deposed Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

Carter ordered a rescue mission, and on the night of April 24, 1980, 172 days after the hostages were taken, Operation Eagle Claw, was launched.

As planned, several C-130 transports rendezvoused with eight Sikorsky RH-53 helicopters at a remote desert airstrip in eastern Iran. With inter-service rivalries playing a major role in the planning, the rescue mission was ill-fated from the outset. The Army, Navy, Air Force, the Marine Corps, and even the Coast Guard, all insisted on playing a role – an obvious failure of presidential leadership, but typical of what one might expect in a military operation conceived by Democrats, where everyone involved expects a share of the credit.

Two of the helicopters were disabled in a sandstorm and one was damaged on landing. With three of the eight helicopters out of commission the rescue attempt was aborted. But as the planes took off to return to base, one of the remaining five helicopters collided with a C-130 transport and crashed, killing eight and injuring several others.

Coming just seven months before the 1980 presidential election, the bungled rescue attempt became a fitting epitaph for the Carter presidency.

On Tuesday, January 20, 1981, as Ronald Reagan recited the presidential oath, the embassy hostages in Tehran were set free. The Iranian extremists knew that they could not play Ronald Reagan for a fool as they had Jimmy Carter.

In the twenty-six years since leaving office, Carter has proved time and again why his was a failed presidency. He has become an avowed supporter of Islamic extremism and he has not met a communist dictator – or a fat, ugly documentary producer – he didn’t like. But worse, in an unprecedented low in partisan mudslinging, he has criticized his own president on foreign soil, even to the point of describing Bush Administration policies as "criminal."

Carter has become a laughing stock, even within his own party, and it’s time he returned to the peanut fields of Georgia where he can at least make some small contribution. So, say goodbye, Jimmy… and don’t let the door hit you in the (ahem!) on the way out.