Why did Jimmy Carter lose?

Not now chile. Go to bed.

All of the above, plus the "Sagebrush Rebellion" and the popularity of Reagan.

Is this the answer you're looking for, OP?

Because he is a genuinely good human being. Politics is for cut throats and degenerates. Just look at how close this election is. That should tell you everything you need to know about how disgusting the population of America really is. Humanity is the fucking virus we should be afraid of.

"Because he is a genuinely good human being."

Bullshit. I had a good political science professor who said that while Carter was a very intelligent man he was a total flop as President. He was so ineffectual that the American public elected Ronald Reagan, RONALD REAGAN, rather than have four more years of Carter. Reagan was a doofus former actor with the brains of a rock. That's how bad a President Carter was.

1. The economy sucked. But that wasn't his fault; it sucked for the entire decade under Repub and Dem administrations. My parents were married in 1970 and it took them six years to save enough money to afford a kid, because inflation, gas prices, unemployment, etc., were out of control.

2. The hostage crisis and botched rescue made him look weak. And Reagan exploited that with his chicanery behind the scenes.

3. Carter didn't really help himself within his own party. He wasn't willing to politic and play the Washington game. He alienated a lot of Congressional Democrats. At one point he asked his entire Cabinet to resign, then backtracked, which was terrible optics.

4. He was a bit too cool and cerebral. The "national malaise"/"crisis of confidence" speech wasn't exactly rousing and inspiring when so many people were having trouble paying the bills.

5. Reagan and the GOP made the unholy alliance with the Religious Right. Some people were so burnt out on the economic problems that they decided America had "gone too far" into decadence and considered conservatism worth a try.

Of course, now we know the man is the closest thing we have to a saint in the U.S. But he was not an effective president. The job didn't match his skill set.

Didn't Reagan make a deal with Iran not to release the hostages until after he was elected? Iran-Contra, something like that.

Carter, unlike Reagan was not a messenger boy for multinational corporations nor for doing the bidding of Oil Company royalty... so out he went.

He made the fatal mistake of trusting the overconfident Joint Chiefs of Staff and the incompetent CIA in the handling of the Iran Hostage Crisis.

I mean who could have known that desert sand would damage the rotors of the rescue helicopters?

Jimmy Carter is a friend and I have had the rare opportunity to spend a weekend with Rosalyn, he, and a very small group of people. It was amazing and I witnessed a husband and wife who live a life based on the Christain principles that believe there is good in everyone and we need to help each other. However, during his years as President, he struggled to be effective. In addition to what R6 stated, inflation was crazy and interest rates were in the 18-20% range. The economy was stagnant at best and he took a position that we just all needed to sacrifice. His famous sweater speech in the middle of the winter was mocked for many years. It was as if we had to grin and bear it which became a tiring approach to a failing economy and the hostage situation. Iran screwed the US and essentially mocked him during this time. Reagan came onto the scene and promoted a new day in America. He appeared strong and was a strong believer in the trickle-down theory, smaller government, and Milton Friedman. The public was ready for a change.

1980 was the first election I could vote in. The national malaise was real. The economy and foreign policy were so horrible during the Carter regime and it was woefully apparent that Carter had no idea how to fix it. Reagan brought hope that something could be done to fix the problems. There was a lot of fear-mongering about Reagan that caused some people to vote for Carter and the status quo and that held down the Reagan vote. I was happy to vote Carter out of office.

When I hear people asking “When did the lack of civility start in American politics?!?” I simply point them to the televised Carter-Reagan debates. Reagan addressed President Carter as “Mr. Carter” and made snide, uncalled-for responses like “There you go again . . .”

Ronald Reagan was and will always be a rude, ill-mannered pig, setting the stage for hundreds of thousands of rude, ill-mannered, close-minded RePIGlicans.

[quote] made snide, uncalled-for responses like “There you go again . . .”

It’s universally agreed that the response was so powerful because it was not rude or snide, but rather a gentle defense against Carter’s increasingly desperate attacks.