Jimmy Carter, in many ways, was the true 20th century Presidential anomaly. As one of the most religious and solely local politicians to win a Presidential election -- Carter took pride in embracing his outsider appeal to an American public who had grown accustomed to how institutionalized and predictable the presidency had become.

Carter's brand that he cultivated, as a devoutly honest and morally pure figure, however, alienated the American public just as effectively as the lies of Vietnam and Watergate. With a sputtering economic performance and few other domestic accomplishments, Carter showed how his inexperience in dealing in politics on the national stage rendered him incapable of capitalizing on his incumbency advantage. 

Jimmy Carter's presidency tells a story of an administration that never figured out how to operate effectively, especially when it came to influencing Congress and overall public opinion of the nation's performance. Even in the arena that Carter enjoyed the most success -- foreign policy -- is also where he made his most catastrophic mistakes. As he never became aligned with his party or with any political establishment, Carter had few friends he could count on, and stubbornly crashed out as the only Democratic President of the 20th century not to win re-election, which would continue to haunt the party until the more modern Clinton years came in presidential politics.

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