A question about Jimmy Carter?

[specific_name]

He wasn't not as left as people make him out to be. The reason I assume, is that Republicans were able to get mileage out of that attack on him and any left wing candidate for president can be compared to Carter as a potential weak leader and a failure. The Democratic party has had Carter syndrome and the cure was Clinton.

The same attitude of considering electability has caused the Democrats to choose boring candidates like Kerry. Even if Carter wasn't that left wing, left wing ideas were blamed for his failures. Since image is everything even the Democrats just accept that Carter was way left wing and try to fight the stereotype of weak effeminate "liberals" by engaging in battles about who's the bigger tough guy (see 2004 election and Kerry's attempt at cultivating a macho image).

Carter also, as noted by someone else here, is the one who started the neoliberal policies that Regan is heavily associated with. If he had been reelected he probably would have ended up doing a lot of what Regan did, but to a lesser degree. Just as Obama will probably continue to govern more to the right in the future especially in a second term. The left would be less likely to protest austerity measures if it comes from Obama, just as they are less apt to oppose the current wars now that a Democrat is president.