Of the three living Democratic Presidents, which one is/was best?

[Drunken Irishman]

46. Carter bungled Iran...

It's sad to put all the blame on him, but he was the one who set in motion the events that led to the hostage crisis by toasting the Shah of Iran. Worse, when the Shah, who had been overthrown, sought medical attention in the U.S., Carter ignored, or was oblivious, to the potential blowback it would have received in Iran. I'm not saying he shouldn't have let the Shah into the U.S. to receive treatment, but before he did, Carter should have closed the Iranian embassy, or forced its evacuation, seeing as it was likely there would be retaliation for offering the very unpopular Shah help.

I mean, I get it's unprecedented to have an embassy overrun and hostages taken, but when you're offering a visa to an exiled ruler who's insanely unpopular in a region that is already anti-American, you've got to plot things out.

But regardless, Carter's support of the Shah, despite his deteriorating power in Iran, was a big blunder and it essentially ended his presidency because he was DOA once the hostage situation unfolded. Don't even get me started on Operation Eagle Claw - a complex plan the administration probably should have never signed off on.

Either way, Carter was a typically overwhelmed president. His lack of experience in Washington, his contentious relationship with the more liberal senate Democrats, and his handling of Iran, make it impossible for me to see him as the 'best' of the three. Obama and Clinton are infinitely better and have a far deeper presidential legacy than Carter.

Still, you can't question the human being. In that regard, Carter is the most noble of all presidents.