Numerous setbacks, both domestic and international, contributed to President Jimmy Carter's 1980 defeat at the hands of GOP challenger Ronald Reagan, making Carter a one-term president ...

Carter didn’t exactly win many friends in the revolutionary government with his political support for the Shah. The hostages were finally released on Jan. 20, 1981, minutes after Reagan took office.

World events during Carter’s presidency — particularly gasoline prices, mortgage rates and the Iran hostage crisis — conspired against him so badly that he lost 44 states to Reagan in 1980.

Former Carter aides have speculated that they might have won if they had returned the hostages before the election. The 52 Americans were released on the day Reagan took office.