Middle East
Carter : Iran Hostage Crisis, Iranians held Americans at embassy, hostage in Tehran. Carter loses overwehmingly to Ronald Reagan, Hostages are freed soon after Reagan's Inauguration
Bush: The Iraq War, President bullies Americans into a war built on lies and deception that is only found out later. President enjoys popular support from Americans at the beggining but the support for the war ends and now American troops are held hostage by President who refuses to pullout of Iraq
Energy
Carter: Upon taking office in 1977, Carter creates the Department of Energy and throughout his presidency is concerned about oil consumption and Atomic energy.
Bush: Upon taking office in 2001, Bush's vice president, Dick Cheney-a man that got his start in the seventies under Gerald Ford, the guy who Carter beat in the 76 election no less- holds closed sessions meeting to pursue an energy policy where big oil plays a dominant role.
Education
Carter: Upon taking office in 1977, Carter creates the Department of Education, in the hope that no child will get left behind.
Bush:Upon taking office in 2001, Bush creates the education law, No Child Left Behind, which is forced onto the 50 states and has the effect of children getting left behind.
Midterms
Carter:In the 78 midterms, the Democrats lose seats because the country doesn't like Carter.
Bush: In the 06 midterms, the Republicans lose control of Congress because the country doesn't like Bush.
And of course I've let you in on the secret that Carter is one of the worst president, well now Bush joins him,I'm not sure what the squabbling is about. Just my take.
First, don't forget the mood the country was in after Watergate. It was terribly depressing. People were energized by a leader who had unquestioned honesty and integrity. Just by offering that to the country, he filled an important need at the time. Bush could never fill that need. In fact, his dishonesty has created that need again. For a more recent case, there is Jim Webb, whose integrity has filled a need that is far outweighed by his own lack of political experience.
Just as the Republicans devasted the morals and morale of the country in a way that established the need for someone like Carter, Republicans also created the hostile situation in Iran. People who know what was going on with Iran don't put all the blame on Carter. Nixon and Kissinger were the ones who fanned the hostilites with their support of the Shah's increasingly terrible regime, around 1975. There is evidence that individuals in the US were negotiating with the terrorists, and offering to sell them arms if Iran would time their release so it would not occur during the Carter presidency. Ths would improve Reagan's chance of winning the election. According to an embassy staffer, former hostage and now professor, Kissinger played a critical role. Many believe Kissinger and Bush the First (as CIA head) negotiated on their own to assure the extension of the crisis and the ordeal of the hostages.
Certainly the media didn't help Carter like it has helped Bush. The same news media and even the same newscasters who refuse to critique the current war were conducting a "countdown" of the Iraq hostage crisis. The only thing like a news program that does that for Bush and the Iraq war is Keith Olbermann on MSNBC. According to a quick look at mediabistro.com, his cable ratings are barely one-tenth of network news today. In Carter's time, his critics at network news had no cable to compete with, so criticim of Carter had a very effective echo chamber.