Interview with Big Think, in reference to the 1980 presidential election, and the Iran hostage crisis (December 14, 2010).
• (December 14, 2010), "Carter: Biggest failure was '80 loss", Politico publisher: Politico

I guess my biggest failure was not getting reelected. [The loss taught me] not to ever let American hostages be held for 444 days in a foreign country without extracting them. I did the best I could, but I failed.

— Jimmy Carter

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "I guess my biggest failure was not getting reelected. [The loss taught me] not to ever let American hostages be held for 444 days in a foreign country without extracting them. I did the best I could, but I failed." in the context of "Interview with Big Think, in reference to the 1980 presidential election, and the Iran hostage crisis (December 14, 2010).
• (December 14, 2010), "Carter: Biggest failure was '80 loss", Politico publisher: Politico" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Jimmy Carter" (Quotes, Post-Presidency: [[File:Rosalynn Carter (48885949882).jpg|thumb|Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished. As long as Rosalynn was in the world, I always knew somebody loved and supported me.]], 2010s) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed February 01, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Jimmy Carter

About Jimmy Carter

James Earl Carter, Jr. (October 1, 1924 – December 29, 2024) was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. In 1982 he established the Carter Center, as a base for promoting human rights, democracy, finding peaceful solutions to international conflicts, and advancing economic and social development, for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. He was a key figure in the Habitat for Humanity project, and has been noted for his criticism of Israel's role in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.