Was Jimmy Carter popular at the beginning of his presidency?

Question

What were his early-on successes? Was their a pivotal point to a downfall?

Answer 1

I don't think he was THAT well liked. People voted for him mainly because he was a political outsider and Americans at that time wanted a change from the usual controversial political vibe of that time (the Watergate scandal, Ford pardoned Nixon for the Watergate scandal, etc) so they chose him instead of reelecting Ford.

In order to stimulate the economy, Carter passed acts that deregulated transportation industries. He hoped that these would stimulate healthy competition. The fare for commercial aviation greatly decreased beginning in his administration because of this.

One of President Carter's major domestic priorities was solving the energy crisis. He tried his best to work on this and he established the Department of Energy which still exists today.

Meg already mentioned them but there were also the Camp David accords wherein Carter served as a mediator between Israel and Egypt until a peace treaty was signed that ensured that Israel would return the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt and that Egypt would finally recognize Israel as a sovereign nation.

And like Meg also mentioned, his way of handling the Iranian Hostage Crisis led to his downfall.

Answer 2

All presidents are popular right after the are elected. That is why they won. He had a 75% approval rating in March 1977. Carters greatest accomplishment was the Camp David Peace accords between Israel and Egypt. The Iran hostage crisis and the way he handled it lead to his downfall. Both were the result of his desire to be a peacemaker and a deep religious faith that when applied to different situations produced very different results.