LBJ was a non-runner and the nomination was up for anyone; he didn't really factor in, except for the "taint" he gave to Humphrey...
Gerald Ford nearly lost to Ronald Reagan not because Regan was an as good or better candidate on his merits, rather Ford had irrevocably and severely damaged his political capital by his very poor handling of the domestic economic crisis (remember the W.I.N. buttons?) and by his pardonning of Nixon for his crimes related to Watergate. The fact that the GOP decided to put Ford up for re-election is an indicator of how poorly Regan was held by the GOP in comparison to Ford...
Jimmy Carter did not win the presidency, therefore, because he was the better suited or qualified candidate; he won because he wasn't Gerald Ford. Hell, in the 1976 election, even Eugene McCarthy or some other extreme-left member of the Dems could have beat Ford...
BTW, I do admire Carter for his humanitarian activities after leaving the presidency; all too often, ex-presidents feed at the trough of paid speeches and other self-agrandizing, self-enriching projects...
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