By his policy of appeasing Egypt, Carter lost a great opportunity to defeat and occupy this most populous Arab country. Also by his policy of supporting human rights in Soviet block countries Carter undermined the healthy Cold War policies.
Yes, and the Soviet Union just fell apart on its own. And yes, Saddam is now agreeing to arms inspection because he is afraid Carter might get re-elected. It is just a coincidence that Saddam always caves more when Bush moves one step closer to a possible attack.