Good article. A few typos. A few facts about Ali. He wasn't universally loved. When he converted to Islam and won the Heavyweight Title, while changing his name, people saw him as dangerous. Even into the 70s, people refused to call him Muhammad Ali. Only very late in his career and afterword, when he got Parkinson's, did people's perception of him change. I have a friend who knew him and Cosell. They, Ali and Cosell, were friends because people hated both of them.

Carter was my first vote. Between he and Obama, those are the votes I'm most proud of. His presidency was doomed from the minute he took office. We were in the middle of a decade-long recession and inflation. Plus, when you don't have friends in your own party, it's almost impossible to get any policy objectives through. The rise of the Christian Right and 'Moral Majority,' through Jerry Falwell and others, turned their back on Carter and supported Reagan, who couldn't be bothered with church. Much like El Guapo of Queens.