Sabotage and Hostages: Revisiting the Legacy of the Carter Presidency.

A new report by The New York Times suggests that a prominent Republican close to Ronald Reagan's campaign sought to sabotage then-President Jimmy Carter's reelection by asking Middle Eastern leaders to get a message to the Iranians: Keep the American hostages until after the election, and the Reagan administration will give you a better deal. This has prompted a rethinking of presidential history, as it suggests that the Reagan campaign prolonged the captivity of Americans at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in order to achieve a political victory.