yes!
Khomeini would've never had a chance, if not for Jimmy Carter.

I will never forget a huge pro-Khomeini demonstration in the financial district of San Francisco in the autumn of 1978, with representatives of the local democratic party chapter marching along with the crazed iranian youth, raising slogans like "Islamic Republic = Islamic Democracy!" and "Down with the bloody terror of the Shah's regime!"...

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Ugh.

Why isn't this common knowledge?

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Uhmm... See, actually, among the American conservatives it kind of is. And always has been.

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Thinking about it - do you know Carter position on the USSR before they invaded Afghanistan? How about him asking Soviet Ambassador Dobrynin for help with the US Presidential elections against Reagan?

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I know Carter's position on the USSR and, more relevant, on Iran, and I know he was reluctant to confront Khomeini. I did not know his "ambassadors" were actually saying things like these. I am not surprised he personally was an idiot then seeing how he is an idiot now. But there is a difference between an idiot in a political office (voted in–voted out or assigned–resigned) and idiots in the professional corps.

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Actually, seeking Soviet's help in the US election hardly qualifies as "idiocy". The more appropriate word is "treason".

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We are digressing here; I do not think he was seeking Iran's endorsement. Calling Khomeini a saint or a Ghandi-like figure is more than a stretch.

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Probably, for the same reason he got elected in the first place. They must have said on TV he was a good guy who wanted peace.

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Конечно, совместимо: надо обязательно иметь точку зрения по каждому вопросу, но чем дальше от Америки, тем более сильную. Вот они и имели.