Actually, it could well be argued that by NOT going for a Carter-type change in 1948, The U.S. was infinitely more screwed by Truman's questionable leadership. Dewey's Carter-esque tenure could have been much more advantageous.
Incidently, what do you mean by Carter-esque change? If you mean to imply that every time a reform minded Democrat takes over for an astoundingly unsuccessful Republican, then there's a few Clinton, FDR, and Wilson fans out there who may disagree.
Carter, Clinton...the only two democratic presidents since 1969. Both were elected to bring "change" and both brought weak foreign policy. In 2009, we are still gonna be fighting the war on terror and can not have weak foreign policy.