Conference back40::soapbox

    Jim is a private citizen acting in behalf of the US goverment. Making
    decisions for the US goverment. With no athority from the US goverment. 
    
    Jimmy has sold the US Olymic Athletes down the river for the best
    interest of America in the 1980 olymics with the Russians because of a
    war the Russians were having. But American grain was not boycotted,
    American business men and women were in Russia during this time. And
    the American Athletes, who were not getting at the time money from the
    feds were used as the lamb to kill in the name sake of humanity.
    
    Jimmy is your basic limo-cruzen liberal. Who should stick to building
    low income housing for the poor. I deplore his actions! It is like
    having someone represent you. Acting in your good faith and nature. And
    you did not hire, employ,this person. And this person sells you up the
    river for the song. And you didn't want him to be there!
    
    Reminds me of getting a lawyer for divorce. And the lawyer is not
    acting in my behalf. Instead sells my soul to the devil himself.
    

Note 212.1 by AIMHI::RAUH
    
    >Jim is a private citizen acting in behalf of the US goverment. Making
    >decisions for the US goverment. With no athority from the US goverment. 
    
    you speak with forked tongue. he has no authority. so how can he make
    desicisions for the US governmment?
    

    Haag.... Guess you dont read much of the news. He has done a behind the
    fence play with our (US) name. And Bill make comment to such. Jim is a
    loose cannon on the deck! 
    
    When you do international plays like this, you get the blessing of the
    US goverment. I have read it is called protocal.  

    
    He holds no formal position or charter.
    
    But they let him use the plane for free.
    
    In Bosnia, what harm can he do ?  Could things be worse ?
    
    Let him try.  bb
    

Note 212.3 by AIMHI::RAUH 
    
    >Haag.... Guess you dont read much of the news. He has done a behind the
    >fence play with our (US) name. And Bill make comment to such. Jim is a
    >loose cannon on the deck! 
    
    yes i read the news. the liberal press touted his efforts in korea very
    succssful. they are now doing likewise in bosnia. are you saying that
    he should cease and desist? to be replaced by what? jimmah is supposed
    to be of the same political persuasion as the current idiots in the WH.
    why can't they reign him in? my personal take on it is slick will
    critisize jimmah until some success is had, or the press publically
    ignores slicks rebukes and jump on the jimmah bandwagon. through his
    own incompetance, this president is made to look a fool by someone who
    "should be on the team". jimmah knows he can't waste the time trying to
    get slicks approval. good, bad, or indifferent jimmah IS trying
    SOMETHING.
    
    >>US goverment. I have read it is called protocal.  
                                             ^^^^^^^^
    
    protocol!

    Perhaps there is a underline here. Perhaps Jimmy wants the Nobel Peace
    prize. Being a saint, building housing for the poor and all..... 

    jimmah has little ego for such worldly treasures. serves him well now.
    was an albatross around his neck whilst president.

    Is an albatross around the neck whist citizen too!:)

    jimmahs intentions are sincere and honest. he's doing what he truely
    feels is right for the country and world peace. can't say the same
    about slick. in the grand scheme of things this is yet another chink in
    slicks armour proving he is incapable of running the country or leading
    his party. he's simply not presidential material.

    Where money, lives, and integrety is at stake. You want to send in the
    baaaa-foons? Dear me! One is bad enough. Two? Now Haag! 
    
    Jimmy was not just voted out. He was tromped out of office! And you
    want him to possibly engage us into another civil war or conflict? 
    You pick your battles. Don't let the battles pick you, less your picked
    on.
    
    

re .9:

Paging Mr. Jong!  Paging Mr. Jong!

    	I don't believe Carter is doing this for prizes or awards or
    	reelection or any other personal gain.  I hope he can pull off
    	some degree of peaceful settlement over there.  I doubt that
    	there will ever be a complete peace there though.

    Gene,
    
    I don't normally disagree with you, but I wouldn't be too certain
    Jimmeh is without ego in this.  An interview conducted outside his
    church in Plains before the last Nobel was announced clearly indi-
    cated that he thought he might be the winner.
    
    He seems to be a little too naive at times.  Don't get me wrong,
    I can't object if his mere presence will make the warring factions
    sit across from each other and try to work things out; let's face
    it though, sure makes Slick look like a doofus in the foreign re-
    lations department :-)
    
    PS:  Did he fly out on miliary aircraft?  Local TV showed him
    	 leaving Hartsfield Sunday evening, looked like commercial
    	 aircraft to me (didn't look like AF 1 or 2).
                                                     

Just gotta pop in wunce in a while...

Jimmeh's really gonna be pissed when the next peace prize is posthumously 
awarded to Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini...

	...Adolf for killing himself and hastening the end of the war...
	...and Benito for hanging around during the transition to peace...



Maybe we could get Jane Fonda Turner to go over there and fire a couple o' 
rounds off just to help Jimmeh out a little?

    Carter made the *only* post-WWII attempts to create a foreign policy
    based on American values and in the true national interest. For this he
    was crucified by the right who are troubled by the difficult concepts
    of freedom, independence, and national sovereignty for others.
    
    Likewise, he was abandonned by the left because his domestic policies
    were just more of the same warmed-over Republicanism. (Take note, Mr.
    Clinton).
    
    Most people agree that he is one of the most honorable of men to have
    served as president in many decades, regardless of whether or not they
    agree with all his positions and policies as president. As a result,
    the are willing to give him some slack in his varied negotiations. I'm
    with them.
    
    Kit

    I have no problem with your assessment of Carter from his moral
    standpoint.
    
    I have a problem with a private citizen, even an ex-President, making
    deals on behalf of the US government.  If Clinton wants him to be his
    firefighter, make him at least Special Assistant to the President in
    charge of Delineating US Foreign Policy under the Clinton
    Administration.

Note 212.16 by PNTAGN::WARRENFELTZR 
    
    >I have a problem with a private citizen, even an ex-President, making
    >deals on behalf of the US government.  If Clinton wants him to be his
    
    this is the same moralistic BS rolled out of the WH when jimmah first
    went over there. jimmah didn't make any deals on behalf of the US.
    none. zero. the WH peoples threw those ideas into the head of the slimy
    press corps in an attempt to distance themselves from jimmahs efforts
    because they hadn't the smarts to think up of way to address the
    problems. well jimmahs done the one thing the WH people were afraid of.
    he's made progress. you hear NOTHING from the WH now. prolly scrambling
    over ways to take credit for it.

    Gene in 17
    
    where are you disagreeing with me?

    i dunnot know ron. i was just pointin' out that jimmah is on his own
    and your note got caught in the crossfire. sorry.

    well gene, no harm done...i just couldn't figger where we disagreed,
    that's all!

    Progress? A little early for me to buy that assessment.
    
    Chip

Note 212.21 by WMOIS::GIROUARD_C 
    
    >>Progress? A little early for me to buy that assessment.
    
     yes. i'd say its progress. the UN hasn't gotten a damn thing settled.
    NATO...a joke. the russians had a chance until OUR beloved "leaders"
    mucked it up. and our current admin's indecisiveness (re: incompetence)
    has only made the situation worse. so, yes. what jimmah has going is
    progress.

    agree with all your assessments except the jury is still
    out on progress. Like the big R said... it'll be a matter of maps,
    has been and will be...

    As much as I admire Jimmah's efforts, I'm having a real problem
    with what he's doing, for the same reason that I had a real problem
    with what Hillary was doing: he's essentially operating in a government
    position, without having been elected or nominated or approved, and
    so on.  I'd be hypocritical if I praised Carter for working in this
    mode while continuing to bash on Hillary for working the same way.
    
    Chris

     I don't think it's _quite_ the same. After all, Jimmeh was elected,
    once. So he is a statesman of considerable stature by that mere fact.
    So long as he is acting with the support of the current administration,
    there's really no problem. Ought we squander his utility as a statesman
    merely because he's not interested in being an elected official? I
    don't think so.

    If Carter gets results that are in the national interest, then the
    apparently unorthodox fifth-wheel approach is nothing but an image
    or packaging problem.
    
    However, for some of us, Carter has credibility problems in his own
    right.

    
    >So long as he is acting with the support of the current administration,
    >there's really no problem. 
    
    Does this apply equally to all?

    Sure. If Clinton axed Bush to use his statesmanship qualities to settle
    an international problem which affected US interests, then there would
    be no problem if he did so. But I sense you are really asking for my
    blessing for Hillary's meddling with healthcare, and you aren't going
    to get that. Nor would you get my approval for Jimmeh to control that
    either.

    .-1 what? we need to invade Panama again?

    Pr'aps you forgot about a minor coalition united against one Saddam
    Hussein forged by Bush?

    >But I sense you are really asking for my
    >blessing for Hillary's meddling with healthcare
    
    Get your sensemeter checked.  It's faulty.

    Not only that, it's not working right.
    
    NNTTMHA

    >> I don't think it's _quite_ the same.
    
    Welllll, it may not be quite the same... I sure don't *want* it
    to be the same!  :-)  But, I keep running into this brick wall that
    says something like:  What if someone acting in the "Jimmeh" role
    was an incompetent bungler, and had Clinton's support and approval
    to do his global Taz tour, and none of the other branches of government
    could do anything about it (because Clinton has circumvented the usual
    checks-and-balances thing)?
    
    I'm kind of struggling between the obvious "do the right thing"
    practicality and the theoretical "this could set a dangerous precedent"
    thing.  Clinton would probably love nothing more than for us to get
    used to extra-governmental people calling the shots.
    
    Chris

    Clinton is still as accountable for Carter's actions as anyone else he
    could send. I don't understand the problem. Surely you don't expect the
    President himself to dirty his hands when his domestic agenda is in
    such disarray.

Warren Christopher phone home.  Well, he *does* look like E.T.

    
    RE: .36
    
    Mark,
    
     I agree with you about the accountablity... but, IMHO, I don't think
    Clinton figures it that way.... I think he's still... STILL... in the
    old campaign mode from 2+ years back where he can say/do anything and
    it won't catch up to him. I sincerely believe he thinks that if it hits
    the fan and Carter gets splattered that none if it will land on him...
    

    
    Good a place as any...
    
    Report in the Boston Glob this A.M. is that Christopher's thinking
    about bailing out....
    

    Christopher looks like he's feeling too much of BC's pain (or maybe
    it's just a bad case of hemorrhoids)?