Now that former President Bill Clinton secured the freedom of two jailed American journalists, possibly opening the doors of communication between the U.S. and North Korea, he has assumed the role of the nation's top private diplomat, a distinction once held by the Rev. Jesse Jackson.
By no means is this a slight on former President Jimmy Carter, whose diplomatic efforts as a private citizen in part led to his receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, but Jackson's accomplishments in freeing hostages as a private citizen remains unparalleled.
Since the early 1980s, there has been a running joke among my friends that, in the unlikely event we became hostages, to make sure the first call was not to the State Department or CNN, but instead to Jackson.
Jackson possessed the uncanny ability, without any diplomatic credentials or official backing by the U.S. government, to go into some of the world's most unlikely places to secure the release of American hostages.
In 1983, Jackson traveled to Syria to secure the release of captured American pilot Navy Lt. Robert Goodman, who was being held by the Syrian government. Goodman had been shot down over Lebanon while on a mission to bomb Syrian positions in that country.
After Jackson made a personal appeal to Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, Goodman was released. The Reagan administration was initially skeptical about Jackson's trip to Syria. But after Jackson secured Goodman's release, Reagan welcomed Jackson and Goodman to the White House.
In June 1984, Jackson negotiated the release of 22 Americans being held in Cuba.
In 1999, during the Kosovo War, which may rank as the most remarkable of his accomplishments, Jackson traveled to Belgrade to negotiate the release of three American POWs. Given the reputation of Yugoslavian President Slobodan Milosevic, it seemed unlikely Jackson's efforts would bear fruit. But after meeting with Milosevic, the hostages were freed.
In my opinion, these efforts represented the apex of Jackson's career. He transcended partisan politics, using his clout as a global leader to win the freedom of Americans held in places not beholden to the Bill of Rights.
Private citizen diplomacy is one of the great mysteries. The more successful one is at freeing hostages, the greater the risk of casting a negative shadow on the current president, especially if, like Jackson, one's visit was not sanctioned by the secretary of state. But this may be the only way to work with the likes of North Korea's Kim Jong-il, al-Assad and Milosevic.
It was comedian Chris Rock who ventured a hypothesis about Jackson's negotiation strategy. He said Jackson probably went over and told the leaders, "If you really want to make the United States mad, give me the hostages."
Rock's theory may be applicable to Jackson and Clinton. It may also reveal the inherent limitations placed on the presidency.
Jackson's past accomplishment are all the more impressive when one factors in that Secretary of State Hilary Rodham Clinton was involved in the process. She proposed sending several people to North Korea, including former Vice President Al Gore. Mr. Clinton, as a former president carrying a certain global respectability, was the choice of the North Koreans to come to Pyongyang.
Mr. Clinton's efforts brought to an end a disturbing account for Laura Ling and Euna Lee, the two women who were seized near the North Korea's border researching a story about human trafficking. They were facing years of imprisonment confined to hard labor -- one of the few terms in North Korea that may be gender neutral.
The news of Ling and Lee reunited with their families became a collective shot in the arm for a nation that could use some good news beyond "Cash for Clunkers." It is deservedly a proud moment for Clinton, perhaps the proudest in his post-presidency.
With the rise of Barack Obama to the presidency and now Clinton as apparently the private citizen in charge of special diplomatic efforts, much of the limelight that was once bestowed upon Jackson has faded. He has been pushed further into the abyss of yesterday.
But that doesn't mean Clinton's efforts to win the freedom of Ling and Lee should cause us to forget the service Jackson rendered to his country.
Byron Williams is an Oakland pastor and syndicated columnist and blog-talk radio host. He is the author of Strip Mall Patriotism: Moral Reflections of the Iraq War. E-mail him at byron@byronspeaks.com or visit his Web site: byronspeaks.com