At a pivotal moment in Sunday's negotiations in Haiti, with U.S. warplanes ready to invade, President Clinton told Jimmy Carter by phone that it was time for the former president to get out.
Carter resisted. "We're almost there," he said. "We've got this nailed." Clinton acquiesced, giving Carter 30 more minutes. After that, Clinton said, he'd "have to order you out of there."
That moment crystallizes the tension and competition between the two men that's been so evident in the Haiti crisis:
Both are used to giving orders, not taking them. Both possess a healthy ego. Both have deep convictions and iron wills.
"There are so many common bonds that they share - as Southerners, as former governors," says Mark Gearan, White House communications director.
But Carter, who turns 70 on Oct. 1, is old enough to be Clinton's father. Carter's presidency has been relegated by history to the list of failures, while Clinton's is still evolving, its legacy dependent in part on Carter's success in Haiti.
No wonder that old tales about friction are resurfacing.
Clinton aides sneer Carter is trying to rewrite his presidency. Carter friends complain the current administration is jealous of the Georgian's diplomatic prowess.
Clinton was so distressed by his staff criticizing Carter that Tuesday he put out the word: Stop now.
"President Clinton said Sunday night that the nation owes Jimmy Carter a debt of gratitude - and he meant it," says David Gergen, a senior State Department adviser.
Their staffs may gripe, but between the two presidents, "There is respect and affection," says Clinton counsel Lloyd Cutler, who held the same job under Carter.
There is no doubt that Carter, with retired general Colin Powell and Sen. Sam Nunn, rescued Clinton, fending off a U.S. invasion.
"We had very strict instructions," Carter said Tuesday in Atlanta. "We could not change the schedule of troops into Haiti. We had to make sure that (Haitian president Jean-Bertrand) Aristide was returned and that the three military officers stepped down. That was the framework."
Since then, however, he has criticized Clinton's policies and management of the peace negotiations.
Carter told Haitian leaders he felt "shame" for Clinton policies and later contradicted Clinton's views of junta leader Raoul Cedras and president Emil Jonassaint.
Tuesday night, Carter said he had invited Aristide to Atlanta to discuss the accord between the United States and the Haitian leader's opponents.
He even disagreed with Clinton over when sanctions will be lifted and whose idea it was to make Powell part of the negotiating team. "Well, I've expressed my criticism publicly," Carter said.
"Who cares?" says George Stephanopoulos, a senior Clinton aide. "No U.S. troops had to force their way into Haiti yesterday. Who cares who gets the credit?"
Clinton got some credit, according to a New York Times/CBS poll. His approval rating soared 22 percentage points, up from 33%.
Privately, White House officials said Carter overstepped his mandate, may have been manipulated by Cedras and could have cut a tougher deal. The administration, they said, will avoid calling on Carter in future crises.
But Carter is already turning his attention back to North Korea's nuclear crisis. The South Korean government Tuesday invited him to help jump-start talks. In June, Carter, without a Clinton mandate, persuaded North Korea to agree to talks, defusing a standoff.
Terry Adamson, a Carter administration Justice Department official and longtime friend, says the former president, in his White House days, considered Clinton "one of his people . . . family."
"Two different generations . . . different approaches," Adamson says. "But Carter knows who's president and who's not."
Frank Moore, a former Carter White House assistant, notes that Carter endorsed Clinton before the 1992 Georgia primary and voted for him. He says that's ample demonstration of Carter's loyalty.
