<Larry corrected my error on ambassadorships.

So long as Carter is not charged with any federal crimes, such as the treasonous acts you hint at, he remains entitled to the full measure of the position he currently holds, that being a former president of the United States of America. You may not like the fact, but he is still very much a D.C.-heavy, and when he makes endorsements or criticisms of any kind, the tall hats turn to listen and you can bet a news event is about to occur.

Where the presidency is concerned, “out of office” does not equate to “out of power”. It’s assumed to be today, but merely because ford prefers the home life to politics, Nixon slunk off to live out his embarrassed days at Biscayne, Reagan is -- “Well...” -- Carter embarrassed the nation and is basically a much-disliked outcast, and Papa Bush enjoys playing in big business. Carter enjoyed politics, and he still does.

The point remains, though, that the man was poorly briefed, and later was forced to pay the price of this inadequacy with international embarrassment. It was wrong of the Bush administration to handle a former president without due consideration, and all the administration managed to do was feed additional ammunition to the Democratic Party -- ammunition, I have to admit, on which the members had been running low.

Rank has its privileges, and Carter definitely has rank -- and he should never be a man to take lightly.

And, yes, he actually is a recognized, and official, American Ambassador, but an ambassador without, as you say, appointment. Just as any former president would be if travelling overseas, however, Carter is an international force, and his words are those of a nation’s -- ours. He is well-traveled, well-received in the international arena and, when in foreign lands, is given carte blanche access to U.S. embassies and U.S. military postings.

Regardless of how you feel about the facts, he is the USA overseas.

A short quiz:
In conversation, what is the correct method of address when speaking with, or writing to, for a former president of the United States of America?

A shorter answer:
Mr. President.

You don’t need to respect the man, but the position remains formidable.

Some things don’t change with opinion,
Dan