"There is the smack of the eager about him," Frady says. "He is one of the few people whose direct ambition has been to become the moral leader of his time. This position came to King haphazardly, almost by happenstance, but Jesse has gone right for it."

Jackson's most recent accomplishment--and one of his most public--was his trip to Yugoslavia to secure the release of three American prisoners of war (POWs).

This was not the first such excursion by Jackson--he successfully freed POWs held by Saddam Hussein before the Gulf War, and did the same when President Assad of Syria held U.S. pilots hostage during Ronald Reagan's presidency.

Despite his successes, officials in three separate administrations have been quick to dissuade him from his attempts, and upon his return, have done little to trumpet his achievements.

When Jackson negotiated the release of Lieut. Robert O. Goodman Jr. from a Syrian prison in 1983, The New York Times attributed it to "Syria's desires to further antagonize the Reagan Administration by going over its head with a gesture to the American people."

Further, the Times attacked Jackson for vandalizing the country's foreign policy, and concluded its editorial on the matter by suggesting that Jackson's entire trip was simply "media bait."

Dukakis says it is difficult for a sitting president to have a person go over their head and affect foreign policy, but that sometimes civilians can accomplish objectives which government officials cannot.

"It's important to have people like [Jackson and Jimmy Carter] who can take their own personal prestige and put it to play at a time of crisis. The fact of the matter is that it's tough to turn down a request from Jesse Jackson," Dukakis says.

But according to some, Jackson's aggressiveness does not invalidate his leadership abilities. Dukakis says it is nave to fault a leader for courting press attention.

"Using the media as a means for communicating and making an impact is an essential part of public life," Dukakis says. "You need to get your ideas across some how. Doing things at midnight in a barn somewhere isn't going to have an impact."

Presidential Candidate

Jackson's brightest moments in the spotlight--during his two presidential campaigns--represent his most striking successes.

Although Jackson was not the first black presidential candidate--Frederick Douglas managed to secure a single delegate at the Republican convention of 1888--he was the first serious contender.

In his 1984 campaign, Jackson won over three and a half million votes, and in his 1988 campaign, he surprised frontrunner Dukakis by winning the Michigan primary. He arrived at the Democratic convention with over 1,200 delegates to his name.

"I was not exactly happy about that," Dukakis says of the Michigan upset. "We felt we were comfortably out in front."