What's on Jesse's Mind?

At first Bill Clinton knew exactly what he wanted to do after learning that North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms had told a Raleigh newspaper that the President "better have a bodyguard" if he ever visited his state. "I'm ready to go to North Carolina right now," an angry Clinton informed White House chief of staff Leon Panetta, who brought him the news last Tuesday. The deep strike in enemy territory was quickly dismissed as impulsive. "We can't just react every time Jesse Helms decides to push his crazy buttons," said a senior official.

Instead White House aides glimpsed an opportunity. Helms'...