As Eli noted earlier, U.S. Rep. John Lewis (totally my hero) is sending some mixed signals about the Democratic nomination.

However, this isn’t the first time Lewis has confounded Presidential hopefuls with his convoluted endorsement tactics.

In 1980, not yet a Rep., but an important name in the party, Lewis fielded an angry phone call from President Jimmy Carter after it became totally confusing whether Lewis was backing President Carter or Democratic insurgent Sen. Ted Kennedy.

Lewis, had ties to both men. Lewis, like Carter, was from Georgia and was a big player in Georgia’s Democratic circles. He was also appointed by and served in the Carter Administration bureaucracy. Meanwhile, Lewis was a key organizer in Bobby Kennedy’s campaign for President in 1968 and was part of Ted Kennedy’s left-wing wing of the Democratic Party vs. Carter’s centrist wing.

I never quite sorted out the story (as Lewis re-tells it in his autobiography), but it sure read like he wanted it both ways, and he seemed oblivious to the fact that he was messing with Carter’s mind.