Viewpoint

The adulation of the crowds, the rush to meet their every whim, and the front-page headlines that greet their every move have finally gone to the heads of the Hollywood elite. At least a handful of them (Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston, and Danny DeVito seem to be taking the most active role) must believe that their star power has resulted in some magical powers that will allow them to bring peace to the Middle East.

In that belief, they plan to visit the Middle East and bring together the warring parties. Using their special powers, they'll appeal to the common folk to put down their hatred and weapons of war. There's certain to be a tearful group hug at one point or another.

I'm sure it will be quite an event.

These people aren't insincere in their efforts; in fact, in an odd way, I admire the willingness to go try to do something to help end the conflict. What I don't admire is the self-important attitude that leads them to believe that their professions as entertainers somehow qualify them to negotiate peace in the Middle East when they can't even outline their own agenda for achieving that peace.

Hell, I wish them the best of luck. If they can find a miraculous way out of the mess, God bless them.

Simply, though, I expect them to be mildly less successful than Jimmy Carter, whose post-presidential record has been more about stardom than it has been about achievement.