ABSTRACT
When he was confronted with competing and conflicting political advice, President Lyndon Johnson was fond of quoting one phrase from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah: "Come now, let us reason together". He was establishing himself as a higher moral authority who had the power to mediate the controversy. The skilled environmental negotiator can also make great progress in advancing his point of view by setting himself up as a "come let us reason together" preacher. The environmental negotiator who uses this tactic offers his services as a paternal, knowledgeable, impartial mediator for a specific environmental negotiation. The environmental negotiator may already be a marked individual. The environmental negotiator may not have the stature, or the job title, or the finesse required for him to be convincing as a higher moral authority. Environmental activists are masters at resisting the preacher negotiating tactic.
