Zzzzzzzz... *snort* Huh?

I see some of the horses are finally beginning to cross the finish line.

US Paying Diplomatic Price for Bush Refusal to Deal Directly With Syria, Iran

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US President George W. Bush persists in communicating only indirectly with Syria and Iran despite criticism he is paying the price for years of diplomacy rooted more in ideology than pragmatism.

Bush's refusal to deal with so-called rogue states or organizations accused of terrorism has both undermined US diplomacy and inflicted a painful price on the Middle East, according to numerous policy experts and former US officials.

"The most obvious cost is the extension of the conflict," said Bilal Saab of The Brookings Institution in Washington.

"This conflict that has endured for more than three to four weeks could have ended rapidly if the United States had sent one of its senior envoys to either Damascus or Tehran," he said.

Yeah, maybe Condi could have sat down at that there pie-yana.

So, the media is finally waking up and realizing that Bush's swaggering, "you're either with us or against us," "axis of evil," "bring 'em on" brand of politics isn't exactly sitting well with the rest of the world, and is in fact making the situation worse. Gee, thanks guys. We've only been trumpeting this since day one. And, of course, not the slightest nod in the direction of the Bush detractors.

By the way: Time Magazine scooped you a month ago. And they were six years too late. Way to be on top of things, you knob-ends.

(Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be cross-posts...)