At Slate, John Dickerson writes that yesterday the Saudi Ambassador, Prince Turki al-Faisal, “spoke to a few dozen scholars, journalists, administration officials, and foreign-service officers” at a Washington DC restaurant.
[B]eneath the diplomat’s even manner was a sharp message for President Bush: If you keep failing to act in the Middle East, the region will be irrevocably damaged. …
…The Bush administration has been faulted for not acting quickly enough after the recent violence started, but Prince Turki criticized Bush for not acting to solve the tension long before the recent flare up began. Two months ago, Prince Saud al-Faisal, the Saudi foreign minister, brought a letter to Bush from King Abdullah advocating the steps necessary for implementing Middle East peace. “The president expressed excitement and willingness,” said the ambassador, “but, alas, there was no follow through.” The inactivity contributed to the current crisis: “The decisions made yesterday bear their bitter fruit today.” …
…Turki urged a return to the peace plan proposed by Abdullah in 2002 as offering Israel the most comprehensive solution, including an end of hostilities and normalized relations in return for total Israeli withdrawal from Arab occupied territories, including Jerusalem. “The United States must play the role of pacifier and lead the world to peace and not be led by Israel’s ambitions,” he said, characterizing the Bush administration not just as inactive, but as such a supine thing that it can be led around by Israel.
It’s August. Do you know where your President is? Dan Froomkin tells all —
Bush spent the evening at the exclusive Joe’s Stone Crabs restaurant talking about sports and movies with a bunch of former Miami Dolphins football players, an actor and the flamboyant host of a raunchy and ribald Spanish-language variety show.
It was only hours after Bush had learned that an Israeli air strike had killed dozens of Lebanese children, a moment for soul-searching if there ever was one.
But what did Bush want to talk about?
Former Dolphin Jim Kiick told Steve Wine of the Associated Press that topics of conversation included movies, the 1972 Dolphins and fellow attendee and former Dolphin Dan Marino’s achievements — but little politics.
Shouldn’t Bush be going on vacation soon?
He’s been on vacation or out to lunch for over five and a half years. He treats this job just like he did his stint in TANG.
[B]eneath the diplomat’s even manner was a sharp message for President Bush: If you keep failing to act in the Middle East, the region will be irrevocably damaged.
That’s what they want. Getting to “root causes” as Bush put it.
Bush was correct when he said that the most outstanding thing he’d done while President was catching that fish a while back.
I can hardly wait until he is on a permanent vacation. Sooner rather than later – IMPEACH THE pRESIDENT!
The line that stuck out for me from the Froomkin article was:
“Is it possible that Bush just isn’t really into the governing part of his job?” Obvious, sure, but it seems like as world crises escalate, the LESS interested he seems to be in governing.