Bush Gets a Taste of the Sheik's Life

Tell Us What You Really Think

Is Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert auditioning to replace Tony Blair as Bush's new "poodle"?

Certainly Olmert, who may be less popular in Israel than Bush is in the United States, appeared to be working overtime to endear himself to the lame-duck American president.

In a recent interview with the Jerusalem Post, Olmert said that in all his years in public life, he did not recall "that America was led by someone as friendly since the days of President Ford."

"He's also a great guy," Olmert added of Bush. "I know that people say all kinds of things about him. Gentlemen, he's a graduate of Yale and Harvard. People don't graduate from Harvard and Yale without wisdom and understanding of processes and domestic and international relationships. He's a very wise man."

Olmert may have topped himself in his news conference with Bush in Jerusalem, which opened with the prime minister thanking Bush for "the power that you used for good causes for this region and for the world."

The two then went on to answer questions about Iran and the Middle East, but when the questions were over, Olmert thanked Bush for "the courage that you inspire in all of us to carry on with our obligations. . . .

"Sometimes it's not easy, but when I look at you, and I know what you have to take upon your shoulders and how you do it, the manner in which you do it, the courage that you have, the determination that you have, and your loyalty to the principles that you believe in -- it makes all of us feel that we can also . . . move forward," Olmert said.

Even Bush seemed a bit embarrassed.

It is generally seen as good politics in Israel for the prime minister to be close to the American president, and Bush is probably more popular in Israel than elsewhere. Even so, Yaron Ezrahi, a political scientist at Hebrew University, said in an interview that Olmert is overdoing it.

"It evokes among Israelis a cynical response -- it becomes an object of laughter," Ezrahi said. "I don't think a great statesman would engage in that kind of language."

White House Blogs: Nothing to Write Home About

Those involved with White House communications are not particularly big fans of the press corps these days, which perhaps explains their decision to go into competition: Perino and other top officials are blogging the Mideast trip through the official White House Web site.

They are not exactly dishing the inside dirt.