Not Everyone Is Hailing the Chief at This Commencement

One Man's Appeasement Is Another's Diplomacy

Speaking of hubbubs, Bush started a big one during his recent trip to the Middle East when he declared -- in front of the Israeli Knesset, no less -- that talking with "terrorists and radicals" such as Iran and Hezbollah was akin to the appeasement of the Nazis before World War II.

But last week, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice suggested it was all a big misunderstanding.

"The president was using an historical point, which is that it's fine to talk to people, and that's not the problem," Rice said in an interview Thursday with the BBC. "As I said, we've offered to talk to Tehran. We do talk to Syria. The question is: What's going to be the outcome of the talk? You don't do diplomacy just to talk. You try to have outcomes."

Rice also addressed some of the developments that seem to undermine Bush's analogy. For example, his administration is involved in six-party talks with North Korea, which early in his tenure he called a member of the "axis of evil." early in his tenure.

Then there is the matter of Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militant group that Bush cited in his appeasement speech. It reached an accord last week with the government of Lebanon, which the administration supports.

Noting that Hezbollah "stood for election in Lebanon," Rice said: "We understand that the circumstances of some of our allies and the circumstances of the United States are not identical. So we wouldn't ask that every country behaves in exactly the same way that the United States does on these issues with Hezbollah."

This appeasement thing sure is complicated.

Welcome Back?

As his wife's chances of winning the Democratic presidential nomination dwindle, perhaps former president Bill Clinton still has a chance at a different White House role?

The current president suggested Friday that he might like to reach out to Bill Clinton for help in pitching trade deals with Colombia, Panama and South Korea that are going nowhere in the Democratic Congress.

After all, Bush noted in remarks on the South Lawn, Clinton "worked hard to open up markets," an apparent reference to his predecessor pushing through the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA.

Later that day, Fox Business Network interviewer Neil Cavuto asked Bush about Clinton: "Would you ever invite him to say, 'Look, I'm having trouble pitching trade'?"

"Yes, I would," Bush replied.

That's not to say it would be easy. Hillary Clinton has had unkind things to say about NAFTA on the campaign trail and has sought to distance herself from her husband's trade policies. "Now, obviously, he's got an issue because his wife is running for president," Bush acknowledged. "I fully understand that."

"Would you ask him why his wife changed her mind?" Cavuto added.

"No, the voters do that," Bush said. "The voters get to do that."

Accentuating the Positive

During a speech last week at Fort Bragg, N.C., extolling progress in Iraq, Bush referred to the extreme difficulties that faced U.S. troops there two years ago.

"With Saddam [Hussein] gone, our job was to help the Iraqi people defend themselves against the extremists and to build a free society," Bush said. "In 2006, that mission was faltering."

Bush has not always been so plainspoken, however. In October 2006, just before the midterm elections, Bush said during a news conference: "Absolutely, we're winning."

He moderated his stance a bit two months later in an interview with The Post: "We're not winning; we're not losing."

But now, with improved conditions in Iraq, Bush has begun to more clearly acknowledge the earlier tough times. In an April television interview, he said he was "worried" and "thought it was failing" in 2006, but remained publicly upbeat "to bolster the spirits of the people in the field."

Quote of the Week

"Fiscal conservativism is one of my defining issues for the remaining months."

-- President Bush in Friday's Fox interview.