U.S. Talks With Iran Exemplify Bush's New Approaches

European officials said they were disappointed by the Iranian response. Jalili did not respond directly to Burns's presentation, but simply responded with generalities, one official said.

U.S. officials privately suggested that the Iranians were flummoxed by Burns's presence. "They clearly were not able to get their act together to give an answer," one official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. "I think we have the Iranians on the back foot."

On Iraq, the White House joined Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Friday in announcing an agreement to set "aspirational" goals for a U.S. troop drawdown. It marked a significant new posture for Bush, who has often ridiculed Democratic proposals for what he has described as "artificial" timetables.

Johndroe and other White House officials said the agreement is consistent with Bush's long-held requirement that any withdrawals from Iraq be based on security conditions. Those have improved markedly this year in part because of a temporary increase in the number of troops, whose stay in Iraq is coming to an end.

But administration officials also acknowledge that the agreement was necessary because of growing Iraqi political pressure for a withdrawal timeline. Indeed, Maliki said in an interview published Saturday in a German magazine that he supports Obama's proposal for a 16-month phased withdrawal of U.S. combat troops.

"The Americans have found it difficult to agree on a concrete timetable for the exit because it seems like an admission of defeat to them. But it isn't," Der Spiegel quoted Maliki as saying.

Jon B. Alterman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies said the administration's combined steps on Iraq, Iran and North Korea could also end up helping McCain.

"With the administration adopting more centrist positions, McCain doesn't have to try to navigate between a more right-wing administration and a more left-wing opponent," Alterman said. "He can say he supports the administration position, and that position will be supported by more Americans."

Staff writers Glenn Kessler and Michael Abramowitz in Washington contributed to this report.