Bush's Next Step? Who Knows?

Bush: "Sure. I'm going to absolutely help. And --

Blitzer: "But that's what I'm trying to understand. What will you do?"

Bush: "It depends on the circumstances, Wolf. One of the first things I did was get the negotiations started in the first place. And I'll make sure, as will the secretary of state, that when they're stuck, we will help 'em get unstuck. But I can't -- "

Blitzer: "Well, are you ready to go to the region? Because it has been seven years, you haven't gone to Israel or the Palestinian territories --"

Bush: "Wolf, Wolf, one -- first of all, the president doesn't have -- going to a region in itself is not going to unstick negotiations. It is working with the principals, Prime Minister Olmert and President Abbas, that's how you get things done. Now, if I have to call them together, I will. But it's -- this idea that somehow you are supposed to travel and therefore good things are going to happen is just not realistic. What is realistic is to get the frame of mind of the leaders right and then head 'em off.

"But this notion about how America can impose their vision just simply isn't going to work. It has got be a Palestinian vision, an Israeli vision where they find common ground. And our job is to help 'em find common ground. And I'm going to spend a lot of time doing it."

Similarly, in the prepared text of a speech at Johns Hopkins University, national security adviser Stephen J. Hadley was much clearer about what Bush wouldn't do than about what he would do: "The President will not force a resolution of differences nor impose a peace plan with his name on it," Hadley said. "What the President will do is use his relationships with the parties to help them build the confidence necessary to make hard choices for peace."

Hoping for a Miracle?

Caren Bohan writes for Reuters: "President George W. Bush, whose legacy seems destined to be defined by the Iraq war, now wants to make history by brokering the Middle East peace deal that eluded so many of his predecessors.

"But Bush's effort, launched this week at Annapolis, Maryland, to forge a treaty between Israelis and Palestinians by the end of 2008 faces long odds, not least because of doubts about his commitment. . . .

"'This is an administration that has for seven years essentially ignored this issue,' said David Rothkopf, a scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 'Of course it's possible he could get lucky.'

"'If he manages to pull a rabbit out of a hat, it will be one of the great surprises of American diplomacy.'"

Rice Only Pushing So Much

The Middle East peace push is widely seen as the pet project of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. But, with Vice President Cheney just waiting for a chance to trip her up, and with Bush not entirely on board (especially when it comes to leaning on Israel), she only has so much room to maneuver.