The Opposite of a Victory Lap

President Bush heads off to the Middle East today for a five-day tour through a political landscape of false predictions and broken promises.

Terence Hunt writes for the Associated Press: "President Bush has a faulty calendar and questionable optimism when it comes to the Middle East. By his original reckoning, an elusive peace should have happened three years ago and a democratic Palestinian state should now be living in harmony with longtime enemy Israel.

"That was the hopeful timetable prescribed in the 2003 Mideast strategy known as the 'road map.'

"Of course, it did not happen.

"Instead of a historic reconciliation, tensions flared, more violence erupted and bloodshed brought grief and deepened generations-old hatreds, particularly on the Palestinian side, which suffered disproportionately heavy casualties.

"So, Bush reset his timetable and promised to get engaged in the tedious peacemaking process that he largely avoided during most of his presidency. Now, he leaves for the Mideast Tuesday to try again. Undaunted by the missed deadline, he already had set an ambitious target for an agreement about 250 days from now, reaching for a peace deal that has eluded other administrations that invested more time, energy and prestige than his administration has.

"Nearly six months after the new process was launched in Annapolis, Md., there is little sign of progress and widespread skepticism about reaching an accord."

Sheryl Gay Stolberg writes in the New York Times: "When Israeli and Palestinian leaders committed themselves to peace talks after meeting in Annapolis, Md., last November, Mr. Bush had hopes of ending his presidency on a foreign policy high note, with a deal for the contours of a Palestinian state. But with Mr. Bush headed to the region this week for the second time in five months, peace seems as elusive as ever -- and some are looking to his successor.

"'In some ways, this is the roadshow cast of "Waiting for Godot,"' said Anthony H. Cordesman, a Middle East expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. He said the trip would 'basically set a marker while everybody waits for the next president,' while other analysts predicted the most Mr. Bush could accomplish would be to hand over a working peace process to his successor. The five-day trip, which will begin Tuesday, will revolve around the 60th anniversary of Israel's founding, but will also take Mr. Bush to Saudi Arabia and Egypt. For the White House, the timing is hardly ideal.

"Israel's prime minister, Ehud Olmert, is embroiled in a criminal investigation that threatens his job. The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, left Washington disappointed after a recent meeting with Mr. Bush. Although the peace talks continue, the two sides are far apart on the core issues that divide them. . . .

"Jon B. Alterman, the director of the Middle East program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, offered an especially bleak assessment.

"'It's hard to remember a less auspicious time to pursue Arab-Israeli peacemaking than right now,' Mr. Alterman said. 'The politics on the ground are absolutely miserable. U.S. power and influence are at low ebb in the region. The Bush administration is beset by challenges -- the combination of a faltering economy, persistent difficulties in Iraq and a growing threat from Iran -- all at a time that the president's popularity is at a historical low, and his administration is settling more and more into lame duck status.'"