The Opposite of a Victory Lap

"But from left to right, Bush also faces criticism for pursuing Middle East policies that, many diplomats and analysts believe, have left Israel more threatened than when he assumed office in January 2001.

"'The sum total is that if you measure Israeli security at the beginning of this administration and at the end of the administration, based on things the president either could have done, should have done or failed to do, the report card is pretty negative,' said Daniel C. Kurtzer, who served as Bush's first-term ambassador to Israel.

"Kurtzer, who now advises Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, cites, in part, what he sees as Bush's neglect of the peace process for most of his seven years in office. Despite the president's optimism that he can achieve a Palestinian-Israeli deal in his final year, Kurtzer and other analysts think Israel remains far from peace with its neighbors.

"Meanwhile, the Israeli defense establishment is having second thoughts about Bush's decision to remove Saddam Hussein and the botched occupation of Iraq. Those policies, some argue, have helped fuel the rise of Israel's nemesis, Iran, whose president has spoken openly of trying to wipe Israel off the map. The war has also threatened to destabilize neighboring Jordan with a flood of refugees."

Still Backing Olmert -- for Now

Corky Siemaszko writes in the New York Daily News: "President Bush called embattled Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert an 'honest man' Monday even as a corruption probe of the former Jerusalem mayor widened.

"With a new poll showing that most Israelis believe Olmert is a crook, the growing scandal threatened to overshadow Bush's visit Tuesday to mark the 60th birthday of the Jewish state and promote peacemaking with the Palestinians. . . .

"Last week, Olmert admitted he had accepted hundreds of thousands of campaign dollars in cash-stuffed envelopes from Long Island businessman Morris Talansky.

"But he denied any wrongdoing and said he'd resign if indicted."

Shmuel Rosner writes for Haaretz: "At a meeting with Israeli journalists at the White House Monday morning, Bush offered words of support for Olmert, [saying] that relations between the two leaders are 'nothing but excellent.' Yet, at the same time, he stressed that the peace process does not depend on Olmert, and even named two possible replacements for him."

Here's a partial transcript of Bush's interview with Rosner, Tal Schneider of Maariv, Amos Regev of Israel Hayom and David Horovitz of the Jerusalem Post.

No Regrets

Said Bush, in his interview with the Israeli journalists: "I'm not running for the Nobel Peace Prize; I'm just trying to be a guy to use the influence of the United States to move the process along."

And as usual, Bush refused to admit he's done anything wrong. Indeed, he insisted that he's the one seeing things clearly.