Bush Cries Alone

Bush also likened Iran to al-Qaeda, saying both "reserve a special hatred for the most ardent defenders of liberty, including Americans and Israelis. . . .

"That is why Osama bin Laden teaches that 'the killing of Jews and Americans is one of the biggest duties.' And that is why the president of Iran dreams of returning the Middle East to the Middle Ages and calls for Israel to be wiped off the map."

A Weak Denial

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino officially denied that Bush was labeling Obama an appeaser.

But CNN's Ed Henry reports that "White House aides privately acknowledged the remarks were aimed at the presidential candidate and others in his party."

And here's another good question from a reporter at todays' press briefing:

Q. "[T]here was another line in the President's speech about 'some have called for us to break ties with Israel'. Did the President have anyone particular in mind? Because I have not actually heard anyone call for that."

Perino: "I'll have to check for you; I don't know."

A Dissenting View -- from the Pentagon

If anyone who wants to talk to Iran is an appeaser, what does that make Bush's defense secretary?

Karen DeYoung writes in The Washington Post: "The United States should construct a combination of incentives and pressure to engage Iran, and may have missed earlier opportunities to begin a useful dialogue with Tehran, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said yesterday.

"'We need to figure out a way to develop some leverage . . . and then sit down and talk with them,' Gates said. 'If there is going to be a discussion, then they need something, too. We can't go to a discussion and be completely the demander, with them not feeling that they need anything from us.' . . .

"The Bush administration has said it will talk with Iran, and consider lifting economic and other sanctions, only if Iran ends a uranium enrichment program the administration maintains is intended to produce nuclear weapons, a charge Iran denies. . . .

"Gates publicly favored engagement with Iran before taking his current job in late 2006. In 2004, he co-authored a Council on Foreign Relations report titled ' Iran: Time for a New Approach.'"