A Ludicrous Denial

"White House spokeswoman Dana Perino was asked after the speech about the omission and here's what she said:

"'First of all, this is the celebration of Israel's founding. That is the purpose of the event today -- it's not meant to be a 'kitchen sink' speech. In every interview and every opportunity the President has talked about the specifics of the policy. You know what that is. And nothing has changed in the last 36 hours.'"

But, as Nissenbaum writes: "If it was meant to be merely a celebration of Israel's founding, Bush probably would not have spoken about the threats from Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas."

John D. McKinnon writes in the Wall Street Journal (subscription required): "Mr. Bush's comments ran the risk of alienating Palestinians, despite its goal of advancing the White House-led peace initiative to establish a Palestinian state on Israel's borders. Some Palestinians zeroed in on Mr. Bush's language, borrowed from the Old Testament, that described Israel as 'the homeland for the chosen people.' Israeli settlers and right-wing politicians often use those terms as the rationale against giving up land for peace. . . .

"In the process of reassuring Israelis on security, . . . Mr. Bush made little explicit mention of his idea for a Palestinian state, saying only that 'the Palestinian people will have the homeland they have long dreamed of and deserved -- a democratic state that is governed by law, and respects human rights, and rejects terror.' Notably, he didn't specify a timeline for creating the state.

"That omission sparked consternation across the West Bank and Gaza Strip, where Palestinians there and in surrounding Arab countries were commemorating the 'Nakba,' or catastrophe, a reference to the approximately 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were forced from their homes during the war that led to Israeli independence. 'President Bush's speech was an insult,' said Diana Buttu, a former legal adviser to the Palestinian negotiating team."

And Jennifer Loven of the Associated Press reminds us: "Bush's second trip to Israel in four months ended without progress.

"The two sides have been negotiating since December, but nothing visible has emerged from the secretive process. Both the Israeli and Palestinian leaders are weak among their own constituencies and fresh violence from the Gaza Strip and settlement activity by Israelis are diminishing an already precious supply of trust. The president did no negotiating while he was here. In a much-anticipated Knesset speech on Thursday, he only gently urged Mideast leaders to 'make the hard choices necessary,' but made no mention of concrete steps."

Bush's Gets the Saudi Brush-Off

Loven also writes: "Saudi Arabian leaders made clear Friday they see no reason to increase oil production until their customers demand it, apparently rebuffing President Bush amid soaring U.S. gasoline prices.

"During Bush's second personal appeal this year to King Abdullah, Saudi officials stuck to their position that they are already meeting demand, the president's national security adviser told reporters.

"'What they're saying to us is . . . Saudi Arabia does not have customers that are making requests for oil that they are not able to satisfy,' Stephen Hadley said on a day when oil prices topped $127 a barrel, a record high."

Karl Rove Watch

Ryan Grim writes for Politico about overhearing House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers tell two other people: "We're closing in on Rove. Someone's got to kick his ass."