Bush Pushes Peace in Mid-East: Why it's a Good Thing

Over the last couple of days, we've been getting from many sources, such as the Los Angeles Times and others, that Bush is now ramping up a plan to push hard for a Middle-East Peace process. Of course this is a good thing, just for the simple reason that peace is always good (except for a government's defense budget).

But there is one particular reason why this talk of peace talks is good news for us, and the world. It means President Bush knows he's beat on Iraq. If you've been following the news from Washington over the last two weeks, you know that the Democrats and even the Republicans in Congress have had it with this war in Iraq, and smelling blood, they've poised themselves to go for the jugular. Time's up, and they want Bush's head over this thing before the President leaves office. And this new angle that the President is taking on a Mid-East peace process all of a sudden, will allow him to claim diplomatic victory and pull troops out of Iraq without looking like he's giving in to the demands of the Congress he disdains.

So here's how it will play out. Congress succeeds in building enough pressure to put the squeeze on the President, requiring him to give in to their demands to pull troops out on a time line. Bush knows he's a sitting duck and makes a move to begin diplomatically and cooperatively handing over military control to the Iraqis. There will be concessions made to the insurgents, but depending on how good the planners are at playing this, it will end with Bush claiming he ended the war in Iraq and accomplished whatever he wants to accomplish. We may even see a Berlin-esque wall through Baghdad. Who knows. But one thing is for certain, he will not admit defeat.

Make no mistake, however. This, in my opinion, seals the deal for a victory in the Presidential election for the democrats. There are still plenty of months left to change things, I suppose, but I think we better get used to the idea of having either a black president or a woman president. Neither one, of course, is a bad thing in and of itself. It is the individuals who will fill that role that scares me, regardless of ethnicity or gender.