It's nice to wake up and see North Korea destroying a nuclear tower on the New York Times frontpage. It's even nicer to (belatedly) see Bush administration officials waking up to reality—
“I think one of the things we did in this process, to be honest, is I think we learned a bit,” Mr. Bush's national security adviser, Stephen J. Hadley, said at the White House on Thursday.
You don't say -- patient multilateral negotiations with an adversary state can produce results? While this is by no means the end of our nuclear discussions with North Korea, it is also major step forward and practical example for our dealings with Iran (admittedly a tougher nut to crack in terms of its stronger economy and less oppressive government.) A conservative critic of the new direction quoted in the same article described Bush's previous, unsuccessful policies as "core Republican Party principles." Talk about a brand in distress!
--Tim Fernholz
