How disgusted is it possible to be with one administration?

Every time I think Bush and Cheney have finally spelunked to the lowest possible depths of my reserve of disdain, they manage to discover one more hidden chamber of hoarded contempt and antipathy, and boldly march in and set to work with their pickaxes of arrogance and drills of hubris, exploiting every last speck of my scorn for everything that it’s worth. By the time these two pillagers of ill will are through, I’ll have nothing but bare cupboards, and the only response I’ll have left for someone who pokes me in the eye is, “And a good day to you, too, sir!”

For Bush, Talks With Iran Were a Last Resort. “During the past month, according to European officials and some current and former members of the Bush administration, it became obvious to Mr. Bush that he could not hope to hold together a fractious coalition of nations to enforce sanctions — or consider military strikes on Iranian nuclear sites — unless he first showed a willingness to engage Iran's leadership directly over its nuclear program and exhaust every nonmilitary option.”

When it comes to Cheney, it gets even worse. “In the end, said one former official who has kept close tabs on the debate, ‘it came down to convincing Cheney and others that if we are going to confront Iran, we first have to check off the box’ of trying talks.”

And, big surprise, not everyone in that aforementioned “fractious coalition of nations” is thrilled with the ultimatum issued to Iran as a condition of holding talks. “[S]ome participants in the drawn-out nuclear drama questioned whether this was an offer intended to fail, devised to show the extent of Iran's intransigence.” A pretty decent question, considering that the US used almost precisely the same tactic in the lead-up to the Iraq War.

The administration says the conditions are “a test” of Iran’s willingness to seriously engage the West. But how on earth do we expect to be taken seriously by anyone, when we appear to consider diplomacy just another box that needs to be checked off before we can move on to the more drastic measures that have the rabid warmongers in D.C. foaming at the mouths with greedy anticipation?