From CorrenteWire:

Hey, Joe, go plagiarize something, wouldja?

“If you really want to change the situation on the ground, demonstrate to the president he’s on his own,” said Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr., chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. “That will spark real change.”

Can Biden seriously think Bush gives two shits about being “on his own”?

Sweet Jeebus, doesn’t Biden even listen to the man? Bush said, if the only people backing Him are Barney and Leadfoot, He’s going to do whatever he wants!

I mean, the guy’s not satisfied with Iraq, so he’s got to start a second war in Somalia, and Biden thinks Bush gives two shits about being on his own?

Look, this is not all that complicated. The president is a charismatic man of no more than average intelligence with a remarkable lack of curiosity about the effect his policies have on the world, but we do know that he has a huge chip on his shoulder and gigantic issues about surpassing his father's achievements, even though the president doesn't quite seem to define "achievement" like most people do.

He has made big changes in his life before, notably getting sober. The single driving factor in his life seems to be the anger that motivates him when someone who has achieved real goals in life tells him that he can't do something. It would not surprise me in the least if his sobriety came because his mother or father told him he'd never get sober.

Now that the Democrats control Congress, and they have actual power and public support that he could never gain on his own aside from terrorist attacks, they have authority he lacks, and his petulance toward them shows that he knows this.

So manipulating him into doing the right thing shouldn't be that difficult. Everyone knows that Iraq needs a political solution, not a military one. To get one started, all that Democrats need do is mention this in every interview, and then lament that we're not going to have a political solution because that kind of diplomacy is simply beyond George W. Bush's capabilities. It would be nice if the president could ratchet up the diplomacy to get stability in the Middle East, but since we all know he's incapable of that level of diplomacy, we'll have to figure out a way to solve the problem without him.

If there is any chance the president can get a diplomatic victory in the Middle East, the only way anyone will get him to try is by making it conventional wisdom that there's no way in hell he'll ever be able to do it. Piss the man off and he might surprise you. Kiss his ass and he acts as the entitled slacker.

I don't know if he can pull it off or not. My gut feeling is "no," because he and his team will get played by the parties involved and wind up emboldening our enemies while declaring victory. (He's already irreversibly handed much of Iraq to Iran and thinks it was the right answer, and he thinks he's improved the economy.)

But if you want a real attempt at diplomacy, make it conventional wisdom that he can't make it work. Only then will he even try. Biden's closer to this than he gets credit for - you just can't make it so openly clear that you're manipulating the guy, or he'll spend all his time resisting you instead of proving he can do what you said he can't.