Right Vision, Wrong Policy -- and a Mideast Price to Pay

President Bush lost more than a midterm election and a cantankerous defense secretary last week. He also abandoned any lingering chance of remaking U.S. foreign policy into a radical force for democratic change in the Middle East and elsewhere.

He had to. The American electorate showed emphatically that it had lost faith in his party and his promises. Bush's refreshing generic denunciations of foreign dictators -- including those who played ball with Washington -- could not make up for his failure to produce positive visible results to support the rhetoric. He needed an immediate firebreak, and so he named Bob Gates to replace Don Rumsfeld at the Pentagon.

	And Now, Back to the War » Sebastian Mallaby The news has been dominated by elections and Iraq. After tomorrow, there will be only Iraq -- and an agonizing choice between soldiering on, scaling back or pulling out. Novak: Welcome or Not, Bush Campaigns Marques: A New Diamond War PostGlobal: Allow Gay Marriage OPINIONS SECTION: Toles, More Save &amp; Share Article What&apos;s This? Digg Google <