Iran, Condi, and Expectations

An interesting dynamic is being set up in my head, and I'm wondering if it's getting wider resonance - outside the confines of my skull, that is. The Bush Administration has made such a colossal screwup of their foreign policy objectives that the "expectations game" is ridiculously skewed in their favor, even for me. Basically, if we can declare a semblance of victory re: Iran without having to drop a single bomb, it's a victory. But it's not just a victory. Viewed next to the efforts with Iraq, North Korea, and Darfur, it's a veritable Wonder of the World. It's the Babylonian Hanging Gardens or Foreign Policy. It's Sisyphus finally getting the rock stable at the top of the hill. It's the Rachmaninoff of Diplomacy.

Condi benefits from this in a serious way. She'll be hailed as not just competent - something in serious dispute after her stint as NSC advisor - but as visionary. Get out your vellum, boys in the conservative press, it's time for another hagiography.