Ouch ... That's Gotta Leave A Mark

After hearing about the big summit between Maliki and Bush in Amman, Jordan, - you know - the one when they were really, really going to get serious this time about stopping all the violence - it was quite a surprise to hear that it got postponed.

But it's worse than that.

Here's how the New York Times described it:

[A]fter meeting earlier today, Mr. Maliki and King Abdullah decided that a joint session planned for this evening with Mr. Bush was unnecessary, according to a senior White House official.

“The Jordanians and the Iraqis jointly decided they did not feel it was the best use of time” and notified Zalmay Khalilzad, the United States ambassador to Iraq, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity. Mr. Khalilzad then called Air Force One to tell Mr. Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who were flying to Amman from Riga, Latvia.

Wow. Talk about leaving egg on the face of the President. Does this mean Sadr has greater pull with Maliki than Bush? One would reasonably think so.

Bush's got himself in another fine mess where, if he does nothing, the U.S. looks powerless and weak on international issues. But if he reacts punitively towards Maliki, he looks like the Colonialist that Sadr claims he is.