George Bush, Master Strategist?

If someone were actually running the country, it might look like something devilishly clever was going on.

Bush continues his tirades against Congress for letting down the troops, while under the radar his two chief cabinet officers take tiny steps toward getting us out of this miserable war.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates is telling the Iraqis to shape up because we’re not going to be there forever, while Condoleeza Rice schedules meetings with the “neighbors,” Iran and Syria, early next month to talk about the mess. They may have finally read the Iraq Study group recommendations.

In any other Administration, this would look like a “talk softly but carry a big stick” strategy or whatever, but with Bush, who knows? It might just be his version of the old Saturday Night Live skit that showed Reagan bumbling in public but briskly in command behind closed doors.

Still in the spirit of Spring, we can look for signs of new life without getting our hopes up too high.

Meanwhile, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi et al should keep the pressure on but consider turning the volume down. At this point, squabbling with the likes of Joe Lieberman is beside the point.