With Friends Like These....

Has it come to this? The leader of (ostensibly) the world’s preeminent nation appearing before the Saudi royal family with hat in hand begging the Saudis and OPEC to lower oil prices?

Surely, if there is any image that underscores the declining prestige of the United States in the world, this is it. We are supposedly a nation that believes in the free market, unless of course, it is contrary to our own economic well being.

I’m sure the President believes that his “special relationship” (read cronies) with the Saudis gives him the latitude to go on his knees before the royal family on the subject.

In response, a Saudi oil minister stated at a press conference after the event, “We will raise production when the market justifies it.”

So much for the President’s special relationship.

Meanwhile, in a region where Bush has called for a "forward strategy of freedom" to promote democracy throughout the Middle East, he conspicuously said little on the subject during his whirlwind tour, and instead strove to shore up his relationships with well known non-democratic states like Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Additionally, after nearly 8 years of allowing the Israeli-Palestinean conflict to fester, he made a desperate, obvious attempt to salvage what little left is of his legacy with a Hail Mary attempt at a peace accord before he leaves office.

Given the distrust and dislike for Mr. Bush in the region, it’s unlikely any such accord will be looked at favorably until there is a new administration in place that will offer a fresh face and clean slate to move forward—assuming that the issue hasn’t been irrevocably damaged beyond repair.