Follow the Bouncing Non-Sequitur

Res ipsa loquitor, as the lawyers say:

"The sense outside of the U.S. is that the United States is responsible for many of the failures in Iraq, first by going in mostly alone and then by incompetent administration," said Jon Alterman, a Mideast expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

"The problem with the way he's talked about democracy in the Middle East is not that people see it as undesirable," Alterman said, "it's that people see it as naive. He needs to persuade cynical people that not only is he sincere, but it's achievable, and here's what they need to do to make it so."

Interviewed on ABC's "Good Morning America" Tuesday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was asked about increasing indications of hostility toward the United States and the Bush administration in other parts of the world.

"We've had to do some difficult things," she replied. "We've had to make clear that the war on terrorism has to be fought, has to be fought on the offense."

"While people may not always agree with our policy, they love the United States," Rice said. "This is still a beacon of hope for the world."

Why do I imagine a flustered housewife trying to distract her guests in the living room from the family crisis in the kitchen by offering more donuts?