Israel, the Palestinians, Bush and Clinton

Remember back in 2000 when Bill Clinton got Yasir Arafat and Ehud Barak together at Camp David for an "historic" meeting that was going to cement Clinton's legacy? Remember the fawning praise that Clinton got as he worked hard for Mideast peace?

Juxtapose that with the pessimistic coverage of the current meeting. Bush is about the same amount of time into his second term, the prospects are as dim as they were then but the media coverage is decidedly anti-Bush because if Bush could pull this off where Clinton couldn't, it would make Bush's legacy not just one of war but one of peace. That scares the hell out of the MSM.

Here's a few links showing just how pessimistic the media is:

The Baltimore Sun

ABC News

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

The UK Telegraph

This is just a quick sampling but every paper and news source is dripping with pessimism.

You may recall, Barak gave in to nearly all of Arafat's demands (a truth that even the hard-left American Prospect tries to dispute and revise but can't) and Arafat was so impressed by Clinton and the summit that he couldn't wait to get back home to start the al-Aqsa Intifada in which hundreds of Israeli civilians were murdered.

Update: The prospects today are actually less dim now than in 2000. Abbas is in serious trouble and may be willing to deal. It's scaring the various other Mideast leaders to the point they attended to make sure they can keep the Palestinian issue on the front burner and want to ensure that Abbas doesn't cave. In 2000, Ariel Sharon was in power and there was no appeasing Arafat with that situation in spite of the media optimism.