The incredible shrinking Professor.

Putz’s credibility is approaching his beloved W’s poll numbers. More hammering today from Djerejian and Von at Obsidian wings, who both chuckled at this Putzism:

"DIPLOMACY is the art of saying 'nice doggie' while reaching for a stick." Condi is saying 'nice doggie.' Israel is the stick.

One may disapprove of this strategy, but complaints that Condi isn't accomplishing anything merely indicate that the complainer doesn't know what's going on.

Got that? Complain about Condi-come-lately and you're just uninformed.

What does Von have to say about that?

This comment … is unbelievably foolish both in general and as applied to the crisis du jour.

Heh. Indeed.

First, (…) diplomacy is not "the art of saying 'nice doggie' while reaching for a stick." Diplomacy is the art of saying nice doggie while holding a stick. Indeed, one of my long-term criticisms of this Administration's foreign policy is its fundamental inability to distinguish the sticks we hold from the sticks we don't. It's also a failing of several prominent warbloggers, including Reynolds.

Among many, many others, Von. But please, go on.

Second, Israel is not a stick we're reaching for, nor is it a stick that we already hold. It is a stick that is being currently wielded by itself, Sorcerer's Apprentice style, to go smashy-smashy-smashy. Now, make no mistake: Israel has the right to go smashy-smashy and, despite my misgivings regarding the strategy, I wouldn't stop them yet. But when Reynolds talks about reaching for stick-Israel, he's not describing this world. He's describing some alternate universe in which we have a helluva lot more options than we do.

I think that pretty much sums up Putz beautifully. He left this world long ago, after he punched that one-way ticket to Bushlandia via Baghdad.