On Tue, 9 Apr 2002, Seth Ackerman wrote:
> But though I hate inside-the-Beltway Kremlinology, let me put to you
> that on many policy issues, the guy who actually has the final say on
> choosing between Powell's advice and Rumsfeld's advice is Bush Sr., with
> whom W. is reported to converse on the phone *every day*.
That's a good sign. You can make the argument that it's Bush Senior who really started the peace process by forcing Shamir to go to Madrid. He's the only president who's ever forced an Israeli prime minister to seek peace against his will, and the only one to do it by threatening to withhold money. He explicitly withheld $10 billion in loan guarantees (earmarked for the massive resettlement of Russian immigrants) until Shamir gave in.
It was such a shock to William Safire that he voted for Clinton in protest.
Michael