With an eye to "the era after President Bush", the Middle East moves ahead...

In McClatchy's, here

"......leaders in the Middle East, both friend and foe, are now calculating with an eye to the era after President Bush — who visited Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt this month with little visible effect......

.....Bush has cut his administration out of the game. Under Bush, U.S. diplomats have had few substantive discussions with Iran, Syria, Hezbollah or the militant Palestinian group Hamas, which in 2006 won elections that the White House had pushed for....

.....Murphy, referring to Lebanon, said: "Maybe we didn't do quite enough, and said too much."

Firas Maksad, a well-connected Lebanese-American analyst in Washington, said U.S.-backed Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and members of his March 14 movement urged the Bush administration not to take too public a role, for fear that they'd be labeled American lackeys....."

"... now, now, go back to sleep Mr. President!..."