Deterioration

Senator Obama campaigned against Bush's supposedly wrong-headed isolation of Iran, promising instead to initiate "direct presidential diplomacy with Iran without preconditions." President Obama first tried to be the good guy, then was shocked, shocked when that approach failed. Now the Administration's shifted towards sanctions.

The Islamic Republic finally responded to the President's diplomacy, by beginning to enrich uranium to 20 percent, far more than necessary for civilian nuclear power. But at least Iran didn't blame Bush:

Iran's parliament speaker said that attempts by the Obama administration to quell its nuclear program will only encourage the Islamic Republic to speed up its uranium enrichment even more.

"Even if U.S. President Barack Obama dares to repeat threats of tougher sanction against us as much as 10 times, we will still be determined to pursue our enrichment program, but with a much faster pace," Ali Larijani said Thursday, according to remarks carried by the semi-official Fars News Agency.

An Administration spokesman called Iran's failure to play nice "mysterious." It's a mystery only to fuzzy-headed internationalists, or those who never argued with a three year-old.

Time for the President to recognize that Iran may be among the evils deterred with actions, not words.

(via Berman Post)