As with all things, we must judge people not by the talk they talk, but by the walk they walk. Hillery set this up by squawking for Powell to be sent over to try to calm things down. Now that he has, she's going to lead the charge to be critical of him for negotiating with Arafat. If Powell hadn't gone, she'd have sent a different letter, criticizing him for not getting involved.
Hillery and Bill had Arafat to the White House 17 times while they were in power. 17 Times!!! More than any other head of state, period. She kissed Arafat's wife. Talk about negotiating with a terrorist.
On the other hand, Bush spoke in the Rose Garden, calling on both sides to step back and realize the long term effects of what they were doing. He called on Arafat to denounce terrorism, in Arabic, he called for Sharon to withdraw, "without delay". Last I checked, the tanks were still surrounding the PLO headquarters.
Bush spoke the words he had to speak to calm down the situation, but has done nothing to force Sharon's hand. He is screaming as loudly as he can that he is on Israel's side in this, without having to utter the words. Powell met with Sharon, no conditions. Not, "I'll meet with you only after you withdraw your forces". But the meeting with Arafat got cancelled until he stepped up to the plate. Sure, he's lying. Bush knows he's lying, Powell knows he's lying. Everybody with a half a brain knows he's lying including Saddam. But, Arafat had to blink. In the meantime, the IDF is doing a lot of dirty work for us. Gathering intelligence that would never have seen the light of day without their isolation of Arafat. We owe them a debt of gratitude and if anybody thinks Bush doesn't know that they're kidding themselves. Israel and Bush are taking a ton of heat around the world. The fact is that they are doing the right thing for the US & Israel for the long term, and if we're honest with ourselves, we know it.
Talk is cheap. Speak softly and carry a big stick. Last time I checked, Arafat is still living in two rooms, no water, no electricity, little food, and tanks surrounding him. Sure sounds like he's winning to me...