Here’s the proposal Iran offered at nuclear talks in Geneva: A lot more talking.

The Iranian proposal, “The Modality for Comrehensive Negotiations (None paper),” was riddled with spelling errors, elicited laughs from the Russian deputy foreign minister and dismay from the U.S. secretary of state, according to The New York Times.

The paper proposed seven more meetings, but no talk of halting uranium enrichment.

“Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told Iran on Monday that it could not continue to ’stall’ and she warned of more sanctions if it defied a two-week deadline to accept the proposal,” the report said.

Meanwhile, the Times’ Helene Cooper suggests that the White House’s approach to Iran, a member of the so-called axis of evil, is schizophrenic:

A senior administration official described the Iran policy as “erratic,” while a European diplomat said, “It does seem a bit schizophrenic.”

Abbas Milani, an Iran expert at Stanford University who has advised the Bush administration, echoed the sentiment. “I don’t understand what they’re doing,” Mr. Milani said. Ms. Rice’s “provocative acts and words” on Monday could derail any chance that Iran’s leaders might reward the Bush concession on talks by suspending uranium enrichment, he said…

Some national security hawks have been sharply critical of the latest moves toward Iran and North Korea.

“The metaphor to look at is intellectual collapse,” said John R. Bolton, the Bush administration’s former ambassador to the United Nations. “It’s not even a carefully staged retreat. Instead, it’s just a sign to the Iranians that toward the end of the administration, they’re desperate to sign deals.”

Over at JTA Election Central, we posted on Liz Cheney’s not so veiled swiped at the Bush-Rice policy of pressing for the Palestinian elections that culminated with a Hamas victory. Josh Marshall of TalkingPointsMemo linked to our post, under the headline “All in the Family,” referring to Cheney’s vice-presidential dad.

Well, later in the week at the AIPAC conference, a Cheney family cousin (Barack something or other) also took a swipe at the Bush administration over the issue:

We must isolate Hamas unless and until they renounce terrorism, recognize Israel’s right to exist, and abide by past agreements. There is no room at the negotiating table for terrorist organizations. That is why I opposed holding elections in 2006 with Hamas on the ballot. The Israelis and the Palestinian Authority warned us at the time against holding these elections. But this Administration pressed ahead, and the result is a Gaza controlled by Hamas, with rockets raining down on Israel.

Rice is sticking to her guns. Here’s what she had to say about the topic in a recent essay that she wrote for Foreign Affairs: (more…)

Here’s the reworked “column” version of my blog post on right-wingers who slam Condi but can’t bring themselves to say a negative word about Bush.

Well, here’s a great example: Aaron Klein, author of “Schmoozing With Terrorists,” writes about U.S. aid in the territories being used to attack Israelis, and blames it all on Rice — as if she doesn’t work for the president.

Click the play button below to listen (or read the transcript).

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