Dubya's right. Again.

Since the start of the War on Terror, many people have asked why the US Administration's new attitude towards terrorists isn't extended to the IRA. Like so many other things, it turns out that it wasn't so much a case of hypocrisy as it was simply a matter of waiting for Bush to get around to it. And now he's getting around to it. Good. And he's hitting nerves in all the right places.

Heard some idiot IRA supporter call in to the radio a few minutes ago to complain about the hypocrisy of the McCartney sisters complaining about their brother's murder and then going to shake hands with George Bush, who has killed "thousands of millions" of people. (Thousands of millions now, is it? Blimey. He has been busy over the weekend.) Not a complaint we ever heard from IRA supporters when Sinn Fein were welcome at the White House, was it? "How can our brave leaders associate with this warmongering murderer?"

Ted Kennedy's done the decent thing for possibly the first time in his life. Good for him.

And, as usual, the White House's professional diplomats are refusing to believe that the President could really mean what he says and are backpedalling frantically:

The White House has told the House of Representatives that President Bush will probably not attend celebrations in the House if he is to be seen in the same room as Gerry Adams and other Sinn Fein leaders.

However, one source close to the event said that White House frustration extended to all the Northern Ireland parties for failing to reach a viable political agreement.

That source has a comfy desk waiting for him at the State Department.

Interesting times.