On Tuesday, the NYT produced this assessment of the state of the Bush presidency:

Deep into his second term, Mr. Bush faces an array of political and policy problems that seem to be growing by the day. His once-powerful standing with the public has been leached away by the war in Iraq. His party, dogged by corruption charges, has lost power on Capitol Hill, leaving him exposed to a Democratic opposition that is now armed with subpoena power and the energy that comes from a good shot at recapturing the White House in 2008. His domestic agenda is stalled, and his foreign policy is constrained.

Funny, I didn’t even know he had a domestic agenda.

And I know for sure he doesn’t have a foreign policy. How could he? His Secretary of State is Condoleezza Rice, after all. Competent CEOs promote managers to their level of incompetence. The unparalleled incompetence of George Bush led him to promote Condi way above her level of incompetence.

So now we don’t have anything resembling even the ghost of a foreign policy. There might be a series of actionable items, but certainly not a policy or a strategy. If we had a policy or a strategy, Condi would remember. She would tell you that herself if you asked her, especially if you were a congressional committee: that she would surely remember something like that. And she doesn’t, which is why we aren’t implementing anything which resembles a policy or a strategy. She putters along from actionable item to actionable item. But any kind of plan or design? Are you kidding? She’s smarter than any five of your family members put together. Maybe any five of your family members plus the inestimable Jeeves. She don’t need no damn plan or strategy or whatever. She’s gonna have a legacy anyway. It may not be the one she wants. But you don’t run for President with the legacy you want. You run for President with the legacy you have.

So let’s just sit back and watch Condi position herself for a future presidential run.