Word out of New York is that in one day, Condi Rice has forged an agreement on a cease-fire for Israel/Lebanon that all parties are at least willing to consider. Bolton has fumbled around with this for the last two weeks and hasn't shown anywhere near this kind of progress.

This isn't new, of course. Rice saved the Darfur resolution after Bolton spent two weeks negotiating to a stalemate. Many people on the left feel that Bolton and Rice belong in the same boat of neocons who simply don't get the way the world works.

I disagree. There are substantial differences between the two. Rice and Bolton may both see the world differently than most of the foreign policy establishment, but Rice understands the pragmatic value of diplomacy, when to press and when to compromise, how to minimalize isolation, and the importance of convincing peers of good faith in negotiations. Bolton doesn't get any of it, and that's why she succeeds where he fails.