I was wondering what the media reaction would be to Bush's speech last night; from the looks of the reaction, it's not the reaction he's looking for- far from it. Even the Washington Times was downbeat, saying that "the speech comes amid growing doubts about America's ability to single handedly restore order in Iraq"... that's saying something.

No matter what happens to Bush, this is (paradoxically) becoming a huge boost for the United Nations. Bush and much of the American intelligentsia took a stand against the relevance and usefulness of the body, only to find themselves literally forced to return to the U.N. for help. Even if the U.N. security council does decide to assist them, people on both sides of the Atlantic will remember that the United States' unilateralist (if not imperial) rhetoric was blunted in the face of the cold, hard reality. It goes a long way to reaffirming the real, pragmatic necessity of multilateralism.

I doubt this is what Bush's compatriots wanted, but U.N. bashing is going to sound awfully hollow after this.