Good luck with that

James Baker, along with George Will, is one of the smartest guys I’ve never liked all that much, mostly because it seems he’s diametrically opposed to doing what I knee-jerk believe is right, only to later doubt myself and then learn something upon hearing his explanation. Some guys run in the higher circles of power because of their families, their ‘aw, shucks’ populism, their bureaucratic tenure, or their accomplishments in other arenas, but perennial go-to guys like Baker are always sought at the dinner parties and back rooms of Washington because of incredible intellectual cunning and social smarts that would make the popular girl in high-school wither.

How, then, did he stumble into his current crappy job? Over at Balloon Juice, Tim details Baker’s acceptance of the inevitable fact of Iraqi heartache, and his W-sponsored commission’s possible suggestion to split shepherd the country toward dividing itself equitably along the three straining sectarian seams that will likely burst anyway (though the Kurds are moving that way through the magic of marketing). This can’t be a viable option due to the integrated cities that wouldn’t easily go either Shia or Sunni, but that’s about the best anyone can suggest by this point. Tim:

You have to wonder whether Baker’s time would have been better spent discouraging Bush fils from going into Iraq in the first place. At this point his job seems about as useful as junior smashing the family car into an oncoming freight train and then commissioning Baker to figure out how to get it started again.

I have to wonder what Baker thinks deep down about what his old friend’s screw-up son, with all the best resources at hand, has done to the country.