The same column that told us the real story about Norm Mineta says that the President’s approval rating on the Mideast is not as high as his general approval:

Fifty-six percent thought President Bush is doing a good or excellent job on the Mideast, with 23 percent rating his performance only fair and 16 percent finding it poor.

I often find polls infuriating, because they’re so vague as to allow whatever interpretation the reporter wants to put on them. We don’t know why people are less pleased with the President’s performance here, but you can bet that most will report it as the reporters view it–frustration that he’s not “doing more” and getting “more engaged” like their hero President Clinton.

In fact, I’m unhappy with Bush on this issue, too, but not because he’s not moving the “peace process” forward–it’s because he’s coddling that terrorist Arafat. But there’s no way to tell from this poll which factor, or what proportion of both, is resulting in the number.