President Bush is willing to meet with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, but is unwilling to negotiate regarding a timetable for removing troops from Iraq. For those who support President Bush (a shrinking group), this is another example of his character, his willingness to fight for what he believes in, even when it is not popular. For his detractors, with numbers growing daily, this again proves that he is stubborn, unwilling to change and completely out of touch with the American people.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is willing to negotiate, but not to meet. Her position is that if the President takes a troop withdrawal timetable off the table, there is no reason to meet. This refusal comes from a woman who flew half way around the world to meet with Syrian President Bashar Assad. She handled the trip poorly, went against the wishes of the President and the State Department and irritated Israel by misrepresenting their position. While she is willing to meet the leader of a country that is home to Hezbollah and is listed as a state sponsor of terror, she is unwilling to meet with the leader of the free world and of her country.

Both President Bush and Nancy Pelosi are making huge mistakes. We have a president who refuses to even discuss an option that a majority of Americans have indicated they want and a House Speaker who is willing to meet with a terrorist, but not her president. The unwillingness of our leaders to meet and discuss issues is another indicator that they both place politics above the people of the United States. Once again, how are we supposed to believe that our leaders have our best interests at heart when they refuse to be in the same room as each other? It is an embarrassment for both of them, for their parties and for our system. Maybe Syrian President Assad could act a go between?