John B. King Jr.

The first thing that has to be done as part of this too, is the two Israelis kidnapped by Hezbollah must be given back unconditionally. All of the other political considerations come after that.

This is the third delay now, Anderson. And it has not only those involved in the negotiations frustrated, the parties involved in the conflict frustrated, it has pretty much the entire international community frustrated that they can't…

The key significant difference is, what about that international force, and if an international force goes in, and the Lebanese army comes out, when would the Israelis withdraw?

Hezbollah is winning the war of public opinion, that Hezbollah right now has the upper hand, in terms of public opinion across the Arab and Muslim world, and it is time to get a deal, because of the killing.

The pace of the Israeli campaign has accelerated, just in case. Perhaps it will go on for weeks. But if there's a deal within days, they say the Israelis are doing what they can do within that period of time. Punish, punish, and punish, so…

Well, clearly, the international pressure, the world public opinion, as you put it, was part of the president's calculation today in coming out and saying, he, too, like Tony Blair, wants this U.N. resolution.

The tough calculation for President Bush is going to be, if either the Israelis or, more -- more likely, U.S. officials say, the Lebanese government says it doesn't have the political strength to do this right now, what does the president…

What they want is simply to make sure that Hezbollah pulls back, promises to abide by any cease-fire, and then enters into negotiations with the Lebanese government about disarming.

Essentially, Condoleezza Rice said I can deliver Israel if you will work with me on making the difficult choices about disarming Hezbollah.

They need the Lebanese government to try to strike some deal with Hezbollah. And Hezbollah right now, U.S. officials concede, seems emboldened, and not willing to negotiate at all.

What the United States wants is a force that has the right to patrol the Syrian border, so that no one can resupply Hezbollah.

Unless conditions change, unless Hezbollah is open to disarming, open to being part of a political process, not a militia, then the Israel military activities will continue.

But Anderson, let's not miss the key point, what the Lebanese government wanted most was the U.S. to change its mind and to say it will come to Israel and it will push Israel for an immediate ceasefire.

The Bush administration continues to insist the doctrine remains in place. As President Bush laid out just after September 11th, you're with us or against us.

There is a great deal of frustration among conservatives, especially for the group known as neoconservatives, that the muscular edge of U.S. foreign policy has been lost.

What they hope, though, Anderson, is that this war is now so unpopular, the American people are so fed up with it, perhaps now repulsed by word of what happened to these two young soldiers, that any argument about change will overwhelm the…

They have the '02 and the '04 elections to tell them, when the Republicans stress national security and try to paint the Democrats as being weak, the Republicans, in the last two election cycles, have been victorious on that argument.

What they hope, though, Anderson, is that this war is now so unpopular, the American people are so fed up with it, perhaps now repulsed by word of what happened to these two young soldiers, that any argument about change will overwhelm the…

How worried are the Democrats? They have the '02 and the '04 elections to tell them, when the Republicans stress national security and try to paint the Democrats as being weak, the Republicans, in the last two election cycles, have been…

You owe the American people a more specific plan.

What they're banking on most of all is simply the attitude that the American people are fed up with what they see and they will want change.

If these people want legal status in the United States, they should be holding American flags, they should be demonstrating for rights in the United States, not celebrating Mexico or El Salvador.

If the president's numbers remain below 40 percent come the fall, how do Republicans overcome it and keep control of the House?

The Democrats increasingly think this is a good year for them. And one of the things they point to -- Democrats say in their polling, 40 percent of Republicans think the country is now on the wrong track.

This president, his administration, facing credibility questions right now. That means Tony Snow gets no honeymoon.