Iran, Syria, North Korea – all feared the U.S. after the decisive Afghanistan invasion and the ill-advised attack against Iraq. But the Bush administration had no clue how to take advantage of the situation diplomatically.

Just after the lightning takeover of Baghdad by U.S. forces three years ago, an unusual two-page document spewed out of a fax machine at the Near East bureau of the State Department. It was a proposal from Iran for a broad dialogue with the United States, and the fax suggested everything was on the table — including full cooperation on nuclear programs, acceptance of Israel and the termination of Iranian support for Palestinian militant groups.

But top Bush administration officials, convinced the Iranian government was on the verge of collapse, belittled the initiative. Instead, they formally complained to the Swiss ambassador who had sent the fax with a cover letter certifying it as a genuine proposal supported by key power centers in Iran, former administration officials said.

Last month, the Bush administration abruptly shifted policy and agreed to join talks previously led by European countries over Iran’s nuclear program. But several former administration officials say the United States missed an opportunity in 2003 at a time when American strength seemed at its height — and Iran did not have a functioning nuclear program or a gusher of oil revenue from soaring energy demand.

I can’t believe I’m critical of the decision to embark on this war when things seem to be going so well now.

Mike Shear of The Washington Post, the final speaker at the Va. blogger conference, said we probably wouldn’t agree with anything he had to say. Then he sought to provoke with his basic message that bloggers irresponsibly truck in rumor, gossip and basically are pretty lax on the fact checking. If we don’t know it to be true, we shouldn’t say it.

I agree.

He also said that the difference between bloggers and newspapers is that journalists “attempt always to make sure that what we have written is true.” While he equivocated, he seemed pretty sure he was on higher ground. He even quoted the Society of Professional Journalists’ code of ethics. It is an “optional code,” I might add.

I also think it’s irresponsible for a newspaper to report that, say, a presidential candidate did not deserve medals he received while a soldier, when in fact, as the paper reported a week or so after the Swift Boat Veterans attacks on John Kerry, that the charges were not true. Yet, The Post reported the story before checking to see if it was true, and once it found otherwise, kept repeating the story.

When asked about the contradiction, Shear, to his credit, said it’s “a hard charge to deny.” But he tried to defend papers by saying that they try to find out the truth whereas bloggers rarely do.

That’s too broad a charge and too weak a defense of papers who report rumor or charges if they echo long enough on Fox News or other pseudo news media. In other words, they adopt the lowest standards of truth and decency. That that is better than no standard is higher ground only in a relative sense, and not a place I’d anchor my moral superiority.

An argument was made at one of the sessions at the Va. Blogger Conference that anonymous commenting was wrong but pseudonymous blogging was not. It is a distinction without a difference, in my opinion and of some others there. I don’t regularly read the pseudonymous blogger in question, though I did just now and found his or her recent post interesting. Still, considering that many of the same bloggers in another session thought what they did was an important addition to the journalistic record, how would they feel if newspapers carried anonymous bylines in all their stories?

One lesson learned at the blogging conference: Authentication is apparently a pain in the ass. So unless I have a problem with comments, I’m turning it off. But I want emails and prefer no anonymous comments.

Which will lead me to a post about a discussion I thought was important at the conference. Later…

Bottom line: better than I expected. How’s that for a left -handed compliment?

Give the quality of non-bloggers there, it’s encouraging that the blogosphere is obviously having some impact. How? there still isn’t unanimity. There’s no question they can energize a base. Or more precisely, energize volunteers. They also clearly have an impact on MSM, with whom the relationship still tenuous and contentious.

Credit to Dels. Bob Brink (D-Arlington) and Kris Amundson (D-Mt. Vernon) for being there without seeming to politic. Clearly, Del. Brian Moran, Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling and AG Bob McDonnell were working the crowd. Only Bolling and McDonnell spoke to the conference and their general message: We may be Republicans, but we’re OK. (The conference was dominated by the left/progressives/Democrats/commies/pinkos/, take your pick.) So their goal seemed simply was to say “At least call first before you blast us.” Otherwise, nothing interesting. More on the other speakers latter as well as the workshops.

Funny, already at least one blog is trying to boost Shaun Kenney, as if it were a post debate spin room (though without any explanation to why).

[Former President Bill] Clinton, speaking at the [Tanenbaum Center’s] awards luncheon, said religion is a problem for both liberals and conservatives in the United States.

“For people in America who are a part of my political tradition, our great sin has often been ignoring religion or denying its power or refusing to engage it because it seemed hostile to us,” he said. “For … the so-called Christian right and its allies, their great sin has been believing they were in full possession of the truth.”

The Supreme Court ruled yesterday that police needn’t wait after knocking before executing a search warrant. They can just bang down the door. And here is the supposed genius Antonin Scalia’s reasoning.

Scalia’s opinion focused on the guilty defendants who go free when otherwise valid evidence is thrown out of court. He concluded that that “social cost” is too high in relation to whatever additional privacy protection residents get from the “knock and announce” rule.

“Resort to the massive remedy of suppression of evidence of guilt is unjustified,” Scalia wrote.

Scalia argued that the law enforcement landscape has changed dramatically since 1961, when the Supreme Court first imposed an exclusionary rule on the states to protect against warrantless searches. Today’s police are more professional than those of 45 years ago, he observed, and there is “increasing evidence that police forces across the United States take the constitutional rights of citizens seriously.”

Never mind the slur against cops of the past, who apparently weren’t professional. Anyone who has been around cops knows that their objective is preserve the peace and catch the bad guys. The constitution is to be stretched as far as possible to achieve those ends. That’s not a knock against them. They’ve got a job to do. The courts are to be a restraint, but not to Scalia and four other justices. Look for the “social cost” of anti-discrimination laws to be next in Scalia’s crusade.

But my question to The Washington Post is this: What does the photo of the defendant in this case add to the story? If one is needed, wouldn’t a photo of Scalia or Breyer, who wrote the dissenting opinion, be more appropriate? Or does The Post bias the story by showing us the defendant’s mug shot.

Oh, and by the way, thanks again to the Senate Democrats who didn’t have the guts to filibuster Alito’s nomination.

That what Sen. John Chichester (R-Northumberland) called his party’s delegates in the House.

It’s puzzled me that the Kaine administration hasn’t had VDOT draw up a list of specific projects with timetables of when they could be finished if new funding was found. Instead, it has relied on vague assertions that we need more funding. Talking in billions of dollars versus hundreds of millions House Republicans have offered to fix transportation just doesn’t register with voters. They need concrete examples. Finally, this article from The Post’s Mike Shear and Roz Helderman provides at least a clear negative picture for folks in Northern Virginia will lose if transportation isn’t addressed adequately.

Even as lawmakers squabbled, the Commonwealth Transportation Board on Thursday approved a slimmed-down version of the state’s six-year transportation construction plan.

The cutbacks mean major delays for widening Route 7 and construction of a bridge over Route 29 in western Fairfax County. Other cuts included the Route 28 overpass at Wellington Road in Manassas, a nexus of traffic in a rapidly growing area, and the extension of Mill Road in Alexandria.

Rt. 7 goes right through Dels. May’s, Rust’s and Callahan’s districts. The Rt. 28 overpass would be in the 50th, where an election is set for August to fill Harry Parrish’s old seat. Time maybe for postcards to go out to their constituents telling them the price of intransigence.

Chris Cillizza had a post yesterday about Howard Dean defending his 50-state strategy. Interesting that the overwhelming majority of comments were in support of Dean. Senate and House leaders think he’s spending too much money on that strategy and not enough on the key ’06 races.

I agree with Dean. I just wish Virginia Democrats had a 100-district strategy for the General Assembly. In 2001 and 2005, Virginians elected Democratic governors, yet in 2005, Democrats didn’t even offer a candidate for the House of Delegates in 33 of the 57 districts Republicans hold. Gov. Kaine won nine of those districts and in another seven lost by no more than 45-55. But even in the districts less competitive than that, Dems need someone to keep the GOP honest. While they’re doing that, they might lay the groundwork to eventually win some of those seats.

But Virginia Democrats don’t think long-term. Wish the Republicans hadn’t when they had 39 members in 1991. Or in 1995, when they had 46 members and challenged all but 15 seats.

I wish I could see evidence of a long-range plan to challenge more seats. If anyone does, let me know.