As the crisis in the Middle East spirals out of control, President Bush jumped into action on Friday. Not by taking control of Secretary of State Rice's failed talks in Rome or by announcing a major American initiative during his press conference with British Prime Minister Tony Blair. No, Bush mobilized the White House to stop the slaughter in Lebanon by welcoming the finalists of the Fox reality show American Idol in the Oval Office.
Of course, this isn't the first time President Bush chose to fiddle while Rome burned. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina last summer, the President opted to leave the dead, the dying and the stranded of an inundated New Orleans on their own. Instead, Bush continued his August vacation, strumming the guitar with country singer Mark Wills in sunny California.