It speaks volumes when Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice flies to Jerusalem to try to revive peace talks between PM Ehud Olmert of Israel and President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority and cannot even get the two to show up when she reads out the content-free joint statement to which they have grudgingly agreed.

Volume 1 reminds us of the six feckless years during which the Bush administration has squandered America’s once commanding prestige in the region. Volume 2 portrays a secretary of state who clearly arrived with no new ideas and no idea of how to wheedle or pressure either side into making any of the compromises needed to stimulate the dangerously moribund peace effort. Instead, Rice indulged Olmert’s inherent caution and his own political weakness, settling for an agreement that the two leaders will meet again some day. Israel further qualified that promise yesterday, threatening to stop talking to Abbas altogether if he forms a coalition government with Hamas. With Palestinian frustrations rising — and demographers predicting an eventual Palestinian majority between the Mediterranean and the Jordan — just saying no is not a viable option for Israel. The responsibility of the US, as Israel’s most vital ally, is to keep that uncomfortable reality firmly in Israel’s sight.