What's a poor despot to do? The Bush administration had virtually put his face on a wanted poster and distributed it to every post office in the world. First, Hussein, then Kim. The tough talk -- so refreshingly honest, we were told -- somehow had unforeseen (or, as some warned, foreseen) consequences. If there was a policy here, it was simply to do the opposite of what Bill Clinton had done.

Now Bush is going down the same path Clinton did -- only on crutches. He has no choice. War with North Korea is unthinkable. It would devastate South Korea, whose capital, Seoul, is only 30 miles from the border -- within range of more than 8,400 North Korean howitzers and 2,400 rocket launchers. Even without nuclear weapons, the North could devastate the South.