David S. Cloud, a former New York Times reporter, has never been one to let fact-checking get in the way of a good assertion. In Politico this weekend, he writes:

On Iran, Biden reiterated the administration’s willingness to engage in direct talks as part of an effort to halt Iran’s nuclear program, a step that many European allies had urged the Bush administration to take for years, and made no mention of regime change, the policy of the Bush administration.

Funny, that. I was not aware the Bush administration had such a policy of regime change. I would urge Politico perhaps to reference a single White House, State Department, or Defense Department speech or policy statement which supports Mr. Cloud’s assertion. Indeed, Bush stayed clear of such statements, and both Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice consistently offered engagement, even as they argued about preconditions.