Despite talk of a breakthrough, administration officials worried that Congress's schedule left no room for error.
But it might well be that the abrasiveness and tough talk of the Bush administration, softened though it has been by the debacle in Iraq, will suit a French president keen on stirring up national pride by tough stances on Iran, for instance.
Growing talk of the Bush administration's plans for war with Iraq has once again thrown into sharp relief Washington's delicate relationship with Saudi Arabia, a central ally in the Persian Gulf war that makes no secret of its opposition to any future attack on President Saddam Hussein.
"There is more talk of liquidation than administration," he said.
When it comes to the other three detainees just released - the last three Jordanians in Guantánamo (out of a total of eight) - another disturbing truth becomes apparent: that, despite its talk of justice, the administration also bases its decisions about who to release on political maneuvering.
(Actually it's about $1 trillion without the accounting tricks, but who's counting?) And while there is much talk of hard choices, the administration seems loath to make any choices at all when it comes to defense spending.
Some people in the administration talk of solving the problem in a revenue-neutral way, but give no specifics on how to do it -- or which taxpayers would pay the extra taxes needed to accomplish that.
Others just posted include cables showing that surrender is the only option being offered to the Taliban, despite talk of negotiations: The Obama administration and Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, are determined to reject talks with Mullah Omar, the Taliban leader, and have consistently worked to split his movement, according to US diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks.
Other timely good news for the orchestra came on Tuesday with the announcement that after a week of mediated labor talks, the administration of the Montreal Symphony and the Quebec Musicians' Guild, which represents the players in the orchestra, have agreed to a new contract through 2014.
Analysts at the meeting told Mr. Bhatia they had been following Puerto Rico's economy for many years and had heard previous administrations talk of great reforms, only to see deficit spending and borrowing continue.
