After months of cajoling, Israel and the Palestinians sat around the table for direct talks, though the negotiations soon broke down over the building of Jewish settlements on the West Bank.

Congressional aides sat around a long table in the Roosevelt Room and were called into the talks when their expertise was needed.

And much more serious than that, because it affects the whole world, is his failure to put anything worthwhile on the table to help revive the moribund Doha round of trade talks.