Bush Diplomacy Yields Few Promising Signs: ‘The administration is sensitive to any suggestion it has not done enough, or been inconsistent. When a reporter at the daily State Department briefing began a question by noting that “It looks like you pretty well failed to persuade the Israelis,” the even-tempered spokesman, Richard A. Boucher, interrupted him, saying, “Just had to get that word in the first sentence, didn’t you?” ‘ NY Times