As the world burns, Dick Cheney campaigns.

Today Cheney will spend seven hours in Iowa, stumping for two Congressional candidates and addressing the Iowa National Guard. No doubt Cheney will brag about how the Bush Administration is spreading peace and democracy across the globe.

But with the Middle East in flames, is political campaigning really the best use of the Vice President’s time? We are talking about the man who effectively runs the White House.

Shouldn’t top Bush Administration officials like Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice be in the region right now, working round the clock to defuse the crisis?

When it comes to engaging the world, a political campaign is no substitute for a foreign policy.