Anne Gearan, writing for AP:
Note to Anne Gearan and AP: Bush doesn't "leave office at the end of the year", no matter how badly you wish that were the case.JERUSALEM — President Bush, seeking to pull Israel and the Palestinians toward serious negotiations, said Wednesday that despite ongoing land squabbles and fears of violence he has high hopes that a Mideast peace pact can be achieved before he leaves office at the end of the year.
"I come as an optimistic person and a realistic person — realistic in my understanding that it's vital for the world to fight terrorists, to confront those who would murder the innocent to achieve political objectives," Bush said as he began his first presidential visit to Israel.
