Liar, liar, Condi's pants are on fire.

Any regular reader or anyone who knows me in the flesh knows I am not much of a political party girl. I have never joined a political party, or even sought membership in the ‘Blogging Tories’. I have voted Conservative more often than not, and I am rather more conservative/classic liberal in outlook (with an added dash of libertarian thrown in for good measure) but I have never felt any political party ever truly came close to representing my views and/or political outlook.

Of course, being a partisan political means there are times when one must suspend all pretense of personal dignity in order to promote the established party line. Let me put it another way, I have never been able to successfully chose partisanship over common sense but those who can do so, with all sincerity, never fail to fascinate me. It is like watching the political version of road kill happening before your very eyes….in other words: Condi Rice, in action, courtesy of the Jerusalem Post:

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is denying that a decision to send a senior diplomat to nuclear talks with Iran amounts to a change in policy. The Bush administration previously had insisted it would not speak with the Iranians until they end suspect nuclear activities.

Rice says the move to send Undersecretary of State William Burns to talks in Geneva on Saturday is a "strong signal" that the United States is serious about diplomacy. But she added that US negotiating conditions remain. Rice said Friday that Undersecretary of State William Burns would reinforce the policy "that the United States has been pursuing since 2006."

On the eve of the meeting, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said the talks themselves give hope "that there can be a peaceful solution" to the standoff over Teheran's nuclear program. But he also told reporters he expects no quick changes from Iran, which has said "the essentials" - an apparent reference to suspending uranium enrichment - will not be on the table. "After the Geneva meeting, we must not hope for an improvement, a change of attitude, right away," he said in Paris.

Still, the venue of Saturday's talks reflects the potential significance of the meeting. Envoy Javier Solana and Iranian negotiator Saeed Jalili, start at 11 a.m. American officials have insisted that Burns' presence will be a "one-time event" and he will listen to the Iranians but will not be negotiating. Policy hawks disagree. John Bolton, former US ambassador to the United Nations and undersecretary of state in charge of Teheran's nuclear file, said the move represents a "U-turn" in US policy.

I agree with Bolton except; I wouldn’t call it a ‘u-turn’ as much as I would a complete 360 degree turn.