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The Weekly Standard

In an interview with Stephen F. Hayes, John McCain strongly criticized the Bush administration's decision to remove North Korea from the list of state sponsors of terrorism:

"I don't agree with it, and I think we have basically contradicted Ronald Reagan's great dictum of trust but verify. And particularly--many aspects of this are disturbing--but we told the South Koreans and the Japanese after we had made the decision. That's not a partnership with the allies."

McCain livened up a bit as he talked about the North Korea deal, at one point comparing the Bush administration's efforts on North Korea with the Clinton Administration's failed diplomacy. "It's a decision that I hope we don't regret over time because the North Koreans have a long pattern of breaking--a long history of breaking agreements that are not verifiable. I was very critical of the Clinton agreement--the Agreed Framework as I recall--because I didn't think that one was verifiable and I don't think this one is verifiable."

Engaging the North Koreans in face-to-face talks at the presidential level as Obama has promised to do would present serious risks, McCain argued, with the potential not only for bad deals but embarrassment. He pointed once again to the Clinton administration, citing Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's meetings in Pyongyang. "She had a very nice experience with children dancing while the gulag--the largest gulag in the world continued to function," he said with obvious contempt.

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And we get this from Bush? What from a President Obama?