I can’t wait to hear the noise machine blather endlessly about how Condoleezza Rice is undermining U.S. policy by chatting with Syrian officials. (thanks to L.J. for the tip)

A senior Iraqi official and a senior Arab diplomat say Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will meet Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem in Egypt on Thursday or Friday.

It would be Rice’s first meeting with a Syrian foreign minister since she took over at the State Department in 2005, adding potentially significant bilateral talks to a regional session meant to help stabilize Iraq.

Remember when Pelosi had the audacity to talk to Syria directly? As I recall, when the Speaker of the House chatted with Syrian officials last month, the White House, congressional Republicans, and far-right activists were apoplectic. CNN even ran a news segment on Pelosi’s trip titled “Talking to Terrorists.”

The ringleader of this spectacularly stupid smear was the Bush White House. Somehow I suspect Rove & Co. will be a little quieter now.

And as long we're on the subject of hypocrisy, guess who wants to engage with Iran, too?