I think I called it sometime around the changing of power in Congress, but here it is officially: Bush is already getting noticed for his new “willingness” to change his opinion on things. I put the willingness in quotes for a reason.

For President Bush, last week’s decision was the latest of several reversals on issues on which he once refused to budge. Since Democrats captured Congress, Bush has fired Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, authorized direct talks with North Korea, sent more troops to Iraq, agreed to discuss the contours of a Palestinian state in Middle East peace negotiations, and even proposed a tax increase for millions of Americans — all ideas he rejected earlier.

Yep. Well, ignoring the sending more troops to Iraq part (which has been done about five times so far), that is indeed a list of things that Bush previously rejected and that he has now supported. There’s a reason, though, right? Of course.

“It’s not really surprising to me that they’re beginning to change,” said former congressman Lee H. Hamilton (D-Ind.), co-chairman of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, whose report in December recommended opening talks with Iran and Syria. “The realities of the situation are becoming more apparent to them. . . . Presidents begin to focus very much on their legacy, and he recognizes that insufficient progress has been made on some of these international issues.”

This is where good ol’ Hamilton and I will have to part ways. Bush may indeed care about his legacy, but I believe he cares more about the here and now of politics more. You can bet your boots if the Republicans had held onto the Congress there wouldn’t be any mind-changing going on. And, naturally, Tony Snow makes sure to hammer the point home, speaking specifically about the new decision to diplomatically deal with Iran and Syria.

“You guys are getting it wrong, and I don’t know how to get you to get it through your heads that it’s not new,” Snow said. “I mean, it’s not new. What’s going on here is something that has a long-seated precedence. There are multilateral forums where, if the Iranians are there, we’re not going to walk out.”

Good work, Tony. Very tactful.