Durban II, complete with clown protesters taking on Ahmadinejad and with a wholesale walk-out by the EU representatives, descended into an entirely expected farce yesterday. It is now clear that all the serious contemplation by the Obama administration over whether to attend was kabuki theater designed to do what the president now does non-stop — attempt to ingratiate himself with the world’s miscreants.

This tactic is troubling even to those extremely supportive of the president. Marty Peretz pens an open letter to Obama, stating his objections to the president’s characterization of Durban I, which the president said “became a session through which folks expressed antagonism towards Israel in ways that were often times completely hypocritical and counterproductive.” The letter states in part:

These people whom you call “folks”–they were not people assembled at a “hootenanny”–were formal representatives of governments, some democratic, most not. They are not dumb. They were not being “counterproductive.” They knew exactly what they were doing. And they were not being “hypocritical.” They said exactly what they believed. And all that they said was actually false.

Peretz is exactly right, but he’s barking up the wrong tree if he expects moral clarity from this president. Obama is in the business of  “engagement.” That’s the whole point of his TV outreach to the mullahs, the European apologies, the refusal to recognize that the North Korean missile shot was a direct challenge to the U.S. (and to him personally) and yes, the grip-and-grin with Hugo Chavez (followed by the nauseating “thank you” for the book gift, because the president, you see, is a “reader”).

If Obama declines to send U.S. representatives to Durban II it is “with regret.” If the Iranians kidnap a U.S. journalist he is “gravely concerned.” It is not exactly a ringing defense of our values, is it? Well, I too dearly hope the president would adopt definitive language which signifies an awareness of America’s unique position to speak — what is the phrase? — ah, truth to power. I too hope he would stop turning a blind eye to evil and make clear what America expects as a prerequisite for decent relations with other nations. I too would hope he could give up the fantasy that avoiding offense is the same as furthering American interests. But I’m not holding my breath.