So what has suddenly changed that makes people think Bush will actually be serious about it this time? Bush is not a man who likes change so besides being a courtesy to Blair, nothing in his past suggests that Bush will do anything beyond talk and pose for photos.
President Bush's announcement comes only days before Mr Blair attends his first meeting of the Quartet. The former prime minister has been pushing Mr Bush for the past five years to take an active role in trying to end the Israeli-Palestinian confrontation. In his White House speech yesterday, Mr Bush gave his blessing to Mr Blair's new career as an unpaid Middle East envoy.
The president has adopted a mainly hands-off approach to the conflict over the past six years. His intervention now, with 18 months to go before his presidency ends, comes at an inauspicious point for a peace deal, with the Palestinians divided between the Fatah-controlled West Bank and Hamas-controlled Gaza. Hamas is unlikely to be invited: Mr Bush said it must first renounce violence and recognise Israel.
