Den Beste is having trouble coming up with an explanation for Arafat’s sanguine reaction to Bush’s speech yesterday. I suspect that the most likely explanation is also the simplest one, backed up by a lot of other data–he really is senile.

[Afternoon update]

He is delusional. I just heard an interview on Fox News in which he expressed surprise when asked what he thought about Bush’s speech. “He wasn’t talking about me,” he said.