The North Korean Nukes Deal

Total WonKerr has the links and excerpts of the Six Party Joint Statement. I have a question: isn't this basically the situation we had under Clinton, minus North Korean nukes (and thus a hefty bargaining chip)? While I'm pleased there's a deal, and perhaps even the rhetoric can stand down for a bit, I wonder whether it can be called a "success" when the Bush administration again had dug the very hole out of which it has now apparently extricated itself.

Of course, we always have John Bolton to piss on everything:

BOLTON: This is a very bad deal. And I’m hoping that the president has not been fully briefed on it and he still has time to reject it.

It’s bad for two reasons. First, it contradicts fundamental premises of the president’s policy he’s been following for the past six years. And second, it makes the administration look very weak at a time in Iraq and dealing with Iran it needs to look strong. So I hope with few hours yet to go the president might yet reject it.