How do people rate the Bush administration's handling of the North Korea situation?

Well, before Bush the only time N.Korea stopped it's tough talk and nuclear bomb program was when other nations made concessions to them and gave them much needed humanitarian aid.

The only time N.Korea stopped its agression on its own was when the U.S. went into Iraq. Think there was a coincidence there?

Remember Clinton agreed to negotiate with N.Korea, took credit for coming home with a signed agreement, then did nothing when N.Korea prompty ignored all of its terms. Remember that during this time, a ton of money was coming to the DNC through N. Korea's ally, China ... or has everyone forgot about LippoBank and the Chinese Donor/Clinton scandals?

Bush used diplomacy, but it was diplomacy on U.S. terms. Jong again demanded one-on-one negotiations with the U.S. ... Bush refused, saying that our allies Japan and South Korea must be included. After much tough talk, Jong relented and agreed to talks that included our asian allies.

So yes, Bush used tough talk and called North Korea's government "evil" .... Imagine that, he risked hurting the feelings of a government that spent its money on missiles while its children starved ...

It might not have been popular, but history has shown that paying a problem to go away solves nothing in the long term.

EDIT: I cannot yet judge how Obama's method is fundamentally different from Bush's because, as yet, Mr. Obama has not taken any substantive action .... so I'll have to get back to you on that.

Bush handled it just fine. N. Korea was looking for money, as they always are when they act up periodically. We gave them some, but now they want more. We'll pay them off and everything will quiet down again, provided that Kim's psychosis is not too far advanced and he does something that causes South Korea and Japan to engage him militarily. If that happens, the entire civilized world should come down on Kim quickly and decisively.

You're right. Seems everything Hussein does is a continuation of the Bush policy. Even his cabinet is a reshuffling of the Clinton/Bush dynasty. Just like all the hope and change he promised and you fell for, right.

Bush was oposed the N Korea, Obam acts like he doesnt care if they get the bomb.

Kin Jong knows that Obama is a light weight and Weak so He challenges him

Clinton paid the North Koreans while they were making nukes.

Bush came down on them hard, going after any bank which did any business with them. As a result they shut down their reactor and started talking.

Enter Obama and his "America is arrogant and weak" world tour...

There are those out there who insist that Obama is continuing Bush's North Korea policies. Are you ready to jump his ship too? The U.N. is the brick wall here. Don't you all see that? Will they do anything? Of course not...they never have, they never will!

There would Not be a North Korean issue if Bush really had a clue .

Bush was in a quandary, everyone was criticizing him for Iraq. He tried diplomacy, in the Democratic sense of the word. It didn't work, it doesn't work. Note to Obama, quit kissing their asses, it doesn't work.

It doesn't matter, the ball is Obama's now. Get used to it.

3, mainly because they finally pulled Bolton out of there... the totally wrong guy for the job. Otherwise, a 2.

At the end of the Clinton Administration, there were locks on their reprocessing facility, UN inspections on the ground, and we were going to help them build a non-breeder style reactor so they couldn't get their hands on plutonium... all in exchange for giving them some food.

Then, the "Axis of Evil" speech, the inspectors were booted, NK withdrew from obligations, and desperately sought a way to deter attacks against them like we perpetrated against Iraq.