As a quintessential member of the Dem foreign-policy establishment, you might expect Madeleine Albright to endorse Pres. Obama’s pick of Chas Freeman as a matter of course.  But appearing on Morning Joe today, the former Secretary of State twice pointedly declined to endorse the president’s choice to head the National Intelligence Council. Adding insult to injury, Albright downplayed the extent to which she had worked with Freeman, and offered a laughably lukewarm description of his skills . . .

I’d encourage those seeking more background on Freeman, this Saudi lapdog and apologist for the Tiananmen Square massacre, to read Rich Lowry’s column, Chas of Arabia, at National Review Online.

Freeman might well be Pat Buchanan’s kind of man on the Middle East, and it was Pat who put the question about him to Albright.

BUCHANAN: The 2007 intelligence estimate said that Iran is not now working on a nuclear weapon. Very controversial. But now Dennis Blair, who’s head of intelligence has picked Ambassador Charles Freeman to head up this intelligence group which decides on those national intelligence estimates or puts them together. Ambassador Freeman was 40 years in the government, tremendously accomplished. However, he’s an enormously controversial figure. He’s under fire from the neo-conservatives. A: did he work for you and B: what is your take on the appointment of Ambassador Charles Freeman to that post?

MADELEINE ALBRIGHT: Well, um, he was, uh, not, I, I did not really work with him particularly, and I don’t want to comment on the appointment. I think that Dennis Blair is the new national director of intelligence. I think that he is somebody that is looking at things very carefully. I’ve read some of the things now about Ambassador Freeman. I think people need to understand that, uh, there are people that can analyze and he is certainly one of them.  But I’m not going to comment specifically.

Now that was a tap dance worthy of Fred Astaire.  Let’s deconstruct:

• Didn’t work with the guy.
• Doesn’t want to comment on the appointment.
• Thinks Dennis Blair is the new director of intelligence [going out on a limb there, Madeleine!]
• Has read about Freeman [I bet, and it's scared the Peppermint Pattie out of her]
• There are people who can analyze and he’s one of them.  [My nominee as most lukewarm words of the year]
• I’m not going to comment [again]

Coming from such a leading Dem foreign policy light, Albright’s words amount to about as big a thumbs-down as she could possibly get away with short of an outright break with the Obama administration. Prediction: Freeman’s nomination isn’t going to make it.