Archpundit has pulled together some priceless clips of Rep. Mark Kirk telling the Republican faithful that George W. Bush has been a "decisive president" and that the situation in Iraq "has substantially improved in the past year." But the 10th District Representative made another comment this week that deserves some ridicule.

On WIND's John & Cisco In The Morning yesterday, Kirk called in to discuss various issues, including the recent spat between John McCain and Barack Obama over whether the United States should attempt to negotiate with hostile foreign leaders. In attempting to belittle previous attempts at Democratic diplomacy, Kirk resurrected the bogus claim that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi "misrepresent[ed]" a message from Israel during her trip to Syria last April:

KIRK: We have seen two high-level U.S. politicians meet with terrorists in the past year. First, Speaker Pelosi went to Syria and she so mishandled the portfolio there that the Israeli government had to correct her misrepresentations of their opinion. She got nothing for that visit.

For those who don't remember the manufactured controversy over Pelosi's Syria visit, here's a recap.

Along with several other members of Congress, Pelosi sat down with Israel Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on April 1, 2007. After the meeting, she announced that she had been instructed to pass along a message to Syrian President Bashar Assad that Israel had no plans to launch a preemptive attack on Syria that summer. As Olmert's spokeswoman told reporters, Pelosi was also asked to "convey[] that Israel is willing to talk if they (Syria) would openly take steps to stop supporting terrorism."

Several days later, Pelosi and the congressional delegation traveled to Damascus and met with Assad. She delivered both messages and made an announcement to this effect following their discussion.

But then, to the surprise of the entire delegation, Olmert released a clarification stating: "What was communicated to the U.S. House Speaker does not contain any change in the policies of Israel, as was communicated to other foreign leaders." The Washington Post editorial page asserted the following day that Pelosi had "misrepresented" Olmert's message and described her trip as a "pratfall." Numerous conservative and Republican voices proceeded to bash the speaker, culminating in Vice President Dick Cheney's appearance on Rush Limbaugh's radio show, during which he said that "Prime Minister Olmert immediately made it clear that she was not authorized to make any such offer to Bashar Assad."

But the members of Congress who had accompanied Pelosi backed up her assertion that she had relayed the exact message given to her by Olmert. The late Rep. Tom Lantos (R-CA) told Jewish Telegraphic Agency reporter Ron Kampeas that "The speaker conveyed precisely what the prime minister and the acting president asked." Pelosi even challenged the White House to release the State Department transcripts of her meetings with Olmert and Assad to prove her point. (They never did.)

Meanwhile, Lantos accused Bush & Co. of crafting this controversy to humiliate Pelosi. "It's obvious the White House is desperate to find some phony criticism of the speaker's trip, even though it was a bipartisan trip," he told Kampeas, who added in his April 8 article: "Such backdoor statecraft between the White House and Olmert would not be unprecedented." Lantos wasn't alone in his suspicions. IPS News' Jim Lobe reported that "there is little doubt among Middle East analysts here [in Washington, DC] that [Deputy National Security Adviser Elliot] Abrams is playing a lead role in White House efforts to discredit Pelosi for meeting with Assad."

But the kicker came on April 11, just as the contoversy was starting to die down. On that day, Olmert called Pelosi to reportedly "thank her for her efforts" in Syria.

Now more than a year has passed and the debate over whether U.S. leaders should meet with the likes of Assad and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is once again raging on the national stage. Enter Mark Kirk with his claims yesterday that Pelosi "misrepresented" Israel's position to Syria and "got nothing for that trip." The irony, of course, is that Israel and Syria announced today that they have entered into “serious and continuous” peace talks, with Turkey acting as a mediator.

So just to be clear, Israel is now doing exactly what Pelosi did: talking to Kirk's "terrorists."

What were you saying again, Mark?