Conservative members of Congress-most notably House Majority Leader Tom DeLay-don't want President Bush to put too much pressure on Israel to make a deal. They worry a Palestinian state may lead not to peace but to a base camp for more terrorism.

What's interesting is that the politics of peace have changed radically in recent years. A 1994 Gallup poll found that only 39 percent of Americans favored the creation of an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza. But a 2002 Gallup poll found that 74 percent of Americans would be in favor of a Palestinian state if the suicide bombings in Israel came to an end. AIPAC, the biggest pro-Israel lobby in Washington, endorsed the White House's road map for peace in April.