So far, President Bush isn't backing down on the Dubai port deal, despite the political firestorm it has stirred up for him (and the wedge it's redrawing between him and "the base...")
I still predict he'll eventually fold, as in the Harriet Miers experiment, but for now it's a showdown, and apparently one the White House is unpleasantly surprised by ...Bush is making it clear to lawmakers in his party that they may be running for reelection, but he's not. In fact, some cynics might say that two years away from the end of his presidency, Dubya's cleaning out the safe and the china cabinet on the way out the door. Too harsh? Well consider the following:
- CIFA (the Committee on Foreign Investment), which approved the Dubai port operations deal for six major U.S. ports, reports to the Treasury Department...
- The Treasury Department is run by Secretary John Snow, and it was Snow who ultimately signed off on the deal allowing Dubai Ports World to buy P&O...
- John Snow used to be chairman of the railroad company CSX until he left in 2003 to join the Bush administration... One year later, in 2004, CSX sold its international port terminal businesses to Dubai Ports World for $1.15 billion ... And then there's David Sanborn, who runs DPW's European and Latin American operations. He was recently tapped by the Bush administration to head the U.S. Maritime Administration, which would also have a hand in the ports pot.
See how neat and tidy that is?
Blog reax:
Malkin: Bush digs in...
The conservative Age of Reason quits Dubya...
MyDD ponders the nuances, and the Chinese...
Glenn Greenwald is torn...
Kevin Aylward declares Bush 'a uniter, not a divider...'
It's only Wednesday and Dr. Rusty S at Jawa already has the quote of the week:
Bush to Veto UAE Port Legislation
Wow. And all this time I thought it was some Rovian plot just to make Bush look like a dumbass. With HT to The Moderate Voice... the Garlic says Cheney to the Rescue...!
Glenn Reynolds, who normally never met a Bush policy he didn't like, is against the ... well, the White House's selling of the port deal...
A.J. Strata, who surpasses only Reynolds and Rush Limbaugh in the TUBS (total, unconditional Bush support) category, doesn't disappoint...
In the pro-Bush, OK with the port deal column, count milblogger Blackfive, who says it might be nice to have the UAE owe us for playing straight with them...
And at the conservative Ratnest, it's 'trust, but verify...'
More manana...
Previous:
Tags: Outsourcing, War on terror, Bush, Middle East, UAE, Ports |
Post a Comment