Political posturing & the ports flap.(Dubai Ports World's acquision takes political turn)

Both sides in our nation's latest exercise in political posturing succeeded. Democrats who were anxious to make Republicans look bad and Republicans who increasingly find a need to distance themselves from a president with plummeting poll numbers jumped aboard the Dubai ports controversy and now claim victory. Only about a month after the announcement that Dubai Ports World (DPW)--a firm controlled by one of the governments that make up what is known as the United Arab Emirates (UAE)--would purchase the fights to manage operations at six major U.S. ports, the firm backed out of the deal. Much of the objection about DPW's management of the ports stemmed from the UAE's past support of al-Qaeda terrorists. Allowing such a firm to oversee shipping operations in New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Miami, and New Orleans smelled of an invitation for potential terrorism. Hence, the thunder from many sources. It's hard to remember a more robust protest from the public and from Congress about any other issue.

There's no doubt that pressure from back home stimulated the uproar in Congress. Here was a sitting president not only eagerly supporting the deal but also threatening to use his veto power to block any congressional action to cancel it. Well into his fifth year in office, George W. Bush has never vetoed any measure, meaning that his threat in this instance was significant. But House Majority Leader John Boehner, a stalwart Republican backer of the president, claimed that rank and file members of the party were outraged about the deal. Excusing GOP congressmen for opposing their president, the Ohio congressman stated that many of his colleagues were obviously "representing their constituents." Even the topmost GOP leader, Speaker Dennis Hastert, announced that he wouldn't stand in the way of legislation to block the move. House GOP Conference Chairman Deborah Pryce chimed in with claims that her Ohio constituents "inundated her office" with calls to kill it.

On the Democratic side, New York Senator Charles Schumer loudly objected to turning the ports "over to a country that has been linked to terrorism." New Jersey colleague Frank Laurenberg likened the proposal to transferring title "to the Devil." New York Senator and presidential aspirant Hillary Clinton missed no opportunity to register her opposition. Schumer then speedily introduced an amendment to block the handover and took advantage of the media attention he drew to bash "the incompetent Republican administration" and to urge voters everywhere "to elect a Democratic Senate and House."

As is frequently the case, the issue had far more to do with political maneuvering than widely expressed fear of terrorism from Dubai. Lost in the noise ...