Portscenter

I know The Daily Show used that title last night, but there are times when you just can't improve on the original, so you just bow down to the masters.

Now that we've had a chance to digest the whole UAE/port ownership scandal-to-be, I think there are several points that we need to remember:

1. I almost believe the converging stories of 'Bush didn't know about this until after the deal was final/the administration made a secret deal with the UAE to get this done'. Really, is it that much of a stretch to think that G-Dub was left completely in the dark on this by his administration, or that he found out about this from the news (ok that part is hard to believe, I didn't think he read papers or watched the news)? This is the only administration in world history where ignorance and cluelessness are considered acceptable explanations for fiascos like this. So I would buy it, except for Bush's strong attacks on anyone opposing the deal. You don't just entrench yourself on an issue that just came to your attention a day or two beforehand. Which leads to...
2. I think people need to take notice of the fact that Bush is threatening to use the first veto of his over 5-year presidency on this issue. He's willing to use this power on an issue that helps a foreign government, not one that helps his own country. Whether you believe this deal is a good or bad thing, it warrants mentioning.
3. The vetting committee that oversees transactions like these could have held this deal up for an investigation of no more than 45 days if any one member believed that this could pose a risk to national security. Now maybe none of them truly believed that there was a risk (and I'm honestly not 100% sure they'd be wrong there). But wouldn't it make sense to hold the deal up for a month just out of common political sense? Unless there's something else going on, which this sure gives the impression that there is.
4. Scott McClellan sure has got to be tired of being the administration's flack man, or at least better be getting some serious jack on the side. I can't even keep up with the amount of times the story he's spouted on this (plus countless other issues) has shifted. I don't know if they're just feeding him bits and pieces of the story and then changing it around when it falls apart, or he's just a soul-less bastard and willingly lies to the press (it really could go either way), but I hope it's worth it for him, because I wouldn't want that job to save my life.
5. If there's one thing that can come out of this whole mess, it's that the public is now more aware that foreign governments own ports within the U.S. (and that was a serious 'holy shit' moment for me, because I was clueless on that, as I'm sure many other intelligent people were). I'm not saying this out of some sort of jingoistic American pseudo-pride, I just think we shouldn't have foreign state ownership of any of our ports. But the unfortunate reality is...
6. Port security in the U.S. still sucks. I won't re-hash other blog reviews of this issue, but when only 6% of all crates that hit U.S. soil are being inspected, well Sparky's going to miss a lot that comes into this country. Of course it might not be nearly as bad if Congress took port security seriously, specifically members like Bill Frist that voted against funding on six different occasions. Speaking of Dr. Evil...
7. To all of those that voted for this president and are now exhibiting this faux shock, awe, and horror over the way he treats those that hold opposing views, do me a favor and go into a closet and perform sexual favors on yourself. You all believed that a deserter who left his National Guard duty early to go get an MBA and a man that got five deferrments knew more about national security than a three-tour Vietnam vet. You made this happen, now you shut up and deal with it.