A Deal So Secret ...
...not even the Emperor knew about it. Not that it made any difference: he still intends to veto any legislation that undoes the deal.
For the second week in a row, the White House mouthpieces have been fumbling, bumbling, and stumbling in their attempt at damage control. Last week it was the story of the Vice-Emperor shooting an elderly GOP supporter in the face and then waiting nearly a full day before letting anyone know about it. This week it's the story of a contract allowing the United Arab Emirates to take over the management of six US ports.
The first attempt at damage control came from the Emperor himself. He told reporters on Airforce One that there was no problem in the deal, and if Congress passed legislation to futz with it, he'd issue his first veto. When it became clear that Congress had enough votes at that moment to override the veto, the tactic shifted. Yesterday the White House Press Secretary told the press that the President didn't even know about the deal until just a few days before the stuff hit the fan. From the Washington Post:
Faced with an unprecedented Republican revolt over national security, the White House disclosed yesterday that President Bush was unaware of a Middle Eastern company's planned takeover of operations at six U.S. seaports until recent days and promised to brief members of Congress more fully on the pending deal.
One day after threatening to veto any attempt by Congress to scuttle the controversial $6.8 billion deal, Bush sounded a more conciliatory tone by saying lawmakers should have been given more details about a state-owned company in the United Arab Emirates purchasing some terminal operations in Baltimore and five other U.S. cities.
...Republican lawmakers have been flooded with phone calls and letters from constituents encouraging them to fight Bush over the port deal, even at the expense of GOP unity on combating terrorism -- possibly their best political issue. As a result, Bush and Republicans are divided over a national security issue as never before and bracing for a possible showdown that could force Bush to either delay the sale or veto a Republican bill against it according to congressional and White House officials. [Emphasis added]
It took an election year, poor poll numbers for the White House, and some serious challengers to the incumbents for Congress to finally push back. As I said yesterday (scroll down to "Missing the Point"), the regime's policy of demonizing all Arabs as murderous terrorists worked too well for them. The electorate, now more concerned with security than with liberty, hit the phones and fax machines to make certain that their representatives got the message.
What is most interesting, however, is the official excuse: the Resident didn't know about the deal. Neither did Jack Snow or Donald Rumsfield. The major players were out of the loop.
More popcorn, please.
For the second week in a row, the White House mouthpieces have been fumbling, bumbling, and stumbling in their attempt at damage control. Last week it was the story of the Vice-Emperor shooting an elderly GOP supporter in the face and then waiting nearly a full day before letting anyone know about it. This week it's the story of a contract allowing the United Arab Emirates to take over the management of six US ports.
The first attempt at damage control came from the Emperor himself. He told reporters on Airforce One that there was no problem in the deal, and if Congress passed legislation to futz with it, he'd issue his first veto. When it became clear that Congress had enough votes at that moment to override the veto, the tactic shifted. Yesterday the White House Press Secretary told the press that the President didn't even know about the deal until just a few days before the stuff hit the fan. From the Washington Post:
Faced with an unprecedented Republican revolt over national security, the White House disclosed yesterday that President Bush was unaware of a Middle Eastern company's planned takeover of operations at six U.S. seaports until recent days and promised to brief members of Congress more fully on the pending deal.
One day after threatening to veto any attempt by Congress to scuttle the controversial $6.8 billion deal, Bush sounded a more conciliatory tone by saying lawmakers should have been given more details about a state-owned company in the United Arab Emirates purchasing some terminal operations in Baltimore and five other U.S. cities.
...Republican lawmakers have been flooded with phone calls and letters from constituents encouraging them to fight Bush over the port deal, even at the expense of GOP unity on combating terrorism -- possibly their best political issue. As a result, Bush and Republicans are divided over a national security issue as never before and bracing for a possible showdown that could force Bush to either delay the sale or veto a Republican bill against it according to congressional and White House officials. [Emphasis added]
It took an election year, poor poll numbers for the White House, and some serious challengers to the incumbents for Congress to finally push back. As I said yesterday (scroll down to "Missing the Point"), the regime's policy of demonizing all Arabs as murderous terrorists worked too well for them. The electorate, now more concerned with security than with liberty, hit the phones and fax machines to make certain that their representatives got the message.
What is most interesting, however, is the official excuse: the Resident didn't know about the deal. Neither did Jack Snow or Donald Rumsfield. The major players were out of the loop.
More popcorn, please.
posted by Diane at 4:19 AM
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