President Bush is angry about the collapse of the Dubai ports deal, but why is it that he always waits so long to deliver his "lectures?"
Bush should have explained this deal at the outset. But instead, he withheld information from Congress and the American people until the inevitable political firestorm erupted. Anger over the White House's intention to place the United Arab Emirates in charge of the management of major U.S. ports has weakened the president, and his Republican party, politically. And it's another example of the public relations game that this administration has played so poorly from the beginning.
On Friday, Bush went on the offensive (too late, of course). He said the controversy over the UAE ports deal threatens U.S. security by hampering U.S. efforts to recruit friendly Mideast governments to help us in the fight against terror.
If this is true, then the president should have begun by blaming himself. But instead of admitting his strategic error, he lashed out.
Bush is proving once again that he has a tin ear on matters that truly matter to the American people. He personally doesn't have to run for office again, but he doesn't seem to understand that his failure to work with Congress and to level with the public undermines the very things he wants his administration to be remembered for.
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He certainly knows that, in the end, his administration will rise or fall with its performance on the war on terror. It's all about security, for the president and for his party. But now, because Bush walked into a political pothole he could have otherwise avoided, he himself worries about the future of anti-terrorism efforts.
There is much irony here. There is a case to be made for the UAE deal, but Bush is trying to make it only after the chickens have escaped the henhouse. Many critics of the deal can easily be accused of anti-Arab sentiments, and many of those people have been the loudest voices against such feelings. But in the end, the fault lies with the White House and its inability, or unwillingness, to engage in straight talk.
