Liberal Talk Radio

Let me first say that the idea that a state-run company from the United Arab Emirates may run our country’s busiest ports makes for an excellent 24 plot — terrorists infiltrate a foreign-owned company to whom the day-to-day operations of major ports have been outsourced . . . it’s ready made! In fact, if they’re going to do a Day 6, I am fairly certain this will play a key role.

That said, I also think Bush’s choices about how to act in the great port debate of 2006 seem limited when you read stories like this in Al-Jazeera:

Arab-Americans have contended that bias and bigotry, not security concerns, lie behind the uproar over a deal that would place commercial operations at six US ports in the hands of an Arab company.

The furore centres around the $6.8 billion acquisition by UAE state-owned Dubai Ports World of London-based Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co. P&O which had been running operations at shipping terminals in New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, New Orleans, Miami, and Philadelphia.

James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, said on Tuesday that politicians were exploiting fears left over from the September 11 attacks to gain advantage in a congressional election year.

“I find some of the rhetoric being used against this deal shameful and irresponsible. There is bigotry coming out here,” he said

“Bush is vulnerable so the Democrats jump on it. The Republicans feel vulnerable so they jump on it. The slogan is, if it’s Arab, it’s bad. Hammer away,” Zogby said.

Talk about inflaming the Muslim world . . . and you thought those Danish cartoons were bad — think about alienating the smarter, richer, more Tom Friedman Muslims out there — do that and Western Civilization is truly screwed.

But following the discussion about the rightness or wrongness of Bush’s position, I’m thinking there might be more of a strategy than meets the eye — in short, what if Bush is pulling a Harriet Miers?

It’s simple: Bush can’t alienate the Muslim world by flat-out rejecting the company, so why not leave that task in the capable hands of, say, Charles Schumer and Bill Frist? It’s a classic fall-on-the-sword maneuver! Bush, can then bluster about bigotry and vetoes while Congress scores cheap and easy political points. It’s the kind of win-win politics that helps keep our country safe . . .