"[This issue may bite the Bush butt as hard from the left and right as the Miers nomination did from the right.]"
You could be right. Afterall when the US ramped up all the regulations on US registered ships after WWII its not like they all switched their registration to Liberia or anything. And what with declining teamster power due to containerization, we need to do something to assure our ports remain as inefficient as the Dims regulated them to in their post WWII hey day.
I wish I had a nickle for every minute I've wasted in airports. Now there's an industry that could use some streamlining.
If the arabs really want to do us a favor they'll take over operation of SFO, Dallas/Fort Worth & JFK.
Actually, containerization has helped save the Teamsters from irrelevance. When you can load from the ship to a truck with a mouse click, the long-haul driver is more important than ever. It's the longshoremen who are in decline.