No, he didn't. That's just 20/20 hindsight. He has more important things to worry about that some routine acquisition deal that was reviewed in accordance with law, what angle of attack will be next pursued by the Dems, and how many ignorant Pubbies at all levels will fall for the bait.
Agreed! (that makes twice for you and me)
I agree it's a routine acquisition in the business world, however in the world of politics, and in a world where suspicion of Muslim incursion runs (nearly) to paranoia (in some cases), it's far from "routine". Bush (or his handlers) should have realized this. This is difficult to defend, politically, given the post 9/11 climate of our country. It's merely a small criticism. I can now see that the deal itself is nothing to worry about, but that's only because I took the time to research it with an open mind. How many people, not only here on FR but in the entire country are going to be able to do that? How many will want to put aside their preconceived notions and examine for themselves? Again, by not keeping abreast of this situation, or at the least not being advised of it, it was a political blunder.
Everyone is human, everyone makes mistakes, even Bush. That doesn't mean he's a bad president, I'm not saying that. But to get the message across that this is not a bad deal, I think we must be willing to admit that this should have been better handled. Perhaps some more preparation, perhaps at least a briefing or two of the committee's decisions before this all happened, that way at least Bush wouldn't have to say he didn't know about this until a few days ago. Saying that makes him look uncaring about national security. (even though of course, again, this isn't a security threat, in the minds of many it is, so saying he didn't know fuels that perception).
what angle of attack will be next pursued by the Dems, and how many ignorant Pubbies at all levels will fall for the bait.
And that's really the point. Since Bush wasn't informed of this, he's now playing catch up. In the grand scheme of things it's not a major mistake, I'm not saying that, but it's a mistake. He should have realized that "Dems [would attack] and many ignorant Pubbies would fall for the bait.". It's called politics. He's usually ahead of the curve in that game, but he simply wasn't, this time.
Yes, it was routine, and therein lies the problem. Just because something is handled routinely doesn't mean it should have been.
Delegation is, of course, a necessity. But there must be an understanding of what should trigger something being kicked upstairs. It now appears that not even the actual CFIUS committee members reviewed this deal--that was delegated too, to under under secretaries. They treated the DPW deal routinely, either failing to recognize the potential issues that should have been brought to superiors, or choosing to ignore them.
Whether or not you agree with CFIUS's DPW ruling, you have to acknowledge that things would be shaking out very differently had this been kicked upstairs before now.