[RexBeach]

Now this is what you call "bad staff work." Dubya should have known about this. How could the White House staff not known what the likely reaction would have been? Good Lord.

[oyez]

We're screwed!

[bayourant]

Incredible- No wonder the Administration was so blindsided on this.

[SJackson]

Now this is what you call "bad staff work." Dubya should have known about this....The President also admitted that he did not know Lonetta Menefee was promoted to regional manager of the Akron district of the US Post Office, despite the fact that the Postmaster General reports directly to the President! What is wrong with this administration!

They appear to be asleep at the switch. And not just politically. From this article

The president made sure to check with all the Cabinet secretaries that are part of this process, or whose agencies or departments are part of this process," the spokesman said. "He made sure to check with them — even after this got more attention in the press, to make sure that they were comfortable with the decision that was made."..."And every one of the Cabinet secretaries expressed that they were comfortable with this transaction being approved,

From Donald Rumsfeld, who I understand was in theory part of the approving committee

QUESTION: Are you confident that any problems with security — from what you know, are you confident that any problems with security would not be greater with a UAE company running this than an American company?

RUMSFELD: I am reluctant to make judgments based on the minimal amount of information I have because I just heard about this over the weekend.

Someone isn't telling the truth. If Rumsfeld is in fact on the approving committee, the process was deeply flawed. Obviously Congress should be looking at this.

[frankjr]

http://justoneminute.typepad.com/main/2006/02/on_the_waterfro.html

"This NY Times story points the way to a fig-leaf:

'The administration's review of the deal was conducted by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, a body that was created in 1975 to review foreign investments in the country that could affect national security. Under that review, officials from the Defense, State, Commerce and Transportation Departments, along with the National Security Council and other agencies, were charged with raising questions and passing judgment. They found no problems to warrant the next stage of review, a 45-day investigation with results reported to the president for a final decision.

However, a 1993 amendment to the law stipulates that such an investigation is mandatory when the acquiring company is controlled by or acting on behalf of a foreign government. Administration officials said they conducted additional inquires because of the ties to the United Arab Emirates, but they could not say why a 45-day investigation did not occur.'

There you go - the law may have required a 45-day review, so let's have it."

[BluH2o]

Now this is what you call "bad staff work."

If Scott McLellan, Bush's press secretary, is any indicator of the quality of the President's staff ... you can see why Dubya keeps getting blindsided.

[johnmecainrino]

Reagan set this commitee up in 88.'

Rumsfeld also didn't know about it.

The only high ranking officials that had to sign off on it were in treasury and homeland security. The rest were analysts and middle level beuracracy.

[sarasota]

The right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing, so to speak. Unbelievable.