No idea why I'm being given so much credit, but again, I guess I should be flattered. </sarcasm>
Regarding the 45-day review, I am disappointed it was not allowed to go forward, for something of substance to persuade the public one way or the other.
In the absence of that review, it's time to focus on the larger issue of port security, and look beyond the UAE mess. The 3-year Homeland Security study raises serious concerns about potential threats at our ports. Regardless of how one felt about the dead UAE sale, I'm sure we all agree that Republicans must take the lead on the larger issue of port security.
Rightly or wrongly, the Democrats have succeeded in doing the impossible: taking the national security issue away from the GOP. We need to take it back by showing the country WE are the party that puts aside politics for the security of our ports and our borders.
Trust in the president is at a low right now. Rather than shutting our eyes to that political reality, time would be better spent restoring that trust.
Bush can do that by showing the same leadership he showed after the Miers nomination failed: show he cares about the concerns of conservatives (in Miers' case) and the public (in the case of the ports), and act accordingly. Once he shows he is listening and willing to ease the concerns of the public, then public trust is possible.
The worst thing at this point would be for Republicans to show insensitivity to these concerns, out of stubborn feelings of loss for the UAE port deal. Valuable time is wasting. We need to get to work and show leadership on our issue: national security.
" Rightly or wrongly, the Democrats have succeeded in doing the impossible: taking the national security issue away from the GOP. We need to take it back by showing the country WE are the party that puts aside politics for the security of our ports and our borders.
Trust in the president is at a low right now. Rather than shutting our eyes to that political reality, time would be better spent restoring that trust."
Good points.