Bush And Frist Work Out Political Deal On Port Issue

The rollercoaster ride of DC uproars winds down a bit as Congress prepares to help Bush save face...

After all, that is apparently the job of this Republican Congress.

Time magazine: A Face-saving Dubai Deal in the Works?

GOP officials are apparently mulling over a deal that would allow for a new review of the Dubai Ports World contentious acquisition

Moving toward a deal that could allow President Bush and congressional GOP leaders to save face and avert a prolonged confrontation, GOP officials said today that they were discussing the idea of having Dubai Ports World seek a new review of its acquisition of a British company's operation that runs several key U.S. ports.

House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Peter King, confirmed in a phone interview early Saturday afternoon to TIME that officials were close to a deal involving the Congressional leadership, the White House and the Dubai company. The agreement would call for a 45-day “CFIUS-plus investigation,” King said, referring to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, a Treasury Department-run interagency panel that probes proposed acquisitions in the U.S...

...If approved by all parties, the new deal would allow Bush to avert a GOP-driven bill to overturn the Dubai deal with enough votes to override Bush's threat of his first veto. Republican sources tell TIME that Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee proposed the basic terms of a deal designed to give the White House a graceful way out, while also allaying the concerns of the many lawmakers in both parties who have said the deal could be a threat to our security. Under the Frist plan, the deal could stand a good chance of ultimately going through after the extended review....

I'm glad the Republicans and Bush got their differences worked out. I was worried that they might actually behave like two separate, equally powerful branches for a second. As Charles Krauthammer said on Fox News, "Democrats are not going to shift on this. Republicans will." Darn those flip-flopping Republicans!

I'm too tired to comment fully, but while I do agree it's good this is actually going to be discussed now, it's still important for people to remind the American public that President Bush had to be politically pressured (by no less than his own base ready to thrown him under a bus) into accepting the legally-required 45-day review for such a deal. George W. Bush finds the law inconvenient and he hates having to accept he's required to follow it. This story isn't the most significant of 2006, but it once again reinforces the image of Bush as outside the law (and the loop) and a leader whose national security priorities often seem to defer to his political goals.

If the Democrats want to retain the temporary advantage they got this week, they need to keep pressing.

(But don't count on it)

[PS- Newsweek commentary... it's a interesting read: What Price Xenophobia?-
Bush has won a reprieve in the U.S. port uproar. But the naysayers must accept that Dubai really has helped in the fight against Al Qaeda.]