(cross-posted at
TeddyStern.com)
Once again, Boy George gets bailed out.
As many of you already know, the Dubai firm that was set to take over management of six U.S. ports has decided to drop out. After President Bush threatened to veto any attempt to halt the port deal, the Republican-led Congress went ahead and did it anyway. On Wednesday, the House Appropriations Committee voted overwhelmingly to block the controversial deal. The following day, the Dubai-owned company withdrew from the arrangement, sparing the President a confrontation with a Congress in campaign mode.
The whole controversy reminds me of the Harriet Myers episode. President Bush vowed to stick by her nomination to the Supreme Court despite a spat of conservative criticism. Yet, low and behold, Harriet withdrew her nomination, sparing Boy George the humiliation of a rejection from the Republican-controlled Congress.
It's easy to "stay the course" when someone always takes the fall for you.
Speaking of taking a fall, this is the same administration that got Harry Whittington to apologize for getting his face in the way of Dick Cheney's bullet!
Of course, President Bush will continue to wear his self-ordained mantle of "resolute leadership." But, President Bush is no resolute leader. He's more like a boxer who brags about winning a fixed fight. What a phony.