The New Road

The Ports Deal

I find the political calculations behind this port deal really interesting. The Bush administration never does anything without judging the political cost. Oh, wait, there was Harriet Myers. Well, anyway, almost always judges the cost before jumping on things. So why stand so firmly behind the Dubai ports deal?

My guess is this. They think they can win over the hearts of the base, and in so doing, look like strong leaders who support unpopular positions even if they are right. Which is a good way to go into the mid-terms.

Clearly they are loosing at the moment, since 70% of people think the ports deal is bad, and 58% of Republicans are in that camp. And Bushs poll numbers are really, really bad. He has a 34% approval rating at the moment. 

But I figure it this way. Leaving out the Myers thing, let's talk about recent successes. The NSA wiretapping thing is a watershed. It's an issue where almost everyone agrees that it's bad at it's core. But the administration was able to use it's media muscle to bring the conservatives on board with it. I'm guessing they think they can do it again. And they really don't have that far to go. If you just count Republicans than 58% isn't bad. And believe me, this administration only counts Republicans.

So the idea would be to use the 45 days to do wall to wall spin on Fox, Hannity, Limbaugh, O'Reilly, Sunday morning shows, church rallies, et al. and try to pull this thing out. They need to find one hook, and that's probably the racism angle, that really sticks and just drive, drive, drive it home until people just moan the mantra that being against the ports deal is being racist.

Not only will Bush come out with a lucrative big dollar deal for his cronies, but he will also look like a civil rights hero. Oh, joy!