I wish I could get vicarious enjoyment from watching the President having it handed to him on the Dubai port deal. And, I could... this was yet another display of stupid, cronyist incompetence on the part of the Bush administration - as far as how the deal was pursued. But I cannot glory in its defeat, because I've come to the conclusion that the deal - itself - was (probably) a good one, and that its violent, knee-jerk rejection was mainly an expression of American intolerance of all things Arabic or Muslim.

Sure, there were security concerns that needed to be looked at ... and negligence (at best) on the president's part bordering on the criminal. But, DPI and the administration finally came around (at least partly) on fixing those problems - under intense Congressional pressure. So, what was gained by skirting the 45 day review, and nixing the deal outright - before it was shown that any harm would come from it? I can't find anything. By all appearances, this was a pander to American xenophobia and intolerance. The Congressional response was at best immoderate. And the worst thing you can do... in terms of keeping the moral (if not political) high ground... is to abandon moderation over a radically problematic opposition.

I despise Holy Joe... Just as much as anyone else... But he is right. Hear him tell it:
Here (QT link: here).