NP: shuffle play

It would be kind of hilarious if this Dubai Port Company story ended up being the one that undid the Bush presidency, but I get sucked into that trap of "maybe this one will be the one" way of thinking too much. Mostly because the root talking point -- ohmygod, Arabs are running our ports! -- is so ridiculously misguided. Suffice it to say, I don't buy into the notion that a company with ties to the United Arab Emirates would be any more or less difficult to infiltrate than any other company in charge of the ports, and then the only alternative is federal control, and that's just not going to happen.

Which isn't to say there isn't something for the dedicated scandalmonger to hang his hat on. This notion that the President only just found out about it is one angle. John Snow's connection to the company in question is another. That the administration would rubber stamp this without Congress when there's a glaringly obvious perception issue that could be easily satisfied by a thorough vetting a third. Together, they paint an increasingly compelling picture of unqualified cronyism that ties back nicely to Hurricane Katrinia and our man Brownie, among other things.

(As an aside, it also speaks to Jack Bauer's biggest enemy on the current season of 24, that being incompetent administrators. However many hours we're in right now, they seem a worse threat than the central Asian terrorists who inexplicably speak with British accents.)

Ultimately, that's what intrigues me about almost every element of the Bush presidency. It seems like there is not a single decision -- or at least not a major initiative -- that does not directly benefit a friend or campaign contributor, and yes, I'm still going to bitch about not buying 50 shares of Halliburton when Operation Shock, Awe and Profit started. Bankrupcy bill? Credit Card companies. Medicare bill? Big Pharma. Supreme Court? Harriet Frickin' Miers, for Pete's sake. The failed Social Security overhaul would have been much better for fund managers than for the poor slobs who would have to choose between dozens of them.

What I can't figure out is how anyone musters enough surprise to be righteously indignant about any of it anymore. Well, I can figure it out -- large chunk of America who simply accepts everything they're told without question, I'm looking at you -- but that doesn't mean I have to like it.