Dire Warnings from the Pot to the Kettle

Sometimes the news headlines of the day are so ironic, not even The Onion could add anything to the absurdity.

Like, for instance, this nugget from AP:

Bush: Ports deal collapse may hurt U.S

A little like John Gotti arguing that Dom DeLuise is an embarrassment to Italians.

Our clod in chief, in the sort of rhetorical flourish that fully explains why his approval ratings are at an all-time low, says that the clamor to nix the Dubai ports deal puts the U.S. in a bad light overseas.

"I'm concerned about a broader message this issue could send to our friends and allies around the world, particularly in the Middle East," Bush told a conference of the National Newspaper Association. "In order to win the war on terror, we have got to strengthen our friendships and relationships with moderate Arab countries in the Middle East."

Forget for a minute the "moderate" nature of the United Arab Emirates, one of the few Arab nations that recognized the Taliban as legitimate and is as fiercely anti-Israel as any country on the planet.

Let's first admit upfront that, yes, the collapse of a business agreement with the UAE's DP World might just dissuade Middle East investors from U.S.-driven ventures. The port deal was more odious from a political vantage point than from a real-world perspective, anyway, and it is likely fair to say that most opposition to it stems from anti-Arab bias (although a cursory look through the news of the day helps make such bigotry and fear a bit understandable).

But Dumbya has the audacity to suggest this is the egg streaming down Uncle Sam's face? Pardon us, but under the George W. Bush cookbook -- WMDs and the Iraq invasion, Abu Ghraib torture and indefinite incarceration at Gitmo, plans to blow up Al Jazeera, etc., etc. -- we've been slipping on egg shells for several years now.