Gibson declared: “Hats off to President Bush for not getting too stubborn over this [port] deal”

Written by Ben Armbruster

Published

Fox News host John Gibson praised the announcement by Dubai Ports World (DPW) that it would divest itself of leases it holds for terminals at six U.S. ports. Gibson also praised President Bush, stating: "[H]ats off to President Bush for not getting too stubborn over this deal."

During the “My Word” segment of the March 9 edition of Fox News' The Big Story, host John Gibson praised the announcement by Dubai Ports World (DPW) that it would divest itself of leases it holds for terminals at six U.S. ports. Gibson also praised President Bush, stating: "[H]ats off to President Bush for not getting too stubborn over this deal."

Although he was initially unaware that his administration had approved the deal, Bush had remained -- until March 9 -- steadfastly supportive of it from the time concerns about it were first raised in Congress last month; he even threatened to veto any legislation that would have prevented the deal from moving forward. On March 10, ABC News reported that the White House asked DPW to abandon its bid to manage the six U.S. ports, allowing Bush to avoid a showdown with Congress. From the ABC News article:

Bush had defended the deal, calling the United Arab Emirates a strong ally in the war on terror and pledging to cast the first veto of his presidency if Congress voted to interfere.

Senate Republicans initially tried to fend off a vote, and the administration agreed to a 45-day review of the transaction. That strategy collapsed Wednesday with the 62-2 vote in the House Appropriations Committee to stop the sale.

From the March 9 edition of Fox News' The Big Story with John Gibson:

GIBSON: Now it's time for “My Word.” When the story about the Dubai ports deal broke a couple of weeks ago, I said this deal will not stand. I also said secretaries [Michael] Chertoff [of the Homeland Security Department] and [John W.] Snow [of the Treasury Department] would have to resign for allowing such a politically boneheaded deal to go through. To paraphrase Meat Loaf, one out of three ain't bad.

So hats off to the Dubai emir Sheikh Maktoum for figuring out the obvious. This deal was a no-go out in the flyover states of America. Hats off to President Bush for not getting too stubborn over this deal. Hats off for the Republicans for standing their ground. Maybe they won't get their heinies stomped in the fall after all.