President's Port Problem

When even Hugh Hewitt puts away the pom-poms with the big Ws on them and says "Yuck" to Bush's veto threat on port legislation you know the President is in for a rough ride. The issue is easily stated and guarantees a visceral reaction : Why is the President ceding control of key US ports to a nation with real (as opposed to Saddam-ish) ties to Al Qaida? Given that kind of ammo, Rove's grand strategy of riding National Security to victory in 2006 will be ripped to shreds. The move is reminiscent of the Harriet Miers fiasco: the administration is choosing to pick a fight with the base, but this time they desperately need them to run cover for investigations into the illegal NSA activity. Look for them to float a few trial arguments in the next few days to bolster the President's brash stance then cave in a hurry if none take hold. Short of accidentally shooting a friend, it's hard to see an issue with less upside for the administration.