Gimme Cover

Great. Dubya deigns to delay the deal to give Karl time to break some arms and blow off a few kneecaps. That's been the pattern all along--initial furor over some fresh scandal, Karl and company concoct and propagate a slew of talking points (usually blaming the whole thing on partisan Democrats who are weak on security), admin surrogates and media lackeys push them non-stop, and, finally, recalcitrant GOoPers cave and waffling Dems wimp out. Let's see what happens this time.

Arab Firm Offers to Delay Deal On Seaports

Facing unrelenting political and national security concerns, an Arab maritime company offered late last night to delay part of its $6.8 billion deal to take over significant operations at six U.S. ports, after White House aide Karl Rove suggested that President Bush could accept some delay of the deal.

The surprise announcement should give Bush extra time to try to convince lawmakers from both parties that the port deal does not present an avenue for terrorists to exploit the nation's vulnerable and heavily populated seaports. Earlier in the day, Republican and Democratic senators questioned whether the Bush administration followed federal law when it approved Dubai Ports World's purchase of London-based Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co., also known as P That purchase will give the Dubai-owned firm managerial control over operations at six ports, including those of New York and New Orleans.

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