Empty Veto

by digby

So Bush says he’ll veto any legislation to block the port deal. He says that his government knows what it’s doing and wouldn’t have ok’d the deal if it would harm the nation’s security. This is the same government that did such a great job with Hurricane Katrina and the aftermath of the Iraq invasion.

Assuming that we aren’t seeing some sort of kabuki here, it appears that the Eunuch Caucus is getting an earful from their constituents and see no margin in working with the lame albatross right now. He’s threatened vetoes before and the invertebrate Republicans have always fallen into line. This time appears to be different.

If this is true, the Bush administration may be effectively over.

Update: Dan Bartlett is going on and on about the “rigorousness” of the process the administration undertook with this port deal. He keeps saying that they have a lot of experience with this company and that the department of Homeland Security will be in charge of security. Apparently, they have no idea that they have lost the trust of the people on exactly these kinds of things. The rigor of their planning, the “experience” with private companies and the ineptitude of Homeland Security.

They have fear mongered their way to victory for four long years, going on and on about how “the oceans don’t protect us” anymore and now they act as if port security is just another contract and claim it’s important for “our image” to give security contracts to state owned middle eastern companies with ties to terrorism. Wow.

They are left with nothing but the president’s “resolve” to govern. They believe that if he digs in his heels everyone will capitulate out of sheer admiration for his machismo. At 39%, the power of his machismo has shrunk to a fraction of what it once was. He’s in very icy water now.

.