The current tempest in a teapot over the impending sale of a British company that manages the operations of several important port facilities in the United States to a holding company based in Dubai of the United Arab Emirates, while devoid of real national security substance, serves to illustrate the lack of competence of the administration which was touted upon first being elected as a new era of good management since the President-elect of the time (a.k.a. Texas Governor George W. Bush) had an MBA.

Ironically enough for me, in the issue of the sale of the company that controls the management of several American ports, I agree with the Bush administration in substance that the change in ownership does not present a national security risk (surprise!!! especially to those who understand the true depths of my distaste for George W. Bush and his cronies).

What prompts the present furor?

In the end, it all comes down to a matter of competence.

A lack of competence all too clearly illustrated in terms unambiguous to all but the most rabid partisan, coupled with a lack of understanding of the process of accountability that currently exists for the executive branch in our system that has evolved substantially from the original intentions of the founders.

Let us start with a list:

(1)  the utterly inadequate response of the federal government to hurricane Katrina, not only due to the political crony completely unsuited to the job of heading FEMA but also because of the paralysis of the supposedly competent man appointed to run the Department of Homeland Security (the mere name of the department he heads brings the chill of harsh historical memory to those who are aware of such resonances)

(2)  the hash made of the post-invasion situation in Iraq (note the source of the link…), including the commencement of the occupation up to the recent threats of removal of US support directed towards the democratically elected representatives in that tattered and torn nation

(3)  the complete lack of preparation for the opening days of the new Medicare Prescription Drug Program(which was supposed to be one of the key accomplishments of the current administration, but after an entire month doesn’t seem to be ironed out…)

I’m at three strikes already without delving deeply in the least nor even bringing up how striking the metaphor of the recent incident where Vice President Cheney shot a hunting companion is for the entire administration of George W. Bush.

Competence…

It is an easy characteristic to identify, and even more readily recognized as lacking, as it so sorely and obviously is in the administration of President George W. Bush.

Brownie, you’re doing a heck-of-a-job…
    -President George W. Bush
    during a whirlwind image-restoration photo-op
    tour of the area devastated by hurricane Katrina,
    while people were still trapped in a flooded New Orleans

Hence the distrust of those who are members of both parties when it comes to the exhortations by the Bush administration of “trust us, we have reviewed the situation” in the matter of the management of several major ports of the United States (note this is the management of operations, not of security, which is still under the full control of the US government, for what that is worth…).

So where do we go from here with an administration that has shown beyond all reasonable doubt (partisans are NOT reasonable) that it is incompetent in actually administering US policy either domestically or abroad?

I’m damned if I know…