Susan Estrich
Friday, March 3, 2006

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What makes a Great Political Issue?

If you're a Democrat, and you've been floundering in search of one for months - as most Democrats have - two ingredients seem to be essential.

First, the issue has to allow you to score points against President Bush. After all, what's the point of having a lame duck if you can't try to cripple him even further?

Second, and just as important, the issue needs to NOT leave you vulnerable to the worst of all accusations: "soft on terrorism" - or, as Karl Rove puts it, "pre-9/11 mentality." Indeed, the perfect issue is the one that lets you accuse the administration of this ultimate sin.

By this standard, the "Dubai Ports Deal" is manna from Political Heaven. Call Chicken Little: The president is giving our ports to the Arabs. It is a demagogue's delight, and Democrats have been playing it like a piccolo.

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Forget about the fact that nearly ever port in American has elements of foreign ownership - or that, according to the president's own revelations, al-Qaida was planning to use South Asians, and not Arabs, in a subsequent attack on Los Angeles. Who's afraid of South Asians?

Forget about the fact that in recent years, the United Arab Emirates has been among our closest allies in the region in fighting terror, and in helping us supply our military. "The water I drank as a soldier in Afghanistan came from Dubai," one of my students told me. "If they wanted to harm us, they don't need to run ports to do it.

That's not to say that there are not legitimate questions being raised. I'm troubled by the Emirates' participation in the Israeli boycott, and there are questions as to whether the Coast Guard's concerns are fully addressed.

But is this really the best Democrats can do?

Will it make anyone's life any better - help any child, feed any mother, save any senior - if Democrats "win" on this issue?

Will stopping the ports deal make American cities safer or stronger?

Of course not. This is a political exercise. So much easier than the other headlines of the day - 10,000 dying in Darfur, intractable combat in Iraq. Does anyone have any answers on those? They are not the sort of "yes-no" questions that fuel our political discourse.

Former President Clinton, no Bush supporter he, has expressed confidence in the people of the United Arab Emirates, and urged others to focus on the facts in this debate.

But the facts are less important than the fear factor and the demands of politics. Bill Clinton isn't running for office. He doesn't need a political issue. His wife and her colleagues do, and unfortunately, they've found a beauty. Even Republicans can't resist. They're no fools. They know a losing argument when they see one.

And it's working like a charm. The country is, for once, with the Democrats and their Republican/talk-show allies. If all you care about is politics, this is the definition of success. If only it merited the hysteria it has generated. Unfortunately, it doesn't. Meanwhile, they die in Darfur. No points to be made there. Sorry. Lousy issue.

COPYRIGHT 2006 CREATORS SYNDICATE INC.

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