Madness of obscure politics

By Mike Pellicio

I feel that I've been had by CNN and Fox News. It was just last quarter that I was degrading my television for the 24 hour "news" the media airs. Dick Cheney became the first vice president since Aaron Burr to shoot somebody while in office and Quailgate got even more attention than Alexander Hamilton's death.

Then, we had a story that was itself less interesting than Cheney's hunting exploits: the United Arab Emirates port scandal. Touche, Wolf Blitzer.

A company called Dubai Ports World bought out a British company that ran six ports on the East Coast, and the U.S. political scene went mad.

Both sides had been fairly persuasive at times and equally absurd at others. Reward allies or reward democracy? This seems to be the question at the heart of the issue, as foreign management of a few terminals hasn't been a problem in the past.

The current immigration issue can be seen in the same light. Do we need the 12 million illegal immigrants that do "the jobs that Americans won't do," or should we seal our borders to protect against another Sept. 11? Keep in mind that illegal immigrants aided four of the hijackers in obtaining Virginia state ID cards.

I think something fishy is going on. For instance, just look at the ports deal. Something's very strange about it. The Senate Republicans, who have run on the platform that President Bush can be trusted on national security, were almost unanimously opposed to the deal.

It's been said that Bush didn't even know about the deal before it was completed, but he actually threatened to veto any bill voiding the contract. (He's never vetoed anything, ever.) Why on Earth would he draw the line in the sand there? For the UAE? Beats me.

Now, the Senate Democrats; they promote improving diplomatic relations with our allies, deride racial profiling in airport security and champion affirmative action. They want nothing to do with the deal. Eyes on November, anyone? Madness!

President Bush didn't stand alone, though. He received support from both Jimmy Carter and John McCain. Carter? He loathes President Bush. Still, it's tough to deny the credibility of these supporters: of the two men, one really wishes he were still the president, and the other is a U.S. Senator from Arizona. President Bush has also received a lot of support in the blogosphere and from anyone else who doesn't have re-election to worry about.

The immigration issue is another one that deals with national security and involves people acting in a contradictory manner. Should the government send the National Guard to deport all illegal immigrants? Should the government hand out health insurance cards instead? Those are two extremes, but I'm sure some of you reading this fall into those camps. Just be careful in what you believe; there's an election on the horizon.

Mike Pellicio is a junior political science major.