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Dubai: A bait and switch?

From MSNBC.com: What ever happened to the NSA spying furor?
WASHINGTON - When the New York Times revealed late last year that the Bush administration was conducting a surveillance program to listen in on American citizens’ conversations with suspected al Qaida operatives, it sparked a furor....

But now, two months later, another furor — over a Dubai-based firm’s acquiring of leases on terminal facilities at several U.S. ports — has blown the NSA story right off the front pages.

Is it possible that the backlash over the Dubai port deal was allowed to grow (in the form of Bush backing the deal for example) as a means for the administration to draw attention away from the NSA spying scandal? As we all know, this administration has perfected the art of misdirection, what with their conveniently timed terror alerts or foiled plot announcements.

Something else to consider is that while the outrage over the Dubai deal is pretty strong (and coming from both sides of the aisle), similar outrage over the fact that President Bush apparently broke the law is decidedly more muted. About the time that the Dubai deal came to light, it was looking as though Congress was caving in to pressure from the White House (regardless of Sen. Roberts claims to the contrary). But now that the Dubai Debacle is big news, the Congress can look like it is standing up to Bush while they are secretly cutting a deal to let him slide on his more unlawful behavior.

Could this have been the work of Bush's Brain all along?