This Is the Way Portgate Ends

Not with a bang, but a whimper.

On Thursday, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove told FOX News' Tony Snow that the Bush administration wants to make Congress is comfortable with the contract, even if it means the sale of London-based Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co. is slightly pushed back.

"Our interest is in making certain the members of Congress have full information about it, and that, we're convinced, will give them a level of comfort with this," Rove said, adding that regulatory rules abroad could also add a few days to a final sign off on the transaction.

"There are some hurdles, regulatory hurdles, that this still needs to go through on the British side as well that are going to be concluded next week. There's no requirement that it close, you know, immediately after that," Rove said.

Ensure the diligence is done, the appropriateness of the deal is truly vetted, and that everyone in a position to evaluate agrees there's no undue security risk, and this whole thing goes away with minimal further in-fighting.  Really, that's all I've been pining for since this all bubbled up.  This leaves the door wide open for a Frist-style plan, which ought to diffuse all right-of-center angst other than that of those who want the deal blocked no matter what, even if and after it's put through all due paces.

Of course, if the overdue diligence fails to offer a high enough degree of confidence, I trust the deal will get the immediate kibosh with no tears shed.

Elsewhere:
The Dubai abides (HT: MM) a short delay

Previously:
Scatterbrained
Protecting Our Ports - Now With Credibility!
Hey Buddy, Wanna Buy a Port?