So Now Book Smarts Are OK?

After a presidential campaign spent criticizing Sen. John Kerry and Democrats for sophisticated and nuance responses to issues, all of sudden with the uproar over the ports deal, administration apologists have discovered the need for sophisticated, or "book smarts."

On Hardball Wednesday night, conservative columnist Kate O'Beirne said the problem with the Dubai port deal was that those investigating the deal were actually hindered by their sophisticated understanding of how ports operate, i.e. they were too smart to deal with the issue.

At the end of the day, and after a thorough investigation, perhaps the port deal is a good one. After all one has to think that if Bush's political underlings weren't involved, perhaps the deal was actually determined on its merits.

And former President Bill Clinton is working with Dubai on how to promote the deal so one has to think that if people using the often maligned book smarts are in favor of the deal then there must be something to it.

Or maybe not, but we may not know yet. Democrats, who for years have tried to govern and run for elections based on book smarts rather than on emotion have gotten beaten at the ballot box, might be excused for raising questions based on the appearance of a deal.

Conservatives, on the other hand made their living belittling book smarts and science on many issues and so for them to all of sudden use book smarts as the answer is hypocritical. But it's not a surprise as few have said the governing conservatives have principles.

In an excellent column describing the differences the between the current White House resident and the last President, Newsweek's Howard Fineman pointed out that the Administration will take 45 days to review and explain the deal but Bush probably won't be able to explain it to the public.

Especially not now that the Washington Post is reporting an investigation into a second Dubai firm set to take over precision components used in aircraft and tanks.

As Fineman put it Suddenly, it's a complicated, gray world out there: the kind that a Bill Clinton would feel at home in, and could explain.

You know, someone with book smarts.