Day: February 24, 2006

By DALE McFEATTERS

The political firestorm over port security shows American politics at their most shameless and, for a change, President Bush is on the receiving end of it.

National security has always been the Republicans’ _ and the president’s _ best issue, and regardless of what Bush believes about the ins and outs of port management, congressional Republicans are not going to let it get away from them. And Democrats see a rare opportunity to get to the right of Bush on the issue.

By JAMES ROSEN
McClatchy Newspapers

Five years ago — or even five days ago — it was just another obscure federal agency, one of thousands with alphabet-soup acronyms and quiet missions performed beyond the glare of public scrutiny.

Today, though, the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States is at the center of a raucous political fight over port security — and, more broadly, at the heart of an ongoing national debate over Americans’ attitudes toward Arab nations since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

By LISA HOFFMAN

The grimy blue case rested among other dusty knickknacks in a Southern California secondhand shop. At first glance, Gene Dobos thought it must contain a watch.

A thrift-shop browser and watch collector by hobby, Dobos looked closer and saw the words "PURPLE HEART" embossed in gold on the case’s leatherette cover. Inside, on the stained yellow velvet lining, lay a worn, heart-shaped medal adorned with a purple ribbon. Etched on its reverse was the name "Frank N. Smith" and "For Military Merit."