Rolling in the "D'oh!":ne of the many unhealthy similarities between journalists and politicians is that both run the risk of becoming wedded to a particular policy or point of view. Intellectual flexibility is a desirable quality in both professions, yet in.

• Author: Gearino, G.D.
• Position: FINEPRINT

One of the many unhealthy similarities between journalists and politicians is that both run the risk of becoming wedded to a particular policy or point of view. Intellectual flexibility is a desirable quality in both professions, yet in too many cases when the circumstances change ... Oh, hell. Enough of the throat clearing and pussyfooting. I need to just man up here and say it: The state's Global TransPark might prove to be a success after all.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

You may recall that it was a mere two months ago when, in this very space, I declared that political leaders who had created the cargo airport/industrial park near Kinston in the early 1990s had "made a mistake so obvious that any Junior Achievement dropout could have avoided it. They provided the supply where there wasn't (and clearly still isn't) a demand for industrial air parks in remote, rural areas."

Almost before the ink was dry on the page, Gov. Mike Easley announced that Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc., the world's largest independent provider of commercial-airline components, would open a huge factory at GTP that eventually would employ as many as 1,000 people. Upon hearing that news, my immediate reaction was to make the same sound Homer Simpson makes when his incompetence and endless miscalculations have once again been put on display: "D'oh!"

My second reaction was one of happiness for a part of the state where good jobs have chronically been in short supply. Only a cretin would wish for continued economic misfortune in Eastern North Carolina if the alternative--namely, a prosperous GTP--would prove him wrong. That's the kind of bizarre entrenchment in a point of view that can lead an anti-Bush activist into believing that success in Iraq is a bad thing.

Before I reveal my third reaction, though, I'll encourage you to stop reading now if you pumped your fist with glee as you heard these words from Easley as he explained the deal with Spirit: "Today we start to silence all of those naysayers over the years who have been heckling from the sidelines." If you prefer the silencing of naysayers, you're not going to like what follows from here.

My third reaction was that Easley had unconsciously set himself up for a possible "Mission Accomplished" moment--which is to say, the premature declaration that the insurgents have been routed and the battle has been won. One impressive deal doesn't make a success out of GTP. State and federal funds totaling $100 million have...