Bush aims to mend fences

[Judi Lynn]

Bush aims to mend fences
Americas summit comes as anti-U.S. sentiment rises



By Hugh Dellios and Bob Kemper, Tribune correspondents. Tribune foreign correspondent Hugh Dellios reported from Monterrey, with national correspondent Bob Kemper reporting from Washington
Published January 12, 2004

MONTERREY, Mexico -- Intending to explain his new immigration reform proposal, President Bush will try to rekindle relations with Mexico and the rest of the Western Hemisphere as he arrives in Mexico on Monday for a regional summit at a time of tensions over the U.S. focus on security and free trade.

Beginning Monday, Bush will meet with Mexican President Vicente Fox, new Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin and other regional leaders at a two-day Summit of the Americas, which was organized to rejuvenate joint efforts to alleviate poverty, reinforce democracy and fight corruption in the region.

But Bush will arrive in Monterrey, a prosperous northern Mexican city, with political baggage amid increasingly vocal resistance to U.S. influence from some leftist Latin American leaders. And many in the region are reacting with skepticism to the president's plan to ease conditions for the nearly 8 million undocumented immigrants in the United States.

That skepticism was reinforced in the longer lines at Mexico's international airports even as the plan was unveiled last week. Because of unspecified terrorist threats, FBI agents assisted Mexican security officials in an intensified screening of passengers headed to the United States. One passenger was forced to sip the tequila he was taking north as a gift to prove it wasn't a hazardous liquid.
(snip/...)

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0401120197jan12,1,7430574.story?coll=chi-news-hed
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[The Backlash Cometh]

1. Great plan: piss them off, and then ask for their cooperation.

What a dumbass. It took him three years to understand that diplomacy works, and because he abused these other nations so badly, he's going to have to give them EVERYTHING they want before they'll listen to him again.

[Blue_Roses]

2. He still doesn't understand how

diplomacy works, he's only doing this because it's election year.

[loyalsister]

3. This title!!!!

The very thing that created Bush's "regular guy" image. The media is already working on it for him. I am disgusted! He's just a regular guy. You can't expect too much from him on foregin affairs the first time around, but he sure is trying! ugh!!!

[Say_What]

4. The LatAm media ain't working it for him

[salin]

5. Remember his hissy fit and public pouting and bad news last year?

This year there are even more reasons for other members to be critical of Bush. Can he reign in his natural inclination to act superior, huffy and mean spirited when in public and folks aren't as deferential has he thinks they ought to be? Mend fences... good luck.

[KansDem]

6. Fences to mend? Do we smell another Halliburton no-bid contract? (eom)

[ScrewyRabbit]

7. Remember, good fences make good neighbors

Can't wait to hear this line out of Bush's mouth...

[0007]

8. This is indeed funny!

Let's see if we can count that high!

15 Latin American countries
8 Far East countries
About half of Europe - say 16 or so
All the Middle East counties except Israel
Canada
I'd say about seven tenths of the world
And only the leaders of Spain, UK, and Australia like junior or least pretend too, but the people of those counties detest the rat and his cabal.

More can be added but I can't think too straight this morning.