The Bush legacy

Our dear president is courting the Mexican Government again. Hope springs eternal for “W” as he tries to carve out a legacy he started in February 2001 with his first visit outside the United States as president…to his old pal Presidente Vicente Fox.

Fox is gone now but Bush is still working the border. Two cabinet members were down there this week. Come to think of it, they are the same two who were White House lobbyists running around the Senate last summer advocating for amnesty.

The team of Carlos Gutierrez (Commerce) and Michael Chertoff (Homeland Security) headed south of the border this week filled with Bush optimism.

Chertoff was in Baja California for a meeting of cabinet-level leaders from Canada, Mexico, and the United States. They were talking about security and the economy. (It sounds like another round of Super NAFTA talks to me.)

So, Chertoff told reporters that he is pleased with the progress Presidente Calderon is making in his fight against drug cartels. “I think the Calderón administration has done an exemplary job, a wonderful job, in tackling these organized criminal groups,” Chertoff said.

I think they should stop smoking the evidence at those meetings. Tourism is WAY DOWN in Baja California because people are afraid to travel. How bad is it? Check out this link from two weeks ago: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-tijuana17feb17,0,508172.story

Progress is defined a little differently in the public sector I guess.

The second member of the Bush inner circle is Carlos Gutierrez, at a meeting in Mexico City. Carlos expressed great concern about the poor Mexican farmers. He went on to say that NAFTA was a great success for the United States and that the Bush administration wants more of the same.

One would think the Secretary of Commerce would have a better handle on the economy in the United States. Exporting manufacturing jobs is the last thing we need right now.

Sometimes I think this administration works for Mexico. But at least we can take comfort in knowing that Bush spokesmen are as duplicitous there as they are here.