Investor's Business Daily, March 14th, 2007
Latin America: It wasn't as splashy at some other parts of President Bush's Southern Hemisphere tour, but the businesslike tone of his final stop, with Mexican President Felipe Calderon, holds promise in a realistic way.
We admit we had a sense of excitement about Bush's meeting with Mexico's impressive leader, Calderon, whose political journey shows victories against high odds.
Calderon's contentious nomination as a presidential candidate, his long electoral ordeal against a radical populist unable to admit defeat, his defanging of Mexico's sneering rebels in Oaxaca, his winning over of Mexico's fight-club Congress, and now his swift military actions against odious drug traffickers who've plagued Mexico for decades, show he's a winner.
Fortunately, Bush is pretty much the same. Enduring a similar electoral drama six years ago, he's been thrust into an unexpected war on terror and has protected his nation. He's also introduced democracy to the world's most benighted corners, sparking democratic revolutions around the world. Current domestic woes not withstanding, he too has a winning ethic.
Both are going to need this ethic.
Unlike other stops on Bush's Latin tour, the Calderon encounter was the most difficult. Hugo Chavez was no distraction, so that left the focus on intractable problems such as immigration and drug-trafficking, all made urgent by rising expectations in both nations.
Thank goodness these nations are friends.
Rather than touring, Bush and Calderon spent most of the time confronting the issues head-on without theatrics. Meeting for two days, they were all business, and sought common ground.
Calderon seemed blunt in his demands of the U.S. on immigration and drugs, and Bush yielded nothing on the rule of law and made no false promises. But if they were firm, at least they were honest.
Name any other two states that can confront such problems so directly. Most affairs between states are clouded by appeasement, coercion, double-dealing and recrimination. This meeting was the highlight of Bush's journey because it showcased how the two leaders, overcoming different cultures, a harsh history and long-term problems, can try to achieve something together as adults.
Immigration and drug-trafficking are terribly difficult to solve. For democracies, they're especially tough because both Bush and Calderon feel the weight of public opinion, and the public sentiments of their constituents are at odds.
Bush and Calderon's biggest tasks are not to get the better of one another, but to persuade their citizens to accept compromises. And that calls for leadership.
Americans want rule of law; Mexicans want open immigration. Americans want fences; Mexicans want drug demand cut. Americans want Mexican responsibility on illegal immigrant costs; Mexico wants the U.S. to soften NAFTA provisos on corn and beans. And protectionist sentiment is rife in both countries.
Now they've got two leaders with similar aims. If they can persuade their voters to move a little to the other side, odds are good they'll find success. And if they do, it'll be one of the best legacies of both presidencies.
Copyright 2007 Investor's Business Daily, Inc.
