Juan Valdez Needs a Crutch

According to this editorial in the San Francisco Chronicle, President Bush went to the Summit of the Americas last week in order to extend economic assistance to Latin America. Some of the countries at the meeting chose to reject the aid because the president has low approval ratings. If that reflects how Latin American countries actually think, you'd have to conclude that they're hopeless. Effectively, the Chronicle wants us to believe that shooting yourself in the foot is a reasonable way to respond to economic policies intended for your own benefit. And that, somehow, the president was to blame.