McCain to go to Bogota? Obama should come to Brazil and upstage him!
McCain to go to Bogota for talks with Colombian President Uribe
Published: Wednesday June 25, 2008
Republican White House hopeful John McCain will travel to Colombia next week to meet President Alvaro Uribe and discuss a bilateral free trade pact Democrats have held up in Congress, his campaign said Wednesday.
"This shows that Senator McCain knows Latin America, and shows how he is different from Barack Obama" his Democratic rival, campaign spokeswoman Hessy Fernandez told AFP.
She said McCain would travel to Colombia "next week," accompanied by Democratic Senator Joseph Lieberman and Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, but did not give exact dates.
In Colombia, McCain plans to meet with Uribe, President George W. Bush's top ally in the region, and other government officials, to discuss "the free trade agreement and the effort to fight narcoterrorism," Fernandez said.
"With this trip, the senator recognizes that Colombia is an important ally of the United States," she said.
McCain supports the free trade deal, but Obama does not.
Democrats, who hold the majority in Congress, blocked the trade deal with Colombia, demanding Bogota extend greater protection to trade unionists and investigate alleged links between ruling-party lawmakers and right-wing paramilitary groups, before granting trade privileges. |
