Posted on 04/30/2003 4:15:09 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON (AP)--The decision against holding a Cinco de Mayo celebration next week at the White House, after having such events the past two years, was not meant as a snub at Mexico for opposing the U.S.-led war with Iraq, a presidential spokesman said Wednesday.
The conflict has forced President Bush to curtail many public appearances, said deputy press secretary Scott McClellan. He cited the Easter egg roll earlier this month, which the president did not attend.
Cinco de Mayo--in English the fifth of May--celebrates the victory of Mexican soldiers over the French at the 1862 Battle of Puebla.
News reports in Mexico have included speculation that the White House had canceled its event because of unhappiness with Mexican President Vicente Fox's opposition to the war.
``Mexico is a friend and ally and President Bush considers President Fox to be a good friend,'' McClellan said. ``We've scaled back on some of the president's public events because of the military conflict in Iraq and for that reason the president has not been able to participate in some of the events he has in the past.''
McClellan said the president intended to issue a proclamation ``to commemorate this important celebration.''
Bush worked with some success to win Hispanic votes in his 2000 presidential campaign. He has tried to strengthen ties with Spanish-speaking Americans and is the first president to follow his weekly radio speeches with a Spanish translation.
Bush received 35 percent of the Hispanic vote in 2000, more than any previous Republican presidential candidate.
from Drudge and SFGate.com
Mexico's Fox meets with ex-U.S. President Clinton
(04-30) 14:58 PDT MEXICO CITY (AP) --
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton said Monday the United States needs to involve more countries in rebuilding Iraq and said the United Nations should not be weakened in the process.
Clinton's comments came at a political conference in Mexico City, where he earlier met with President Vicente Fox at the presidential residence. "What's done is done," Clinton said, referring to the war in Iraq.
"We cannot let this be a precedent for weakening the U.N.," he said. "We have to have honest inspections for chemical and biological weapons, and we need to have a sensible attempt to involve the world in building a democratic Iraq."
Fox, meanwhile, stressed Mexico's desire for good U.S. relations, ties that were strained by differences over the war in Iraq.
"We're friends, neighbors and partners," Fox said in a statement released by his office following the 90-minute meeting with Clinton. "We are united by more than a border and we will always look toward the future" together.
Clinton said a key step after the war was to restart peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. The world "can only hope and pray that President Bush is right, and that it (Iraq) will him extra leverage in resolving the conflict," he said.
Referring to both sides, Clinton said "I know what the peace will be like, and so do they."
"It's only a question of how many people they are willing to see die before they reach the inevitable agreement," he added, "but it will come." Clinton was in the Mexico capital to participate in "21st Century Mexico" a political and economic forum presented by Mexico's dominant telecommunications company, Telefonos de Mexico, or Telmex. Clinton congratulated Fox on strengthening Mexican democracy after he ended 71-years of single party rule by taking office in December 2000. The former U.S. president also praised the Fox government's arrests of several key drug kingpins over the last two-plus years.
Mi cartel, su cartel 8-\
I hate to break it to them but beating the French is not much to brag about.
We should celebrate their victory over the French. Just think, if the French had won, Mexicans would be speaking French. They would act like the French & ..vote with...France at the....uh....UN.
nevermind
LOL.
But, if not, why not?
I'll be heading downtown to El Mercado for the Cinco de Mayo fiesta this weekend. The Cinco celebration follows 11 days or so of Fiesta! in San Antonio, which was the last two weekends and the days in between. Fiesta! celebrates the victory of Texas forces under General Sam Houston over Generalismo Antonio Lopze de Santa Ana at San Jacinto, near present day Houston. San Antonio, Gringos included, loves to party!.
Actually, we should be celebrating our victory over Mexico in 1848. Our treaty after conquering Mexico City ended up with us buying a big chunk of their land. The treaty was ratified by the Mexican Congress on May 25th. Hmmmn, maybe we can work out a treaty with Iraq and buy a chunk of land. The southern chunk would work out great. (Tongue-in-cheek, this would be the case if the liberals were right about it being about the oil!)
Maybe it's Ireland. I'll wager that St. Paddy's day is celebrated by more people of more ethnicities than Cinco de Mayo is. That includes a Jewish couple who we used to be next door neighbors with. There was always a party at their house on or near March 17th. :) Plenty of Gringos can be seen at the Cinco de Mayo festivities, including this one.
It was in 1862. Especially as the Mexicans were still recovering from the drubbing we had given them a decade and a half before. American Gringos were bad enough, from their point of view, but European, especially French, ones were just too much. The French actually more or less won the war, putting Maximillian on the throne of Mexico. 'course old Max didn't last long, just a few years, and ended up being executed by the Mexicans. You might say it was pretty much all downhill for the French after that, and I doubt they've hit bottom yet.
The two buffoons had an amazingly good time together I'm sure. Does Fox think Clinton still has anything to say in this country? What a couple of idiots.
Cinco de Mayo is just a heritage day celebration like all the others. It's not a big Mexican holiday ---I'm not sure Bush should snub Fox by not having Cinco de Mayo celebrations -- but he should snub Fox. It could be a combined French and Mexican heritage day ---because I'm not really sure to us it matters who one that Battle of Puebla.
I think they called it off this year becuz of the last few years raucous activities.
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