22450: (Hermantin)Sun-Sentinel-Jeb's Next Move Will Be Telling (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Jeb's Next Move Will Be Telling

South Florida Sun-Sentinel Editorial Board
Posted June 20 2004

Gov. Jeb Bush's interest in Haiti is a welcome development. The governor
visited the island nation last week, met with its leaders and pledged his
support in efforts to help improve life in the country.

Proximity gives Bush's voice heft. He is the governor of the state closest
to Haiti. A traumatic development in Haiti can cause seismic ripples in the
Sunshine State, particularly in South Florida. He is also the president's
brother, which should give any ideas the governor may glean from his visit
additional weight in an administration that has yet to articulate a clear
and comprehensive policy toward rebuilding one of the Western Hemisphere's
first republics.

Although Haiti is roughly 700 miles from here, the impact of almost any new
foreign policy initiative toward the island should be seen as a local issue
to Florida. Many experts believe the state will bear the brunt of any mass
exodus that may come from a nation that has endured endemic poverty,
ecological damage and repeated political turmoil.

Bush made his visit at the request of the U.S. ambassador to Haiti. He met
with the new president and prime minister and representatives from several
humanitarian aid programs. He also visited a textile manufacturer that
maintains sales and distribution operations in Florida, and a federally
funded project that exports crafts to the Port of Miami.

What Bush does next will determine if his interest in the island is sincere
or more of a prop to help his brother appeal to Haitian-American voters in
what is expected to be a close presidential election.

He can start by considering all viable proposals to help Haiti. Good policy
initiatives aren't limited to the party in power. As a newcomer to the Haiti
crisis, the governor should be open to new initiatives, even if they come
from political figures who may have criticized him in the past on other
issues.

Take the knee-jerk response from the governor's office to a recent letter
sent to him by U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, D-Miami. In it, Meek asked Bush to
seek his brother's support for several initiatives, including a bill now
before Congress to help Haiti's economic recovery and provide an additional
$50 million in foreign aid funding. The response from the governor's camp:
Meek is playing politics with the visit, an accusation that isn't accurate
and certainly isn't helpful in crafting new initiatives to help Haiti.

Bush is now a participant in a foreign policy debate. Now that he's in the
fray, Bush will have to put forth his ideas and, in a process that requires
deliberation, he'll sometimes have to defend them in a process aimed at
coming up with solutions to Haiti's problems.

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