REIGN OF PAX OBAMA IN LATIN AMERICA

Pres. Barack Obama attended the Conference of the Americas for the past several days in Trinidad-Tobago. How things have changed in just a few months since the departure of Bush/Cheney.

Instead of insulting and patronizing other leaders of Latin countries as Bush would have done, or walking out when some leader criticizes imperialistic and militaristic U.S. policy, Obama made it a point to listen and consider viewpoints other than American ones. Obama listened to Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega criticize U.S. interference in Latin affairs and listened to Bolivia's Evo Morales unhappiness with U.S. meddling.

Bush had a list of "enemy" countries. Many on the right seem to have wanted Bush to bomb and attack the "enemies," but Obama seems to be disposed to consider other countries to be friends and allies, not adversaries.

And finally Obama had a chance to meet, greet and shake hands with Hugo Chavez of Venezuela. Obama still does not know how to pronounce the Venezuelan president's last name (not Sha-vez, but Cha-vez, as in cha-cha). But Obama recognizes that there is no need to see Chavez and Venezuela as the "enemy."

We see the beginning of Pax Obama, a period of peaceful cooperation between the United States and the countries to the south.