And he grabbed the Headlines from Obama Going to Mexico!

FIRST THOUGHTS.*** Heading To Mexico: This morning, President Obama embarks on his third overseas trip as president (the other two were to Canada and Europe). He arrives in Mexico City at 2:10 pm ET; holds a bilateral meeting with President Calderon at 3:10 pm; and participates in a press conference with Calderon at 4:45 pm. Interestingly, this is Obama's first-ever visit to any part of Latin America, including Mexico. Not just as president, but EVER. Some Latin American observers see this as a sign that the president hadn't viewed the region as a priority as a senator or as a rising politician, and it has concerned some of these observers. Bottom line: Look for the president to go a bit over the top, if necessary, to convince Latin American leaders that he -- to borrow the words from the first President Bush -- will send the message of "I care." Moreover, unlike other international visits, the Mexico trip has very little to do with pure foreign policy, and is instead dominated mostly by domestic politics. From guns and immigration to the drug war and trade, the top issues on the agenda today all could have domestic political consequences for the president. In particular, people will pay attention to the back-and-forth between the two presidents on assault weapons.
*** Three Other Storylines: As for the rest of the trip after today -- the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad -- look for three storylines to emerge. One is Cuba. (Just how hard will the other Latin American leaders criticize the president for what they believe is not much change in our Cuba stance?). Two is anti-Americanism. (Many of the emerging political leaders of the region have gotten to power by bashing the U.S. Will the president confront this issue like he did in Europe? Anti-Americanism has always been stronger in Latin America than anywhere else.) And three, there's Hugo Chavez. (He's been bombastic at previous international gatherings, and has even spent the last week thumbing his nose at the U.S. in visits to Cuba, Iran, and China and taking little shots at the U.S. along the way. Will he do this in the presence of Obama? If he does, will other leaders cheer him on or being embarrassed? Will the president confront him or go out of his way to ignore him? Confronting him could be one of those tricky moments for the president; he could stare him down and get domestic political love for doing it. But confronting Chavez could elevate the Venezuelan in the eyes of the world.)
*** Rick Perry Said What? There's lots of coverage of yesterday's tea parties below. But perhaps the biggest news came from the one in Austin, TX, where Texas Gov. Rick Perry suggested that Texas could secede from the union. The AP: "Later, answering news reporters' questions, Perry suggested Texans might at some point get so fed up they would want to secede from the union, though he said he sees no reason why Texas should do that. 'There's a lot of different scenarios,' Perry said. 'We've got a great union. There's absolutely no reason to dissolve it. But if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, you know, who knows what might come out of that. But Texas is a very unique place, and we're a pretty independent lot to boot.'" Perry is definitely ambitious -- is he prepping himself for more than a GOP primary against Kay Bailey Hutchison? -- but this secession talk is pretty amazing coming from the governor of the country's second-largest state. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/apr/15/texas-governor-suggests-secession/
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