Obama, Calderon pledge solidarity in showy display at White House
By Julie Pace, APWednesday, May 19, 2010
Obama, Calderon pledge solidarity as issues mount
WASHINGTON — In a showy display of solidarity, President Barack Obama welcomed Mexican President Felipe Calderon to the White House on Wednesday and pledged cooperation on immigration, a violent drug war and economic struggles on both sides of the border.
“I say to you and to the Mexican people: Let us stand together,” Obama said in a South Lawn ceremony heralding the start of Calderon’s state visit.
Sprinkling in a bit of Spanish, Obama went to great lengths to greet Calderon, who is fighting an escalating, bloody battle against drug cartels in his country and facing pressure to get results on immigration reform. Around the White House grounds, Mexican and U.S. flags waved together, while cheering school children and military in their finest dress uniforms gathered on the South Lawn to embrace the pageantry.
Calderon, like Obama, spoke of the stern challenges uniting the neighboring countries. He spoke mostly in Spanish but switched to English toward the end of his remarks to borrow a campaign line from Obama, asking rhetorically if the nations could overcome their challenges and answering: “Yes we can.”
The two leaders then began private talks, part of day that was to include a joint news conference and an elaborate state dinner.
