Former President of Mexico Recalls Underestimating Bush
They were Vicente and Jorge, two cowboys turned presidents, and they held their first summit meeting together at a ranch.
But Vicente Fox, who finished his term as Mexico’s president last year, pokes fun at the cowboy credentials of President Bush in a new autobiography, recalling the time Mr. Bush turned down an offer to ride Mr. Fox’s beloved horse, Dos de Julio.
“He demurred, backing away from the big palomino,” Mr. Fox wrote in “Revolution of Hope,” which is due out by Viking on Oct. 4. “A horse lover can always tell when others don’t share our passion for climbing aboard an animal that weighs 500 pounds and doesn’t necessarily stop when you put on the brakes.”
Mr. Fox, whose victory in 2000 ended 71 years of single-party rule in Mexico, expresses clear differences with Mr. Bush’s unilateralist ways, particularly when it comes to the war in Iraq, which he suggests drew Washington’s attention away from Mr. Fox’s goal of overhauling American immigration policy.
But when it comes to Mr. Bush himself, Mr. Fox seems charmed. He labels him “the cockiest guy I have ever met in my life,” a remark clearly meant as a compliment. “Bush evokes the go-getter qualities I’ve always admired in Americans,” Mr. Fox wrote.
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But Vicente Fox, who finished his term as Mexico’s president last year, pokes fun at the cowboy credentials of President Bush in a new autobiography, recalling the time Mr. Bush turned down an offer to ride Mr. Fox’s beloved horse, Dos de Julio.
“He demurred, backing away from the big palomino,” Mr. Fox wrote in “Revolution of Hope,” which is due out by Viking on Oct. 4. “A horse lover can always tell when others don’t share our passion for climbing aboard an animal that weighs 500 pounds and doesn’t necessarily stop when you put on the brakes.”
Mr. Fox, whose victory in 2000 ended 71 years of single-party rule in Mexico, expresses clear differences with Mr. Bush’s unilateralist ways, particularly when it comes to the war in Iraq, which he suggests drew Washington’s attention away from Mr. Fox’s goal of overhauling American immigration policy.
But when it comes to Mr. Bush himself, Mr. Fox seems charmed. He labels him “the cockiest guy I have ever met in my life,” a remark clearly meant as a compliment. “Bush evokes the go-getter qualities I’ve always admired in Americans,” Mr. Fox wrote.