Bushes Welcome Mexico's President

W A S H I N G T O N, Sept. 5 -- After months of Texas-sized bragging about their vibrant relationship, President Bush welcomes Mexico's President Vicente Fox as the first diplomatic state guest for the new administration.

The high-profile visit promises to stretch the normal boundaries of official protocol. Bush has no better friend in the international community than Fox, and the influence of Hispanics in American political and cultural life has been growing.

Fox and his wife Martha (until July she was his press secretary) will spend two very full days in the company of America's first couple. An unusually long guest list has 136 VIPs invited for today's formal state dinner, including cycling hero Lance Armstrong and Rick Perry, who succeeded Bush as governor of Texas.

On the menu: No Tex-Mex food, although it is Bush's favorite. But chefs are keeping the elegant international menu secret until the last minute.

On Thursday, Fox will make what looks like a typical American campaign swing through Ohio with Bush, while Mrs. Fox gets an arts tour of Chicago with first lady Laura Bush. That evening, the Bushes will be guests at a reciprocal dinner hosted by the Mexican president.

Traditional ceremonies for the South Lawn arrival include a review of U.S. troops and welcoming speeches. But that will be augmented in the formal talks that follow as the Mexican Cabinet is invited to an unprecedented joint session with Bush's Cabinet secretaries.

More Atmospherics Than Issues

As for issues and substance, the Mexican visit promises little drama to rival the atmospherics. Bush is not yet ready to push plans for a broad guest worker program that would allow many Mexicans who are in the United States illegally to stay on legally. In interviews in advance of the visit, Fox conceded sweeping immigration reform will take years, probably stretching beyond a first Bush term in office.

"Immigration is a very complex subject," Bush told reporters on the eve of the visit, because the U.S. draws immigrants from all over the globe. Fox has advocated special treatment for Mexicans but Bush said, "I have explained to him there is no appetite for blanket amnesty in Congress."