(Bush's Puppy Dog) Vicente Fox's performance leaves many Mexicans yelling "entreguista"

The typical achievement of a summit involving heads of state is either a) nothing, or b) decided well in advance. The highlight of the actual gathering is the made-for-television acting out between jaw sessions. The featured participants take advantage of the spotlight to promote themselves, while protesters use the cameras to convince the world that their cause somehow requires oddball behavior or manic violence.

If summits are political theater, last week's meeting of Latin American leaders in an Argentine resort city was no less than Grand Kabuki, a song-and-dance spectacle emphasizing technique. Much of Mexico, however, was unimpressed with its own president's technique. In fact, the near-consensus opinion of those outside his own party was that Vicente Fox's behavior at the summit was shameful, embarrassing, and detrimental to the nation.

And that's the sugarcoated version. Just about every voice to the left of the president (i.e. the majority of voices) came right out and accused him of kowtowing to the United States, of "doing Bush's dirty work" in Argentina. The "E" word entreguista is a serious charge in these parts, but so overused in recent years that it's lost much of its zing. This time around, though, the concern is genuine, and those who accuse the president of submitting to Washington's will at the expense of Mexico's interests seem to mean what they say.