Hope Goes South

[Geee]

Daily Caller:

President Obama’s long-planned trip to South America’s sunny vistas was carefully routed around the political storms in Columbia and Venezuela, but his smooth flights to Rio de Janeiro and charming Santiago are already being disrupted by the media turbulence emerging from Japan, Libya and the faltering U.S. economy.

The White House held a surprise 2.30 p.m. press conference to address developments in Libya, where France and Britain are preparing to launch airstrikes on advancing Libya government forces. On Thursday, the president held an sudden press conference to address growing worries about nuclear contamination from Japan’s stricken nuclear-power station.

The accumulating bad news on unemployment – Gallup raised its estimate today to 10.2 percent – is also prompting the administration to step up its emphasis on the trip’s potential boost to trade with South America. He’s holding three morning interviews with TV stations that broadcast into North Carolina, Florida, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, all of which are critical to his 2012 reelection plans.

However, planners for the five-day trip choose to avoid the long-standing crises in Colombia, where a completed free-trade treaty has been stalled by union opposition. The president is also steering clear of Venezuela, where the fascist dictator continues to cripple regional trade with the U.S. by nationalizing large sections of the nation’s economy, and also by threatening long-standing U.S. allies, especially Colombia.