POLITICAL BRIEFING

CALLING ON CARLA: With President Bush’s image on foreign trade badly in need of repair since the dismal outcome of his trip to Japan, some GOP strategists say he should elevate the public profile of U.S. trade negotiator Carla Anderson Hills.

Convinced that Bush blundered by not including Hills in the group that accompanied him to Japan, these strategists say she should be given a larger public role in the negotiations for a free-trade agreement with Mexico and Canada, as well as in follow-up meetings with the Japanese.

“She is a tough lady who has scored some successes,” said Rich Williamson, who was assistant secretary of state under President Ronald Reagan. “And, to the extent that Republicans still have trouble with the gender issue, it’s not a bad idea to have Carla Hills out front, looking competent and acting aggressive.”