Bush Gives Polish President Taste of Middle America

When he travels abroad, President Bush rarely bothers to do any sightseeing. Yet when he rolls out the red carpet for a visiting head of state, Bush expects his guest to be a good tourist.

So it was that on Thursday, he brought Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski to this Detroit suburb for a taste of Middle America and a warm reception from Polish Americans.

“I believe you have to go beyond Washington to truly capture the energy and diversity of our country,” Bush explained. “I thought it was a perfect place for him to come.”

Bush was right.

Commenting on the trip, Kwasniewski said, “You can feel immediately that you are like at home, among friends, among members of your family.”

Last September, Bush applied the same hit-the-road formula for the only other official state visit so far in his administration, that of Mexican President Vicente Fox.

After the usual pomp and circumstance at the White House, capped by a lavish state dinner, Bush took Fox to Toledo, Ohio, the next morning. Their audience included a large group of migrant workers from Mexico. Bush and Fox also visited a community center in a lower-income, predominantly Latino neighborhood that was part of a Mexican American community that dates to the 1930s.

For Bush, there is a dual rationale behind such jaunts.

One is to extol the contributions made by immigrants from the country of the visiting dignitary. But there also is a domestic political element.

The Detroit area’s large concentrations of Polish Americans, for instance, traditionally vote Democratic in a state that often becomes a key battleground in presidential elections. Bush lost Michigan in the 2000 election to Al Gore, 51% to 46%, and the White House would like to change that outcome in 2004.

Bush and Kwasniewski began their Michigan visit at Oakland University, where they spoke in a large gymnasium filled with about 4,000 adoring guests--and some Bush detractors.

When the president began talking about the war on terrorism and thanked Poland for its contributions, the protesters leapt to their feet and chanted: “Stop your war.” They also produced two banners, both referring to the disputed presidential election.

One simply read: “Thief.” The other--not fully unfurled before security agents hustled them out--said in part: “Can you say election?”

Bush continued speaking during the interruption, at one point glowering at his detractors as he held up his right hand, as if compelling them to stop.

After they were escorted out, the audience gave Bush a prolonged and thunderous ovation as he stressed his commitment to the war against terrorists. He said the United States and its allies will “get them on the run--and we’re going to keep them on the run until we bring them to justice.”

Mostly, the remarks by both presidents consisted of mutual praise and admiration, and much talk of friendship and cooperation.

Bush pointedly thanked Poland for helping to “bring down the evil empire,” the phrase President Reagan popularized when referring to the Soviet Union in the 1980s. The political movement led by Poland’s anti-Communist Solidarity trade union in the early 1980s helped undermine Soviet power.

After their remarks, the two presidents traveled in a motorcade to nearby Troy for lunch at the Polish Cultural Center with about 450 Polish American leaders.

The menu there was quite a contrast to Wednesday night’s state dinner honoring Kwasniewski at the White House. That meal featured seared striped bass, pepper smoked beef filet, fresh corn polenta, grilled portobella mushrooms and orange and avocado salad, as well as three different wines.

The cuisine in Troy included meat-filled potato dumplings, stuffed cabbage with mushroom sauce, pork tenderloin, cucumber salad with sour cream and Polish torte.

About 1 million Polish Americans live in Michigan, mostly in and around Detroit. In all, there are 9 million to 10 million Polish Americans in the United States

For all his praise of Polish Americans who live in Michigan, Bush proved unable to keep a lid on his pride for Texas.

“The oldest permanent Polish settlement in America can be found in my home state,” the president noted during Wednesday’s state dinner, referring to Panna Maria in Central Texas.