FIRST AZNAR, now King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia:

US President George W. Bush on November 24 will welcome Spain's King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia to his Texas ranch, the White House announced.

The king and queen, who are to travel to Seattle, Washington, November 21-22 for a cultural event, after the Ibero-American Summit to be held in Costa Rica November 19-20, and visit Cartagena, Colombia November 18.

Bush met Tuesday at the White House with Spanish former conservative prime minister Jose Maria Aznar, who was a US ally in the war in Iraq (news - web sites).

But the US president has not yet met with new socialist Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who tried to contact him by phone to congratulate him on his reelection November 2, but did not get through.

Ciara's, sorry, Zapatero's government is pretending (with the local media helpfully going along) that this proves that the relationship between Spain and the US is on the mend, thanks to the superior skills of Spanish diplomacy.

What I see is that Bush is clearly signaling he has nothing against the country itself, only against its government, their juvenile anti-American policies and statements, and their shameful desertion from Iraq in the middle of the battle. Just as people over here say "hey, we're not anti-American, only anti-Bush", I think Bush is implying: "hey, I'm not anti-Spanish, only anti-Zapatero". The difference is that nobody believes the former, since they are merely hiding their true, rabid anti-Americanism. In case of Bush, I think he really means it, and rightly so: there are many, many people who don't share Zapatero's foreign policy. You don't think I'm the only pro-American around here, do you?