The Arroyo state visit to the United States is a public relations triumph for both guest and host, as both had most likely hoped and anticipated. The public relations bonanza it is reaping for Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and George W. Bush indeed suggests that as state visits go, this one was not so much meant to firm up relations between their two countries but to serve each other’s domestic agendas.
As both presidents said, U.S.-Philippine relations have never been as strong as today, thanks to Mrs. Arroyo’s unconditional support for U.S. global policy, particularly its “war on terrorism” and the attack on and occupation of Iraq. The state visit was thus only a public demonstration of the restoration during Arroyo’s watch of the Philippines’ long history as a U.S. client.
But from the minute Malaca
