Preview of Harper meeting with Bush, Fox

Cancun is filled with more than just sun and the hopes for a decent spring break. The city is hosting a brief 2-day summit with Prime Minister Stephen Harper, U.S. President George W. Bush and Mexico's president Vicente Fox.

Softwood lumber and security at border crossings are what Canadians want Harper to put on the table. In the U.S., the screaming is over immigration, the Mexican issue.

As I've mentioned before, Bush has ignored his neighbors more than any recent president. For Canada's sake (perhaps), Harper's win might help Bush figure out there is a country to the North, and being nice might help.

Bush gave a one-on-one interview with CTV in Canada. He talked to CTV's Washington bureau chief, Tom Clark.

While Bush is the first president to sit down in an interview with a Canadian TV network, his answers don't lend themselves to much progress happening. Recognizing that softwood lumber is an issue in Canada is a minimum. The good news is that Bush is at that mark at least.

Bush offered only vague hopes of a settlement before leaving in January 2009. "I certainly hope so," he said. "We want to get it solved; I told that to Stephen Harper, that I understand its importance."

As for border crossings, he ruled out allowing driver's licences to remain sufficient identification to permit entry to the United States. "The idea is to make sure that tourists and trade moves freely and terrorists don't," he said. Bush added that a tamper-proof passport equivalent would be acceptable.

Unofrtunately, Bush has never had to deal with any inconvenience at the border since he never went to Canada before becoming president in 2000. If he spent half a day at the Detroit-Windsor border or the Peace Arch in Washington/British Columbia, he would understand.

Good luck to Stephen Harper. He has a lot of catching up to do, he has competition for Bush's attention with Fox in the room, and he is up against Bush, who tends to talk past people since he gets so little information that is not spoon-fed.