Don't Forget About Latin America

President Obama has caught some serious flack for his visit to South America this week, mostly by those saying that he should be focused on the current disasters in Libya and Japan. While these tragedies obviously deserve Obama's attention, it's ludicrous to say he should have cancelled his long-awaited trip South. Rick Sanchez wrote a fantastic piece for The Huffington Post on the necessity of the trip; explaining it's importance, he says:

Going to Latin America isn't a party, it doesn't interfere with your [Obama's] duties, and it's not about job creation. It's about far more than that. Going to Latin America is the work of the president, important and essential work, and it's in our national and strategic interest.

It's about treating Latin America as equal partners, something you, President Obama, promised at the Summit of the Americas in 2009. It's about cultivating a stronger relationship with this part of the world and sending a message to Latin America, as well as Latino-Americans here at home, about their importance in the global economy as well as national and international politics.

He touches on what America has not been doing for the past, oh, let's say six decades--the North American reluctance to deal with their neighbors down below. Hopefully this trip will be exactly what Sanchez calls it, an opportunity to reforge relations with our natural geographical allies and diplomatic partners. Of course, the trip is just getting underway so who knows. But even though there's a lot going on outside of our hemisphere, we'll be watching.

Guys, he looked REALLY hard. 

And in other Latin American news, Hugo Chavez says capitalism wiped out life on Mars.