EDITORIAL: N.O. A Fitting Venue
Times-Picayune (excerpt)

New Orleans owes its very existence to its prime location as a hub for international trade. A large portion of our nation's commerce flows up and down the Mississippi River.

It's fitting, then, that the city will be back in the international spotlight as it hosts the North American Leaders' Summit beginning Monday.

For two days, President Bush, Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper will convene downtown to continue efforts to integrate the three countries on issues ranging from trade to security and environmental regulation.

Despite the recent anti-NAFTA rhetoric from some presidential candidates, free trade has been good for North America -- and for our region in particular.

Canada is now the country's largest trading partner, and Mexico is our third largest partner. Globalization is not slowing down and protectionist populism would only hurt our economy. Further integration is the way to go if our countries are to remain competitive in a global economy.

For most New Orleanians, though, the summit's topics won't be as important as the fact that the meeting is taking place in our city.

That's to President Bush's credit. He announced the summit's location during his State of the Union in January, saying that the city was selected to honor "the strength and resilience" of the Gulf Coast.

New Orleans has more than demonstrated its resiliency after Katrina, as well as its ability to handle events of international caliber. But the summit will give us a chance to shine in the world-class political arena.