In all the years I’ve covered Presidents, kings, premiers, prime ministers, party chairmen, dictators, despots, and doddering idiots, I never witnessed such rapport between leaders than I did the past couple of days. Bush was warm and respectful towards GMA. He earnestly praised the Filipino people. In the White House press conference, he declared we were fighting in a common cause, and he would give us what it takes to help the fight. He declared the Philippines would, henceforth, be regarded on the same level as a non-NATO ally, putting us virtually at par, in military cooperation and assistance, with the USA’s traditional allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

This is a quantum jump from the years since we kicked the Americans out of their bases in the Philippines in 1991, and we fell off the radar screens.

The US, as has already been pointed out, cannot "save" the Philippines. That is our job. The US cannot, for that matter, save us from ourselves. But every little bit helps. And the help GMA has been pledged during this visit – is far from a little bit.

I’ve lost track of the President and her party since the White House dinner. As I said last Tuesday, I was out of DC the following morning.

However, there were a couple of dinners given for me by New York friends – one of them a glittering impromptu, one tendered by our glamorous friend, Yusay, known as the Cosmetics Queen of China, whose stately home stands on the banks of the East River, next to that of architect I.M. Pei (who did the glass pyramid in front of the Louvre in Paris, and the China Bank skyscraper in Hong Kong), and United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan.

Yusay, in her usual elegant manner, had gathered a bunch of New York’s beautiful people, including billionaire philantrophists, a senior aide of former President Bill Clinton and his mother, deans, prominent doctors, and Filipinas who had made a name in New York and the Eastern Seaboard. They all wanted to know who had attended the black-tie affair in the White House.

I could only repeat that Mr. Bush had given GMA what they call in hoopland the "full court press".

The Cabinet top brass were all present: Vice President Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, US Attorney General John Ashcroft, State Secretary Colin Powell, NSA Secretary Condoleezza Rice, John Snow (Secretary of the Treasury), Karen Brooks, director for Asian Affairs, National Security Council; Andrew H. Card Jr., chief of staff to the President; Spencer Abraham, US Secretary of Energy (who, in front of me, signed the bill); Gen. Richard B. Myers, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff (the Big Cheese in the military); Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao, etc.

Among the famous politicians there were Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas); Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Tex); Rep. James A. Leach (R-Iowa); Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-California); Rep. Bob Filner (D-California); Sen. Bill Frist (R-Tennessee); Senator Richard D. Lugar (R-Indiana), the guy who told Marcos to piss off, remember?; Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska).

There were, too, Asst. State Secretary Jim Kelly, Ambassador Frank Ricciardone Jr. (grinning from ear to ear); and numerous others – heavy-hitters in business, politics, and the media; Filipino-American mayors and councilmen from all over. Their wives came, as well. It was a gala affair, followed by music, hoopla, and punctuated with fine speeches and toasts.

It was a night to remember. That’s all I can say to describe it.

BY THE WAY by Max V. Soliven
The Philippine Star 05/23/2003