Bush likes Maya ruins

For Bush, Yucatan ruins hold an allureAs President Bush courts Latin America, he is becoming an unusually frequent visitor to ruins of this ancient Mesoamerican civilization. Today's visit to Uxmal, Mexico, during a summit with Mexican President Felipe Calderón will be Bush's third official visit to a Mayan site in the past year. He visited Mexico's Chichén Itzá in March 2006 and Guatemala's Iximché on Monday.

That's a lot of pyramid-gazing, especially for this president.

Bush has visited only a handful of ancient sites abroad since taking office, including the Roman Forum, the Great Wall of China and the Purana Qila, a fortress in India. Last year, he apologized to Indians for skipping the Taj Mahal during a trip to Asia.Why is Bush stopping here?José Huchim, director of the Uxmal site and a coordinator of the visit, said Uxmal was chosen mainly because Mayan cities, with their jagged pyramids and stately temples, make great photo ops.

"The buildings and the decorations of the buildings, all that attracts interest," Huchim said. "These are areas that conserve a certain ambience, and that makes them ideal for these types of visits."Comment:  I wouldn't be surprised if Bush has an Apocalypto-like motive for visiting these ruins and not others. Perhaps only an unconscious motive.

If so, his "thinking" might go something like this: "These primitive Indians destroyed themselves by terrorizing their country. I'm not gonna let terrorists do the same thing to the US of A."