So President Bush is doing a little bit of traveling
himself this week, heading to India for a whirlwind tour. The purpose of the trip is to stir up business and
let the Indians see that the President doesn’t live up to his horrible reputation in the rest of the world. In a way,
the mere fact he is taking the trip helps, because he is widely known as one of the least-traveled Presidents in modern
history.
Some folks are making a to do about the fact he isn’t visiting the Taj Mahal, probably
India’s most popular and well-known site. Uh, so what? Folks, I’ve been to the Taj, and while it is indeed beautiful,
breath-takingly so, in fact, it is located in a rather little miserable place called Agra. I did a story about Agra a year or two ago
for MSNBC.com, and the idea was to find things to do in Agra out side of the Taj Mahal. That wasn’t easy. Yes, there is
the Red Fort and such, but the fact is Agra is a impoverished, dismal little place where the hucksters and touts are out
in great swarming legions, so I forgive the President, this time, for passing on the Taj.