Since Neal's not here today, (he and Royal are taking a day of vacation to play in a charity golf tournament), he's decided to hand over the reins to his staff. So here are some thoughts from associate producer Cristina "Precious" "Pumpkin" Gonzalez...

Latin America is a region that has largely been ignored by Washington for quite some time. Bill Clinton wasn't all that popular with our neighbors to the south. And while there was a glimmer of hope for George Bush, September 11th pretty much changed everything .. including a focus on rebuilding relations with Latin America. And when it comes to Barack Obama, they are hoping to capitalize on his star-power, play into his leftist sympathies, and emphasize his weakness on the world stage. This is the America they have been waiting for.

This recent gathering of 34 nations of the Americas turned into nothing short of a Latin American bitch-fest. Sorry. There is no other way to say it. And Barack Obama just sat there and took it. Let's do a little recap of Obama's visit to the Fifth Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago:

-The first leftist thug up to bat was the president of Bolivia Evo Morales. He took this occasion to accuse the United States of orchestrating a plot to assassinate him. That's always a good way to start things off ... being put on the defensive by an anti-capitalist, radical socialist. We are talking about a man whose first order of business was to hang a portrait of Che Guevara in his presidential suite. Seriously.

-It wouldn't be a socialist slug-fest without Hugo the Horrible. Venezuela's Hugo Chavez had two magical moments with Obama. The first would be the infamous hand shake. Did you see the pictures? It was more the handshake between two pals about to play a backyard game of basketball, rather than an exchange between two radically differing nations. I mean, where do you start with this thug? Just a few months ago, he called Barack Obama an ignoramus. A few years ago, he called President Bush "the devil." We are talking about a guy who believes there is more democracy in Cuba than there is in the United States. (Even though the US technically isn't a democracy .. but you catch my drift.) Not to mention his shenanigans with Russia and Iran. Oh and then there is the tiny fact that he has nationalized virtually every industry in his country. But hey, if Barack Obama wants to pal around with Hugo like they are new-found friends .. I just hope he realizes the message he is sending around the world. At least he didn't bow to the guy like he did just a few weeks ago with the King of Saudi Arabia. But are you starting to see the picture here? Just think about the messages Obama has sent within the past few weeks .. how do you think he is making America look on the world stage?

-And since Obama and Hugo are now buds, Chavez decided that he wanted to present Obama with a token of his love. He couldn't have waited until after the summit. Or sent it with a Christmas card. Sitting at the table during talks, Chavez thought that it would be a great time to walk over and publically present Obama with a copy of Eduardo Galeano's The Open Veins of Latin America; Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent. This is the Latin American Bible explaining why capitalism and countries, like the United States, are responsible for the state of Latin America. Clearly, this was a symbolic move to undermine the president and the United States. How can Hugo get away with this? Because he knows that Obama won't do a darn thing about it. Hugo knows he can impress his tyrant friends by pulling a little stunt like this. Hugo and Fidel and Putin had a conference call later that day where they sat around smoking cigars and snickering.

-Perhaps the most embarrassing moment was the 50-minute diatribe Obama endured from Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega. Do the Sandinistas and the Contras ring a bell? Yep .. he's baaaack. Ortega was re-elected in 2006, and he took this opportunity to get a few things off his chest. I can sum it up for you pretty quickly: capitalism is evil and the US is responsible for the plight of the Americas. He used phrases like "terroristic US aggression" and "suffocating US economic policies." He describes Cuba as a country "whose crime has been that of fighting for independence, fighting for sovereignty of the peoples." And rather than stand up for his country, Obama simply thanked Ortega for not blaming him personally for things that happened when Obama was young. That's it?? Poor Ronald Reagan is rolling in his grave.

So what can we conclude from all of this? This was nothing more than a political photo-op for Latin American leaders, and a chance for them to roast America for their perceived history of neglect and abuse. I say photo-op because Barack Obama is extremely popular with the Latin American people. That's why these Latin American leaders made a point to deride America, but not Obama .. they know that having Obama on their side will only boost their own popularity. He is a pawn, folks. He is being used to boost personal popularity. Meanwhile, Obama's "listen and learn" approach gives them the luxury to hate on America in a way that makes them look stronger and America weaker.