Print

Email story

Comment

Letter to the editor

Bush stops in Tampa for speech, sandwich

During the president's two-hour visit, he pledges money to fight modern slavery and drops in for a pressed Cuban in Ybor City.

By TAMARA LUSH and DONG-PHUONG NGUYEN
Published July 17, 2004

	[Times photo: Mike Pease] Jared Wright was among the select group of people who got to greet President Bush as he arrived Friday at Tampa International Airport.

TAMPA - President Bush on Friday pledged to fight modern-day slavery by allocating millions of dollars for victims and beefing up law enforcement efforts in key states.

Human trafficking, Bush told a group of law enforcement and social service professionals, is "one of the worst offenses against human dignity."

"Giving life is the gift of our creator," Bush told the group gathered at the Tampa Marriott Waterside for a first-ever training conference on human trafficking. "And it should never be for sale."

Bush, his daughter Barbara and his brother Gov. Jeb Bush, were in Tampa for about two hours Friday morning. It was billed as an official presidential visit, not a campaign stop. Attorney General John Ashcroft was already at the conference and joined the president on stage.

But his remarks address an issue of vital concern to Evangelical Christians, one of the most important components of Bush's political base. Conservative religious groups have helped focus White House attention on trafficking.

Bush also took an unrelated jab at Cuba, saying that Fidel Castro encourages the exploitation of children by encouraging sex tourism.

"I have a strategy in place to hasten the day when no Cuban child is exploited to finance a failed revolution," the president said.

During his talk at the Justice Department conference, Bush announced a $4.5-million grant to shelter human trafficking victims. He also said he has allocated $25-million to help other countries - such as Brazil, Sierra Leone and Thailand - fight the problem.

Gov. Jeb Bush took the occasion to announce that he had signed a bill making sex trafficking of children a felony in Florida, one of only five states that has passed laws against trafficking. Almost all trafficking cases have been prosecuted on a federal level.

On his way to and from the Marriott, the president's motorcade encountered hundreds of protesters downtown.

"Conservatism enslaves," read one sign, while a giant, inflatable rat stood on Florida Avenue.

Bush drove by the demonstrators on his way to and from the conference, but never mentioned them.

"We've got a problem and we need to do something about it," he said of human trafficking.

Between 600,000 and 800,000 people are trafficked around the globe for labor, sex or domestic purposes each year. The majority are women and children. Bush added that upward of 17,000 people are brought annually into the United States against their will.

Bush singled out two women in the audience as examples of people who are trying to help trafficking victims. Lan Pham, a Tampa resident, works with people at the St. Petersburg office of Catholic Charities. And Anna Rodriguez runs the Immigration Rights Advocacy Center in Collier County. She formerly worked for the Collier County Sheriff's Office and helped victims prosecute their traffickers.

Bush called Cuba a "major destination for sex tourism" and said that's one reason why he has cracked down on Americans traveling to Cuba in violation of the U.S. embargo.

In a conference call with reporters arranged by the John Kerry presidential campaign, Florida Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson said Bush waited too long to submit an international protocol against trafficking to the U.S. Senate. He also pointed out that Bush proposed cutting $20-million from a trafficking victims program.

"It's kind of curious to me that it suddenly now becomes a subject to talk about," said Nelson. "This is where the action is not meeting the rhetoric."

About 150 protesters greeted the president, along with a few dozen Bush supporters.

The protesters represented groups such as America Coming Together, Planned Parenthood and MoveOn.

Jolene Bertloff, a volunteer with MoveOn.Org, said she wished more people could have joined the protest. "Because of the economics of today, people have to make a living," she said. "Our jobs are being exported. There's a war on education. Bush has to go."

Meanwhile, a team of gymnastic tumblers from Lubbock, Texas, said they didn't know Bush was speaking across the street until they saw the protesters.

They said they couldn't just sit inside the Tampa Convention Center while a fellow Texan was lambasted.

"My world view is very similar to George Bush's view," said Steve Doles. "The reason they have a right to stand over there is because we fought wars."

So the dozen tumblers and their families joined a handful of Republicans on one side of Franklin Street to face off against the protesters across the street.

Just minutes after his speech, the president, his daughter and his brother made an unscheduled stop at La Tropicana Cafe in Ybor City.

A member of the president's advance team had been there earlier in the morning and told owner Raymond Cuttle that she wanted to order four pressed Cuban sandwiches to go. An associate will pay for it, she informed him.

Ten minutes later, the woman asked Cuttle if it would be okay if the president paid for them.

"The president of your company?" Cuttle asked.

"No," she replied. "The president of the United States."

Cook Miguel Fleitas prepared the presidential Cubans.

Cuttle said he couldn't believe it when Bush walked in. The 20 or so patrons gave Bush a standing ovation as he worked his way around the restaurant shaking hands.

Bush then walked up to Cuttle, standing behind the cash register.

"Mr. President, I'm going to give you a presidential discount," Cuttle said to Bush.

"Are you going to charge me double?" Bush quipped.

"Of course," Cuttle said. "And we're going to give you 50 percent off."

The order came out to $19.91.

Bush handed Cuttle a $20 bill.

Cuttle was so excited he put the bill in the register, not thinking to save it.

- Information from the Associated Press was used in this report. Tamara Lush can be reached at lush@sptimes.com or 727-893-8612.

[Last modified July 17, 2004, 01:00:37]