Drug War

CBS Drops the Ball During Interview With Mexican President Felipe Calderon


Mexico President Felipe Calderon appeared on CBS's "Early Show" this morning to discuss the drug war and immigration. Anchor Jeff Glor comes close to getting Calderon to explain what exactly he means by finding "market alternatives" to Mexico's current drug-war strategy, a term Calderon first used earlier this month, then abruptly switches the topic to immigration when Calderon starts repeating himself. 

A transcript of the exchange: 

Glor: You said if drug consumption can't be limited here [in the U.S.], decision makers must seek other solutions. You talk about market alternatives. Are you talking about legalizing drugs? 

Calderon: I'm talking about market alternatives, market solutions. The point is the astronomical rentals that the criminals have coming from the consumption of the United States must be addressed. My point is either we reduce consumption, or we need more alternatives, more solutions, at least to analyze, and among them of course we need to include the market alternatives. 

Glor: Immigration reform. What should the U.S. do right now?

Frost/Nixon this wasn't. But then, that's likely why Calderon agreed to go on the "Early Show." As New York Times's Mexico correspondent Damien Cave noted on twitter, Calderon's media strategy is built around evading tough questions about the violence his government is engendering through its cooperation with U.S. law enforcement:


.Calderon's PR seems to think TV reaches broader audience but even morning shows were unsatisfied with his answer on violence.


Calderon's approach feeds into the idea, expressed by many in Mexico, that he's not willing to listen or adapt.


Calderon could agree to an NYT interview, but that would likely mean he'd have to explain what the hell he means when he says "market alternatives."  

NEXT: Obama's Thought Police


  1. I think he means “have Warren Buffet and those other rich people” buy all the drugs.

    Problem solved!

  2. Interesting. If we could get Paul elected here and Calderon is still President of Mexico there might be a real chance to stop the violence.

    With two Presidents who at least in principle support ending the Drug War it might actually happen.

  3. Was it an 8 ball?

  4. Tangentially related: Frost/Nixon was largely a circus, with Nixon as ringleader.

    Wiki related:

    “Aitken remembers that “Frost did not ambush Nixon during the final interview into a damaging admission of guilt. What the former president ‘confessed’ about Watergate was carefully pre-planned.”

  5. He’s right, we can’t stop people consuming marijuana in the U.S. but we CAN stop them consuming *cartel* marijuana. We need to let our supermarkets sell legally-grown marijuana to adults at a price low enough to prevent illegal competition.

    Parents have to decide if they want drug dealers selling marijuana to kids or supermarkets selling marijuana to adults. Forty years of failed marijuana prohibition has taught us that “nobody selling marijuana to nobody” is NEVER going to happen!

  6. If you live near the border and get Mexican radio for USA audiences, like AM 1090 or 91x in San Diego, you get the most amazing English language PSAs about the Mexican government. And they are simplistic and totalitarian in a way that makes BHO 2008 seem nuanced and libertarian. Since nobody is paying for advertisements for Padres games, 1090 is full of these.

    When Calderon says “market solutions”, he might mean mercenaries and bounty hunters.

  7. He can’t admit he’s in favor of legalization because the cartels would kill him. Legalization is their greatest threat.

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