I didn’t know whether it would work, but I had a lot of confidence in President Henrique Cardoso, and as Brazil’s major trading partner, the United States had a big stake in his success. I understood how it had happened. As I had in Uganda, I expressed my regret over America’s responsibility for slavery and the long, hard struggle of African-Americans for freedom. The Senate opposition was not as great but was still substantial.
The Bush policies were making things worse. His negotiating partners wanted trust-building courtesies and conversations and lots of bargaining. Jack was convinced that if we didn’t drop the ban, the NRA would beat a lot of Democrats by terrifying gun owners. That was a big step for us, given Syria’s past support of terrorism.
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