Can this be possible? The United States' closest ally in South America is Colombia. The fact that Colombia receives billions in aid from the U.S. is highly controversial. Colombia has negotiated a Free Trade Agreement with the United States, whose consideration is long overdue. And now, Colombia faces a military threat not only from a longstanding and potent terrorist insurgency, but also from a military power attempting to destabilize the entire region.

The Hill has an interview with an old associate of mine -- Chris Padilla of the Department of Commerce -- the administration's point man for winning passage of the Colombia Free Trade Agreement. He says that no member of the Democratic leadership has agreed to travel to Colombia to study the issue:

Q: Have any members of the leadership gone on these trips?

No.

Q: Is that something that you’d like to see?

They have an open invitation from President [Alvaro] Uribe to go. We encourage every member of Congress who wants to go to go and see for themselves. And not just take the guided tour, but meet with the opponents of the FTA in Colombia, as well as the proponents. And hear both sides and make their own judgment about what the right course for America is. I’m confident that if the judgment is made on the merits, the agreement will pass...

Q: Are you disappointed that you haven’t been able to convince key House Democrats like Charles Rangel [N.Y.], Sandy Levin [Mich.], Nancy Pelosi [Calif.], Steny Hoyer [Md.] or James Clyburn [S.C.] to go on one of these trips?

Well, they have an open invitation to go. I’d be pleased if they would avail themselves of the opportunity. There is still an opportunity to do so if they want to.

Is it any wonder that foreign leaders are saying that the actions of Democratic leaders send the message that 'the United States is an unreliable ally?'