Take Prato, a beautiful town in Tuscany that grew rich on foreign trade in textiles during the Middle Ages and has the churches and paintings to show for it.
Dr. Abdullah, the former Afghan foreign minister and presidential candidate, is here in town just a week after President Karzai was here, but nobody from the administration will see him.
Bush's only foray into foreign territory during the presidential campaign was a brief stop at a Mexican border town, where he stood alongside outgoing Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo and pledged to broaden trade with Latin America.