THE SENATOR'S EXCELLENT IDEA

Hutchison's plan could improve U.S.-Mexican relations.

Just how confident is Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of prevailing in her bid
for re-election this fall? Confident enough to take a serious run at an
issue which under other circumstances she might have deferred until her
return ticket to Washington had been punched.

Granted, overconfidence every now and then precedes a mighty fall. Given
that Hutchison's Democratic opponent is retired military lawyer and
perennial candidate Gene Kelly, however, you have to conclude that she
doesn't have anything to worry about on that score.

She could simply have cruised to re-election, then, without running any
risks at all. Last week, however, she took on an issue with genuine heft:
the touchy matter of the certification process under which nations deemed
to be centers of drug production and trafficking must get a clean bill of
health from the White House before they can qualify for U.S. foreign aid.

This ill-considered mechanism has been particularly upsetting to the
relationship between the United States and Mexico. Though Mexico has never
been decertified, its government and people detest the process - with
reason: As they point out, if there were not an insatiable appetite in the
United States for illicit drugs, the drug lords would be out of business.

Last week, Hutchison called for a one-year moratorium on the certification
process for Mexico. The stunning victory of Vicente Fox in this year's race
for the Mexican presidency makes such a new beginning highly desirable, she
said: "Democracy is beginning to be real in Mexico, and we want to do
everything we can to encourage this democracy."

Excellent point. If there were ever an auspicious moment to launch efforts
to improve U.S.-Mexican ties, this is it. Shelving the certification
process, and the arrogant thinking that produced it, would represent an
excellent start toward that end.