MEXICO CITY — As reported earlier, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush accompanied Sen. John McCain on a tour of the Basilica of the Virgin Guadalupe this morning. During the visit, McCain received a blessing from the Basilica’s Monsignor Monroy.

Bush, reportedly in town on business, expressed confidence in McCain’s ability to win in November.

“I think he’s going to win. He just needs to be himself and not let Sen. Obama redefine himself.”

Bush is a savvy politician, and supposedly the favorite son, politically, as far as his own family was concerned. Unfortunately, the Basilica visit was pooled coverage, and that’s all the information we received about the Bush visit. To quote the pool report, the Basilica stop was “No news, a lot of color.”

McCain departed the Basilica for a closed meeting with Mexican President Felipe Calderon. He then attended a closed-press luncheon with the American Chamber of Mexico at the Club de Industriales in the Mexico City Marriott.

Fortunately, we were in the pool for the Industrial Club luncheon. We were supposed to have an opportunity to ask a few questions of McCain before he joined the group of Mexican and U.S. business leaders. However, McCain Press Secretary Brooke Buchanan came in and told us there would be no questions, only a statement from the senator.

McCain’s statement was fairly unremarkable — his standard pro-NAFTA spiel. He said the meeting with Calderon was “very informative,” but didn’t elaborate. The biggest point of interest was a subtle jab he took at Obama’s past remarks that the United States should consider renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement, without mentioning the Illiinois senator by name. On the plane to Colombia, McCain had told reporters he would not criticize Obama while on the ground outside the United States.

“I am disappointed at the suggestion that the United States should unilaterally reopen NAFTA. If there are issues that exist between our countries — whether it be the United States, Canada and Mexico, or other nations with whom we have engaged and ratified treaties — the best way to do that is not in a unilateral fashion, but mutual respect of sovereignty of our respective nations.”

At the moment, we are in the motorcade traveling to the Ixtapalapa police station, where McCain is scheduled to take a tour guided by Mexican Atty. Gen. Eduardo Medina Mora. The presumed GOP nominee is expected to also see a clearly well-timed demonstration of a hostage extraction, after which he will give a media avail where he will expand on his meeting with Calderon. Then, we head to the airport to fly to Phoenix, where I can sleep in my own bed tonight.