On the campaign trail last year, Pena Nieto vowed to reduce violence and said he'd take a different tack -- an election promise that played well with voters in a country weary of a drug war with a growing body count.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

It's politics as burlesque (Bush laying the groundwork on a fly-swept Texan stroll with his closest advisers -- but somehow getting lost in his own backyard), with a mounting body count in the background.

CNN: Review: 'W.' slapdash, but surprisingly thoughtful

With drugs being tested on cancer patients, he notes, the "FDA insists on a body count to be able to quantify how much and how long the new drug improves survival" even though diagnostic markers can sometimes reveal in advance which patients are unlikely to gain a benefit.

WSJ: Book Review: The Creative Destruction of Medicine