Obama defends greeting Hugo Chavez (LAT)

[jefferson_dem]

Obama defends greeting Hugo Chavez

The president says Americans want him to interact with foreign leaders and that the U.S. has nothing to fear from Venezuela. He stresses importance of collaboration and earning goodwill.
By Peter Nicholas
April 20, 2009

Reporting from Tobago and Port-Of-Spain, Trinidad -- Rebuffing criticism of the warm greetings he exchanged with Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, President Obama said Sunday that the United States, with its overwhelming military superiority and need to improve its global image, could afford to extend such diplomatic "courtesy."

In a news conference capping a three-day meeting of leaders from the Western Hemisphere, Obama also said the U.S. must engage other countries through humanitarian gestures, not only military intervention.

Obama said it would be a mistake to measure the Summit of the Americas by the specific agreements reached. By listening to his counterparts and eschewing heavy-handed diplomacy, he said, he was creating an atmosphere in which, "at the margins," foreign leaders are "more likely to want to cooperate than not cooperate."

A running theme of the summit was Obama's cordial dealings with Chavez, who once called former President George W. Bush the "devil" and who last month dismissed Obama as an "ignoramus." The two were photographed smiling and clasping hands.

At one meeting, Chavez made a show of walking around the table as the cameras rolled and handing Obama a copy of "Open Veins of Latin America," a 1971 book by Eduardo Galeano chronicling U.S. and European imperialism in the region.

Republican Sen. John Ensign of Nevada, appearing on CNN on Sunday, said it was "irresponsible" for Obama to be seen "laughing and joking" with the Venezuelan president.

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http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-obama-americas20-2009apr20,0,3878264.story

[sandnsea]

1. Laugh and joke with CEO's who bankrupted us instead n/t

[jefferson_dem]

3. The whole right-wing attack strategy is so shallow and vacant.

It's all about supposed hugs for the queen, bows to the King, smiles to Hugo...

Good gawd. They've given up on policy debates and are singularly fixated on body language critiques instead.

[marmar]

2. That I live in a country where one Head of State greeting another has to be defended......

..... makes me want to hurl. :puke:


Netherlands, Canada, France, Denmark, Sweden or Bust. :yoiks:

[Diamonique]

5. Ditto!

What did the idiots think he was supposed to do? Go to the summit and snub Chavez? Give him the hand? The finger? What?

Obama's behavior was absolutely appropriate.

[Thrill]

4. who does Ensign think he is? Obama is the POTUS, he decides whats appropriate or not

when greeting other State Leaders.

[Cha]

7. And the same for david gergen

who said "Obama's handling of Chavez was a no no".

Since these are the kinds of people who are complaining about the way Prez Obama conducts himself..then he must be doing something right, as if I didn't know it. Anyone with sense would realize you don't go to the Summits of the Americas and act like a freakin' snob.

[Cha]

6. Fuck the whiney john ensign who is

a republicon and is automatically irrespsonsible.