During Obama’s Pan-American summit, he was photographed shaking hands with socialist dictator Hugo Chavez of Venezuela. Republican’s fear that Obama is being too friendly with cruel leaders, yet democrats argue that he is simply turning a friendlier face, reaching out, and keeping an open mind.
White House response to handshake
Don’t worry, you did see a handshake. However the White House stated that the handshake does not signify a friendship between the nations. There is a lot that needs to be done to repair the broken relations between the U.S. and Venezuela. Hugo Chavez is famous for publicly castigating former President Bush, going so far as to call him the devil himself. President Obama stated,
“it’s unlikely that as a consequence of me shaking hands or having a polite conversation with Mr. Chavez, that we are endangering the strategic interests of the United States.”
Chavez previously called Obama an “ignoramus” during the presidential campaigns. During the handshake, Chavez gave Obama a book led Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent.Obama joked saying he thought Chavez was giving him a book Chavez himself had written, and thought it would be nice to give Chavez an Obama book. The “Open Veins of Latin America” was written back in the 70’s and is on its 72nd edition.
Does handshake mark a movement towards sketchy U.S. friendships?
So does this handshake mean that we are bettering relationships with other nations by being polite, or are we publicly condoning cruel dictators that strip their citizens of basic human rights? If I don’t like someone, I don’t touch them. But I’ve been told I have sensitivity issues. Perhaps a polite nod would have been better? Maybe, just maybe Chavez changed his mind about calling Obama an ignoramus and that nice while at his nice mansion built by the sweat of his own people hand a change of heart. Well, maybe not, but one thing I know for sure is that Chavez is running with this image and will use it to his own advantage. At the official Venezuelan presidential webpage is an article about how Chavez insisted to Obama that the next Pan American meetings be held in Cuba saying that “everyone here loves Cuba, we are Cuba’s friends and we expect the U.S. to be friends with Cuba too. We respect Cuba and will always be united with them.”
Call for an open Cuba
Just after arriving back to the U.S. on April 19th, Obama announced that relations between the U.S. and Cuba have to change. With help from Castro and the Cuban government an agreement can be reached to possibly lift the 48-year-old embargo. Obama has recently lifted travel restrictions and remittances for Cuban-Americans and is looking for some “reciprocal moves” by the Cuban government.
I’m waiting for a presidential trip to Cuba with a picture of Obama and Castro hugging.
- from Seattle Political Buzz
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