So. According to the Liberally biased Media, Conservatives are grumbling with displeasure at the now famous photograph of Barack Hussein Obama shaking hands with Venezuelan Dictator---oops! Sorry, wrong word--- "President" Hugo Chavez.
For the record, As a Conservative, I often am displeased with Obama, but not over something as innocuous as a handshake. Just sayin'.
Well, maybe they are. I've been busy this weekend and haven't had a lot of time to peruse my blogroll.
Wait. I'll go do that now. Don't go away. I'll be right back.
In the meantime, why don't you amuse yourself by watching this hilarious comedy routine by belly busting comedienne Janine Garofolo? I'll be back in a minute.
Ok. I'm back.
I just checked several Conservative blogs on my blogroll, and found very little outrage at "The Handshake". I even checked blogs that usually go postal over the most insignificant things, and there are indeed some blogs that mention "The Handshake", but nowhere near the outrage the media claims.
Say it ain't so, Joe! The media wouldn't exaggerate, would they?
Michelle Malkin expresses outrage more at the apparent fawning and slobbering love for Chavez demonstrated by Obama than "The Handshake".
Mike, from Mike's America, merely echoes Michelle's observation, "At least he didn't bow," and casually wonders if Obama means to emulate Chavez's charming way of oppressing and jailing his opposition.
I guess the media's perception of reality differs somewhat from mine.
Here's my perception:
Obama and Chavez were both attending a summit meeting involving most, if not all the South American countries. They were both there. I will assume both were invited, but, either way, it is most likely inevitable that sometime during the conference they would meet. It is also most likely that upon meeting each other, they would exchange handshakes.
What should we expect Obama to do? Stick his tongue out at him?
I think when a meeting occurs between two Socialists, the last thing we need to worry about is whether they shook hands or exchanged pleasantries.
It's no surprise that there might be a sort of "mutual admiration society" between the two.
They are, after all, both Marxists.
Chavez gave the gift of a book to Obama. (I have no knowledge of what gift, if any, Obama may have presented Chavez) The book is a chronicle of the United States oppression of South American countries written in Spanish, virtually assuring Chavez that Obama will never read it or even take the time to have it translated.
After all, Obama is much too busy to wade through mounds of Communist propaganda.
He has television appearances and photo ops to make. That surely leaves little time for him to read. (he's probably already read the book, anyway)
Especially when he has his own ideas of how to create a Marxist society out of the United States of America. He needs no help. He is doing quite well on his own.
Again, I think "The Handshake" is the least of our worries. I worry much less about their initial greeting at the conference than I do about what they talked about.
From what little I read, one thing they talked about is this: Obama has apologized to South America. For what, I'm not sure. And, he has reiterated his belief that America is an evil, evil country.
In conclusion, I'm okay with Obama shaking Hugo's hand. As long as he washed it afterwards.
* Probably, if anyone read the quotation at the beginning of this piece, you are wondering which of the two participants in "The Handshake" won this particular battle. Well.... so am I.
10 comments:
I'm just relieved that Obama didn't bow to him!
The photo of the handshake will send a message of weakness to certain state leaders. But to expect BHO not to shake Chavez's hand is unreasonable.
Addendum: BHO's ear-to-ear grin is quite irksome.
"...I'm okay with Obama shaking Hugo's hand. As long as he washed it afterwards."
Do you mean President BO washing his own hand, President BO washing Chavez's hand, Chavez washing President BO's hand or Chavez wahsing his own hand.
And and all of the above would be appropriate.
I'm with you...it was a non-event.
Joe, You asked, "Do you mean President BO washing his own hand, President BO washing Chavez's hand, Chavez washing President BO's hand or Chavez washing his own hand?"
(I went ahead and added the question mark since it is a question. No thanks required)
Answer: Yes.
The handshake is a symbolic act of solidarity with a man who is using the power of the state to oppress political opposition.
You decide which leader I am talking about... Or both.
I can well imagine that Obama shook Rev. Wright's hand many times and he feels exactly the same way about the U.S. as Chavez and Obama's other friend Bill Ayers (who visited Venezuela and praised Chavez).
The problem here is that Obama is cozying up to leaders who HATE America while dissing the British and the Israelis who were up to now our closest allies.
P.S. You really should include the other photo of the handshake to get the full meaning of the moment:
http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j191/mikesamerica/mikesamerica2/sdrfthfg.jpg
Mike, there's no doubt Obama loves his Marxist buddies. But, a handshake is a handshake. What the two talked about behind closed doors, I insist, is much more relevant.
Mike as always gets it right.
A few points, if I may:
One, this Obama-Chavez meeting reminds me of the Kennedy-Khrushchev summit in Vienna in 1961. Khrushchev berated Kennedy, who didn't respond. As a result, Khrushchev sized Kennedy up to be a weakling, leading him to think he could get away with putting nuclear missiles in Cuba.
I fear that Chavez has sized up Obama likewise. We're going to have nothing but more trouble from Venezuela here soon.
Second, political prisoners watch this sort of thing. Anatoly Sharansky (now Natan Sharansky) was a "refusenik" in the Gulag from 1978-1986. He has written about how he and the other prisoners were much encouraged when they heard Reagan's "evil empire" speech and others like it (they were smuggled into the prison).
Armando Valladares, political prisoner in Cuba 1960-82. He wrote similarily that prisoners listened carefully to what American leaders said. They were encouraged when an American president denounced Castro, demoralized when the opposite occurred.
To you and I it may appear to be "just a handshake," but I assure you that such things are played for all they're worth by our enemies. You can be assure that in Cuban and Venezuelan jails, political prisoners are shown the photo and told "See? Obama doesn't care about you!"
I'm right there with you on this!!! Like you said, he was suppose to stick out his tongue?
The media says the conservatives are all upset. But they also said that the tea parties were minimal and that the protesters were rowdy. I guess that's why their ratings are all down.
I take it with a grain of salt.
Tom, you and Mike are both right of course. I can't disagree with anything you've said.
But, try to look at it this way, if you please. (and I hate making these hypothetical comparisons) What if George W Bush had been present at this conference. Do you think he would have refused to shake Chavez's hand? How about Reagan? Would they have stuck out their tongues? What would the media have had to say about that?
C'mon. It is simply a polite thing to do, having nothing to do with how one feel's about the other.
I have to shake hands often with people I don't like very much. It's just what one does, as a matter of politeness, nothing more.
But, if, as Tom says, it either discourages or encourages political prisoners and dissidents, for Obama to shake hands with one of America's enemies, perhaps they are reading too much into it, such as the media does. It is a matter of perception, is it not?
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