Hugo Chavez makes the big time in American politics as a star in the latest John McCain ad with Chavez’ rant just last week about “shit Americans”;<\/p>\n
[youtube AHQwsxHiaY0 nolink]<\/p>\n
The Washington Times<\/a> says the ad is aimed at Hispanic Americans;<\/p>\n In the ad – replete with bleeps to cover up Mr. Chavez’s repeated expletives in condemning Americans – the McCain campaign charges that Mr. Obama would meet unconditionally with Mr. Chavez and other anti-American foreign leaders. “Do you believe we should talk with Chavez?” the announcer asks.<\/p>\n The McCain campaign said Hispanic voters are particularly open to the message because many of them are immigrants who came to the U.S. seeking to escape the sort of political tactics Mr. Chavez employs.<\/p>\n “They come to American for freedom, and yet Senator Obama seems overly willing to deal with a tin-pot dictator,” McCain spokesman Brian Rogers said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Typically, the Obama campaign’s response has little to do with reality;<\/p>\n Federico de Jesus, an Obama campaign spokesman, called the new Chavez ad the “latest distortion” from Mr. McCain, and said it’s actually President Bush’s policy that has boosted the Venezuelan leader.<\/p>\n “We cannot afford more of the same economic policies that have driven us into a ditch, and we cannot afford more of the same foreign policy that has strengthened Chavez and set back U.S. leadership in Latin America while doing nothing to break our dependence on foreign oil,” he said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Chavez was anti-US before the Bush Administration came into existence. Chavez merely took advantage of the US Left’s disdain and uses Bush as a boogeyman to whip up the crowds of supporters in his own country (like he was doing last week in the video). The reason we haven’t broken our dependence on foreign oil is because we aren’t allowed by our own legislatures to access our own sources, it has nothing to do with George Bush or Hugo Chavez. It’s the Democrats.<\/p>\n The only part of the ad I disagree with is the phrase “Do you believe we should talk with Chavez?” It ought to be “Do you believe we could<\/strong> talk with Chavez?”The only way Chavez will accept any audience with a US leader is if the president (who ever it is) comes crawling across the floor of the Miraflores Palace. And right now, Obama is probably just the guy to that.<\/p>\n UPDATED:<\/strong> Chavez responds as quoted by ElUniversal<\/a>;<\/p>\n “I will not reply to any candidate (Obama or McCain). We will try to understand each other, as presidents, with whomever who turns out to take office. Now, they are electioneering, seeking votes, and attacking Ch\u00e1vez there will probably give them votes in some sectors.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"