21 September 2006

Harangue-l

How outrageous was Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez' "Bush is the devil" speech to the United Nations yesterday? So outrageous that none other than Representative Charles Rangel of New York, no slouch himself when it comes to anti-Bush diatribes, felt the need to respond:
I want to express my extreme displeasure with statements by the President of Venezuela attacking U.S. President George Bush in such a personal and disparaging way during his remarks at the United Nations General Assembly.

It should be clear to all heads of government that criticism of Bush Administration policies, either domestic or foreign, does not entitle them to attack the President personally.

George Bush is the President of the United States and represents the entire country. Any demeaning public attack against him is viewed by Republicans and Democrats, and all Americans, as an attack on all of us.

Were Chavez' comments that offensive? Is the Pope Catholic? Does a bear shit in the woods?

As gratified as I am to see Rangel put partisanship aside for a moment, I wonder whether his feeling is less that Chavez' UN performance was inappropriate and more that it was counterproductive to the anti-Bush movement of which Rangel is so prominent a member. Perhaps his "extreme displeasure" is more like Uncle Jimbo's discomfort at having the Ku Klux Klan come out in loud support of his position supporting the racist town flag in the South Park episode "Chef Goes Nanners":
KKK Leader: Hello, brother, we are here to support your noble cause.

Jimbo: Huh? Uh, hey now. We don't want your support. We're not racists; this is about history.

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