shiva2999
March 6th, 2007, 5:27:09 PM
And he's flying the banner of social justice!
You better watch your ass Oogoh Tchahvezz!!!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2007/03/06/BL2007030600623.html
Bush's Anti-Chavez Tour
By Dan Froomkin
Special to washingtonpost.com
Tuesday, March 6, 2007; 12:48 PM
Just before heading off for a six-day visit to Latin America, President Bush yesterday attempted to co-opt the populist rhetoric of his hemispheric arch-nemesis, President Hugo Chavez, of Venezuela.
Speaking to the "tens of millions in our hemisphere" who "remain stuck in poverty, and shut off from the promises of the new century," Bush said: "My message to those trabajadores y campesinos is, you have a friend in the United States of America. We care about your plight."
But if you think Bush has a credibility problem in his own country, it's even worse south of the border -- especially when it comes to issues of social justice.
Let there be no doubt about this: Bush's attempt to persuade Latin Americans that he is the champion of the poor -- given his pro-business bent and six years of an almost exclusive focus on free trade and terrorism -- is utterly doomed. Almost laughably so.
Bush leaves for Brazil on Thursday, then travels to Uruguay, Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico. Here's the text of his speech to the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce yesterday. Startlingly, it contains the phrase "social justice" fully five times.
Bush even associated himself with the forces of revolution (albeit a slow-burning one.)
Hearkening back to two great liberators -- Simon Bolivar and George Washington -- Bush said "it is our mission to complete the revolution they began on our two continents. The millions across our hemisphere who every day suffer the degradations of poverty and hunger have a right to be impatient. And I'm going to make them this pledge: The goal of this great country, the goal of a country full of generous people, is an Americas where the dignity of every person is respected, where all find room at the table, and where opportunity reaches into every village and every home. By extending the blessings of liberty to the least among us, we will fulfill the destiny of this new world and set a shining example for others."
The Bush Trip
Peter Baker writes in The Washington Post: "He talked of grinding poverty and called it 'a scandal' that democracy and capitalism have not delivered more to Latin Americans. The working poor need change, he declared. He invoked Simon Bolivar, the 'great liberator,' and vowed to 'complete the revolution' and bring true 'social justice' to the region.
"Hugo Chavez? No, George W. Bush.
"As he prepares to embark on a six-day trip to Latin America this week, the president is launching a new campaign to compete with Chavez for the region's hearts and minds, employing language mirroring the Venezuelan leader's leftist populism but rooted in traditional American conservatism. After six years of focusing elsewhere in the world, Bush in his final two years wants to convince the nation's neighbors that, as he put it yesterday, 'we care.'
"But he faces an enormous gulf between ambition and reality, analysts say."
...more,,,
You better watch your ass Oogoh Tchahvezz!!!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2007/03/06/BL2007030600623.html
Bush's Anti-Chavez Tour
By Dan Froomkin
Special to washingtonpost.com
Tuesday, March 6, 2007; 12:48 PM
Just before heading off for a six-day visit to Latin America, President Bush yesterday attempted to co-opt the populist rhetoric of his hemispheric arch-nemesis, President Hugo Chavez, of Venezuela.
Speaking to the "tens of millions in our hemisphere" who "remain stuck in poverty, and shut off from the promises of the new century," Bush said: "My message to those trabajadores y campesinos is, you have a friend in the United States of America. We care about your plight."
But if you think Bush has a credibility problem in his own country, it's even worse south of the border -- especially when it comes to issues of social justice.
Let there be no doubt about this: Bush's attempt to persuade Latin Americans that he is the champion of the poor -- given his pro-business bent and six years of an almost exclusive focus on free trade and terrorism -- is utterly doomed. Almost laughably so.
Bush leaves for Brazil on Thursday, then travels to Uruguay, Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico. Here's the text of his speech to the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce yesterday. Startlingly, it contains the phrase "social justice" fully five times.
Bush even associated himself with the forces of revolution (albeit a slow-burning one.)
Hearkening back to two great liberators -- Simon Bolivar and George Washington -- Bush said "it is our mission to complete the revolution they began on our two continents. The millions across our hemisphere who every day suffer the degradations of poverty and hunger have a right to be impatient. And I'm going to make them this pledge: The goal of this great country, the goal of a country full of generous people, is an Americas where the dignity of every person is respected, where all find room at the table, and where opportunity reaches into every village and every home. By extending the blessings of liberty to the least among us, we will fulfill the destiny of this new world and set a shining example for others."
The Bush Trip
Peter Baker writes in The Washington Post: "He talked of grinding poverty and called it 'a scandal' that democracy and capitalism have not delivered more to Latin Americans. The working poor need change, he declared. He invoked Simon Bolivar, the 'great liberator,' and vowed to 'complete the revolution' and bring true 'social justice' to the region.
"Hugo Chavez? No, George W. Bush.
"As he prepares to embark on a six-day trip to Latin America this week, the president is launching a new campaign to compete with Chavez for the region's hearts and minds, employing language mirroring the Venezuelan leader's leftist populism but rooted in traditional American conservatism. After six years of focusing elsewhere in the world, Bush in his final two years wants to convince the nation's neighbors that, as he put it yesterday, 'we care.'
"But he faces an enormous gulf between ambition and reality, analysts say."
...more,,,