Obama Takes Heat for Chavez Handshake

President Obama’s handshake and brief but friendly exchange with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez at the Organization of American States summit last week was enthusiastically applauded by Latin American leaders. However, many at home had a decidedly different point of view.

Many Republicans blasted the exchange with Chavez and Obama’s offer to talk with Cuba as naïve. The most heated criticism came from former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, who is widely-believed to be eyeing a possible run for the White House in 2012. The former Speaker called Obama’s actions “irresponsible”.

Obama was quick to defend his actions, insisting that shaking hands with Chavez did put U.S. interests in jeopardy. It should also be noted that Obama also took the moment to reiterate demands that Chavez change his policies and that Cuba institutes political reforms before the 47-year-old embargo on Cuba is to be fully lifted.

The Republican reaction to Obama’s peaceful overtures is not that surprising. Republicans have long sought to exert U.S. influence in Latin America and Chavez’s immense popularity there has been perceived as a threat. His close relationship with Fidel Castro hasn’t done him any favors in the Republicans’ eyes at all. And the Republicans are always looking for new ways to further choke Cuba into ousting its communist government.

Let me go on record as saying that I’m not a real big fan of Chavez, either, especially after the way he got all cozy with Iran’s maniacal president Mahmoud Ahmedinajad. But I think that he has only be made out to appear heavily anti-U.S. His constant criticism of meddling by the U.S. is pretty similar to France’s frequent criticism of the U.S. meddling in Europe yet no one brands France anti-U.S.

And, so what if Chavez does away with term limits? Can every country in the world be expected to have limits on the number of times its leaders can be re-elected just because we do? Where’s the regulation that states that in a democracy a leader can only serve two terms? If the people of Venezuela keep re-electing Chavez as their president then it obviously means that he’s well-liked. I now wonder if Bush was simply jealous of Chavez’s huge popularity, which was in stark contrast to Bush’s often poor approval ratings.

As a veteran who joined the Navy during the Cold War ready to give his life towards the destruction of communism I am not all too crazy about Cuba’s communist government, either. And that is exactly why I favor lifting the embargo on Cuba and restoring ties. The embargo only strengthened Fidel Castro’s hold on power. Lifting the embargo and allowing greater cultural exchange between Americans and Cubans can speed up communism’s downfall on the island.

The embargo is partly to blame for Cuba’s close relationship with our two worse enemies, Iran and North Korea. Removing the embargo and putting Cuba back in our orbit can help isolate those two and get them to comply with U.N. resolutions. Mending ties with Chavez would also put us even greater position to put a leash on Iran.