The handshake is a non-issue. The "dap" style handshake is a non-issue, expect for racists, that is.
Chavez is evil, there is no doubt about it. I have friends my age who have lived in Venezuela their entire lives (except the time spent in the US for college, that is). I have heard their stories. My dad's godfather has spent most of his life there as well. He is a land owner and a business owner. His stories are scary.
Much of the wealth he held in Venezuela has been confiscated. Several of his friends are in prison for speaking out against Chavez, while most of his friends have had much of their land confiscated. The Chavez-controlled Venezuelan media is a joke.
Again, I see nothing wrong with the manner in which O greeted Chavez. Was O supposed to embarass Chavez by not acknowledging him?
I will say that if this forum is near an accurate representation of the voters of our country, then we are all screwed going forward. There are no more than 10 regular posters here who ever disagree with the actions of their party. Come on folks, let's get our heads out of the sand. Our children, and eventually their children, depend on it.
"Was O supposed to embarass Chavez by not acknowledging him?"
chavez on obama/
1)(" a poor little IGNORAMUS who needs to study a little more to understand reality")
2)"such ignorance," chavez said adding that "the real obstacle has been the empire that he today presides over, which has exported terrorism for nearly 200 years, has launched atomic bombs on innocent cities, has bombarded, invaded and issued orders to kill whenever they have taken the notion."..
ummm,yeah....ignore the tyrant...he embarrasses this country on the world stage(check his u.n. speech out)...don`t validate the prick....he`s not a guy we should be acting collegially toward..
actually,i started this thread out as comedy(along with the message that obama`s habit of embracing despots has become annoyingly habitual)...... ....chavez is an avowed enemy of the united states....and even if that weren't the case, chavez has said such monstrously insulting things about bush AND obama and this country that some find it insulting that he would even shake his hand...and the book he presented obama with,btw, was a blatantly anti-american screed written by a socialist who is now employed by chavez` governmentally controlled media outlet......it was an obvious slap in obama`s face...i believe he should not be shaking the hands of petty tyrants that support iran, hezbollah,farc and the drug cartels.... imo,it`s a very bad idea....
"there is a distinct difference between having an open mind and having a hole in your head from which your brain leaks out."...
you basically made the case(very articulately) yourself that chavez should be ignored until he shows some signs of reforming....he`s a monster..
if you feel that we should embrace our enemies...then you agree with obama on that...that`s your prerogative...i disagree...that`s MY prerogative..
i`m not a "republican" per se...but i am a staunch consevative......i seriously disliked mccain`s policies...and only voted for him because the other choice ,imo,was a disaster in the making....
after suffering years of bds from the liberals in here,everyone needs to grow a spine and learn to endure a little blowback....thats the way it works in the real world...you dish it out,you gotta be able to take it.....
and the racism thing?....the guys that throw that term around like a frisbee in this forum need to check themselves.......i don`t know whether they`re just feckless or absolutely ignorant....