Asked what he would say if he ran into Hugo Chavez, the president of Venezuela who had just spent two hours denouncing the US to a cheering crowd of 25,000, our president said:

“I will, of course, be polite That’s what the American people expect their president to do, is to be a polite person.”

A seemingly reasonable answer. We do, after all, expect our president to be polite. Then why does this strike me as so disconnected from reality as to constitute a reverse paranoia in which you think no one is out to get you?

1. I imagine Bill Clinton would have said something like: “I’d grab him aside and sit down with him. In the interest of maintaining the long and good relationship between our two countries, I would see if there were more productive ways we could address the issues together.” In that light, Bush’s answer sounds like what it is: “Go fuck yourself,” uttered over tea, with one’s pinky finger properly extended.

2. Imagine how this strikes the Venezuelan people. They can protest all they want, but they’re not going to get anything more than a “And how’s the missus?” from our polite president.

3. As an American citizen, do I expect our president to be polite? Yes, I do. But that’s not where my expectations end. I also expect him to be engaged. I’m also not sure that turning America into the world’s bully constitutes being polite. I don’t know — is “warmongering” even covered by Emily Post? [Tags: GeorgeBush bush politics argentina venezuela]

Categories: Uncategorized dw