Kate Murphy

During his speech before the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez launched into a caustic verbal attack of Bush that shocked diplomats and observers accustomed to the staid verbiage of international diplomacy.

Chavez out and out called President George W. Bush the devil.

Now, I’m a pretty liberal person, but even these statements offended even me. I may not agree with most of Bush’s policies, but he still has my respect. He is, after all, the leader of the wonderful country I call home.

Not surprisingly, Bush’s domestic critics agree.

Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., scolded Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez by saying, “You don’t come into my country; you don’t come into my congressional district and you don’t condemn my president.”

This means a lot coming from the man who once compared Bush to Adolf Hitler and the War in Iraq to the Holocaust.

Even Nancy Pelosi, the House Minority Leader had a few choice words about Chavez. “He is an everyday thug,” she said.

Damn! Talk about your all-time comeback. I couldn’t have said these things better myself. I applaud Rangel and Pelosi for standing up for our president, especially as people who don’t agree with his political standpoint.

How dare Chavez come into our country and call our leader the devil? He was totally out of line. Although he wasn’t directly invited by the United States, he was a guest of the United Nations; his insult is like going to a fancy party and verbally attacking the host. I don’t know about you, but I was raised better than that. That says a lot about Chavez’s character-it exposes him for the thug that he is (well-said, Nancy).

I feel that leaders of the world should be focusing on issues in their own country, rather than accusing Bush of imperialism and genocide. Chavez is so quick to demean Bush, while his country is affected by massive, widespread poverty and hunger. I think those issues deserve a little more attention than the name-calling of other world leaders. Grow up, already!

The fact that Chavez came onto U.S. soil and insulted our leader is not only extremely rude, it is also extremely ironic. Venezuelan citizens do not enjoy the freedom of speech that we do in the States. If a Venezuelan were to speak badly of Chavez in public, he could be imprisoned or even executed.

In fact, one of Chavez’s cabinet members was recently imprisoned for disagreeing with the president on Venezuelan national television. Hmm….Isn’t it funny that Chavez is exercising his freedom of speech in our country, while restricting it in his own? He is fortunate that he is in a country that embraces free speech, unlike the country he leads.

There is a huge difference between a foreigner and an American saying that. It’s kind of like how you can talk badly about a family member, but as soon as someone outside the family starts talking crap, even it’s the same comments, you get defensive. That’s the best way to explain how I feel.

I can’t say I’m surprised that Bush hasn’t made a rebuttal to Chavez. Unlike Chavez, Bush has better things to do (like oversee a war) than engage in a sissy word fight.

About the writer:

Kate Murphy is a senior journalism major. She can be reached at [email protected].