So we're in a deli in Asheville Sunday, and the people at the table behind us start griping about Obama's handshake with Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez.
"He's down there smiling and cozying up to Chavez," said the group's alpha male, "after everything Chavez has said about America." "It's unbelievable," agreed the beta male at the table, "you have to wonder whose side he's on."
The Obama-Chavez handshake and meeting, which lasted all of 30 seconds, is the latest excuse for members of the FoxNews crowd to raise their blood pressure. Rightie bloggers and talking heads are all aflutter, and the always-pleasant Newt Gingrich even said that Obama is helping "enemies of America." To which we reply: "How? By meeting with them? Have you people gone off the deep end?" Diplomacy, in the form of meeting with and talking to people whose policies you oppose, has been going on for this country's entire history until the Dubya administration, which is as far back as most of today's conservatives seem to remember.
Here's a quick wake-up call, people. See the above photo? That's former President, and eternal Conservative Saint, Ronald Reagan, having a friendly chat with former Secretary General Mikhail Gorbachev of the Soviet Union a country that had thousands of nuclear missiles POINTED AT THE UNITED STATES. Now, that was a serious, probably the most serious enemy the United States ever had. FoxNewsies, for heaven's sake, and frankly, for your own sanity, pick up your remote, turn off Hannity and Beck, and read something about Reagan's meetings with Gorbachev. While you're at it, try reading about Nixon's meeting with Mao Tse Tung.
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